Car
A Turkish masculine name derived from the Persian word "kar," meaning "brave hero."
Name Census estimates that about 4 living Americans carry the first name Car. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Car today is around 68 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Car births was 1958 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Car. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Car is about 68 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Cars were born before 1968.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Car. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
4
~ 1 in 85,688,585 Americans
Peak year
1958
5 babies that year
Average age
68
years old
1958 SSA rank
#4,027
Tracked since 1958
Census
Car in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 694 people with the first name Car, which placed it at #16,301 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#16,301
National first-name rank
People counted
694
694 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
54.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Car
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Car is White at 54.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (21.2%) and Black (17.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Car described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Car at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White54.6% · 379
- Hispanic or Latino21.2% · 147
- Black or African American17.1% · 119
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.2% · 29
- Two or more races2.6% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 2
Popularity
Car: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Car by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Car during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Car
The name Car has its origins in the Proto-Germanic language, where it was derived from the word "kara," which meant "beloved" or "dear one." This name was particularly popular among the ancient Germanic tribes, such as the Goths and Franks, who inhabited parts of modern-day Germany, France, and the Low Countries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Car can be found in the Codex Argenteus, a 6th-century manuscript containing fragments of a Gothic translation of the Bible. The name is mentioned in reference to a Christian martyr who lived during the reign of the Roman Emperor Diocletian in the early 4th century.
During the Middle Ages, the name Car gained popularity across Europe, particularly in the Frankish kingdoms and later in the Holy Roman Empire. Several notable historical figures bore this name, including Car the Fowler (876-936), the first Duke of Saxony and a prominent military leader who defended the East Frankish territories against invasions from the Magyars and Slavs.
Another notable figure was Car of St. Omer (1008-1084), a Flemish monk and scholar who served as the abbot of the influential St. Bertin's Abbey in St. Omer, France. He was renowned for his efforts in promoting education and preserving ancient manuscripts during a time of cultural upheaval.
In the 12th century, Car of Heisterbach (1170-1240) was a German Cistercian monk and author who wrote extensively on the lives of saints and religious miracles. His work, the "Dialogus Miraculorum," is considered a valuable source for understanding medieval religious beliefs and practices.
During the Renaissance period, Car Borromeo (1538-1584) was an Italian cardinal and a prominent figure in the Catholic Reformation. He played a significant role in implementing the reforms of the Council of Trent and was canonized as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church in 1610.
While the name Car has become less common in modern times, it remains a part of historical records and literature, serving as a reminder of the rich cultural heritage and traditions of the Germanic peoples and the enduring influence of early European civilization.
People
Car + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Car as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Car: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Car?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Car going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 85,688,585 US residents.
Is Car a common name?
We classify Car as "Very Rare". It ranks above 6.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Car most popular?
The single biggest year for Car was 1958, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Car is about 68 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Car in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 694 people with the name Car, or 0.23 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,301 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Car in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Car?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Car on both sides of the split. Of the 703 people counted with this name, 376 were male (53.5%) and 327 were female (46.5%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Car?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Car is White at 54.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (21.2%) and Black (17.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Car most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Car in the 2020 Census, accounting for 54.6% (379 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Car in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Car a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Car in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Car still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Car in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Car can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Car as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.