Carter

Meaning: “cart driver”
Origin: English occupational — From the occupation carter

Meaning: “son of Arthur”
Origin: Irish patronymic — From Mac Artúir

Girl's name · #454 in the US (2025) · Trending

9% girls · 91% boys — About 91% of babies named Carter in recent years have been boys. Carter →

Popularity over time

Carter is climbing: on the charts since 1918, it reached #454 in 2025 — its strongest showing yet, with about 680 girls given the name last year. Roughly 10,000 have carried it all-time.

Across the states

See where Carter is more common.

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 39 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Around the world

See how Carter ranks in other countries and regions.

#1,119 in Canada (2024).

Famous Carters

Carter Heyward — American feminist theologian and priest (born 1945)
Carter Faith — American country musician (born 1999)

As a surname

It is also an American family name — about 377,000 people carried it as a surname in the 2010 census.

Jimmy Carter — President of the United States from 1977 to 1981 (1924–2024)
Howard Carter — British egyptologist (1874–1939)
Rosalynn Carter — First Lady of the United States from 1977 to 1981

In stories & tradition

Carter Calvert — It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues (musical stage work)
Carter — Princess Protection Program (TV series)

What Carters become

Among 249 notable people named Carter:

Spellings & nicknames

Together with its spelling variant Karter (#989), Carter would rank around #327 with about 940 births last year — the newborns split about 73/27 between Carter and Karter.

Similar names: Karter · Maisie · Charli · Blaire · Karsyn · Miller

Browse more girl names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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