Carleton
A masculine name derived from the Old English words "carr" and "tun", meaning "from the village on the rocky hill".
Name Census estimates that about 2,183 living Americans carry the first name Carleton. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Carleton today is around 61 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Carleton births was 1923 (103 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Carleton. 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.
People living today
2.2K
~ 1 in 157,011 Americans
Peak year
1923
103 babies that year
Average age
61
years old
2023 SSA rank
#11,048
Tracked since 1880
Popularity
Carleton: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Carleton from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 830 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Carleton 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 Carleton during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Carletons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. Massachusetts, New York, Maine recorded the most babies named Carleton, while Oklahoma, New Jersey, New Hampshire recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 93 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Carleton
Carleton is an English name derived from the Old English words "cær" meaning rock or stony place, and "tun" meaning town or settlement. It originated as a place name referring to a town located near rocky terrain or a stony area. The name has its roots in the medieval period and was initially used as a surname for people hailing from such settlements.
The earliest recorded use of Carleton as a given name dates back to the late 16th century. One of the first notable individuals with this name was Sir Dudley Carleton (1573-1632), an English diplomat and politician who served as Secretary of State under King Charles I.
Another historical figure was Guy Carleton (1724-1808), a British army officer who served as the Governor of the Province of Quebec during the American Revolutionary War. He played a crucial role in defending Canada against the American invasion efforts.
In the literary realm, Carleton Fairchild (1879-1933) was an American author and playwright known for his satirical works, including the novel "The Genius" and the play "The Valiant."
Moving into the modern era, Carleton Coon (1904-1981) was an American anthropologist and professor at Harvard University, renowned for his work on the origins and classification of human races.
Carleton Putnam (1901-1998) was an American industrialist, philanthropist, and author who expressed controversial views on race and immigration in his book "Race and Reason."
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Carleton, showcasing its enduring presence across various fields and eras.
People
Carleton + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Carleton 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
Carleton: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Carleton?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,183 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Carleton 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 157,011 US residents.
Is Carleton a common name?
We classify Carleton as "Rare". It ranks above 94% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,839 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Carleton most popular?
The single biggest year for Carleton was 1923, when 103 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Carleton is about 61 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Carleton a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Carleton 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.
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.