Carmen
Spanish, from the Marian title Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Carmel itself is Hebrew karmel, garden or orchard. Latin carmen, song, is a coincidental match.
Carmen in 2025
Carmen was given to 902 babies in the United States in 2025 — 104 boys and 798 girls, making it the 712th most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 3,676 babies born.
The history of Carmen
Carmen reached its highest point in 1961, when 2,622 babies were given the name, ranking 296th that year. Its best-ever ranking was 256th, in 1968.
Across the 145 years of records since 1881, 159,756 babies have been named Carmen. Half of them were born before 1965, which places the name's centre of gravity with Generation X.
Carmen by decade
| Decade | Babies named Carmen | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 141 | 773 |
| 1890s | 460 | 574 |
| 1900s | 1,183 | 404 |
| 1910s | 5,867 | 366 |
| 1920s | 12,335 | 288 |
| 1930s | 10,852 | 293 |
| 1940s | 12,912 | 322 |
| 1950s | 21,086 | 290 |
| 1960s | 24,535 | 256 |
| 1970s | 18,932 | 274 |
| 1980s | 13,436 | 341 |
| 1990s | 11,814 | 426 |
| 2000s | 12,681 | 477 |
| 2010s | 8,827 | 621 |
| 2020s | 4,695 | 712 |
Where Carmen is heading
Carmen has held roughly steady over the past decade, from 882 babies in 2015 to 902 in 2025.
Names like Carmen
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Carmen.