Carlile
A masculine name of uncertain meaning, possibly from French meaning "petite property".
Name Census estimates that about 1 living Americans carry the first name Carlile. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Carlile today is around 67 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Carlile births was 1918 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Carlile. 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 Carlile is about 67 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Carliles were born before 1969.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Carlile. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
1
~ 1 in 342,754,338 Americans
Peak year
1918
5 babies that year
Average age
67
years old
1931 SSA rank
#3,841
Tracked since 1918
Popularity
Carlile: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Carlile from the 1910s through to the 1930s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 5 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Carlile 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 Carlile during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Carlile
The name Carlile is an English surname that has also been adopted as a given name. Its origins can be traced back to the Old English words "ceorl" and "hyll," which together mean "peasant hill" or "freeman's hill." This suggests that the name may have originated as a place name or a descriptive name for someone living on a specific hill or elevated area.
In the Middle Ages, the name Carlile was primarily used as a surname in England. One of the earliest recorded examples dates back to the 12th century, with a reference to a knight named Sir William de Carlile in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1165.
The name gained prominence in the 13th century when it was associated with the powerful Carlisle family, who held significant lands and titles in the north of England. Sir Andrew de Carlisle, born around 1245, was a notable member of this family and served as a knight and landowner.
Throughout the centuries, the name Carlile has been subject to various spelling variations, including Carlisle, Carlyll, Carliell, and Carlyell. These variations reflect the inconsistencies in spelling and record-keeping during different historical periods.
One of the most famous individuals with the name Carlile was Thomas Carlile, born in 1785. He was a British radical and freethinker who campaigned for freedom of the press and was imprisoned for publishing works deemed blasphemous by the authorities.
Another noteworthy figure was Anne Carlile, born in 1775, who was a feminist and radical reformer. She continued her husband Thomas Carlile's fight for the freedom of speech and the press after his imprisonment.
In the 19th century, Sir James William Carlile, born in 1812, was a British colonial administrator who served as the Governor of the Leeward Islands and the Governor of Queensland, Australia.
More recently, in the 20th century, Carlile Bolton-Smith, born in 1919, was a British painter and art teacher who worked in the abstract expressionist style.
Emilyn Carlile, born in 1994, is a contemporary Canadian singer-songwriter and musician known for her folk and indie rock music.
Overall, the name Carlile has a rich history rooted in English heritage, with connections to notable figures across various fields, including politics, activism, art, and music.
People
Carlile + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Carlile 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
Carlile: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Carlile?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Carlile 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 342,754,338 US residents.
Is Carlile a common name?
We classify Carlile as "Very Rare". It ranks above 3.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 15 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Carlile most popular?
The single biggest year for Carlile was 1918, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Carlile is about 67 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Carlile in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Carlile a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Carlile 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 Carlile still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Carlile 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 Carlile 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Carlile?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.