Carlito
A Spanish diminutive of Carlos, meaning "free man" or "manly".
Name Census estimates that about 1,308 living Americans carry the first name Carlito. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Carlito today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Carlito births was 2006 (92 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Carlito. 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
1.3K
~ 1 in 262,045 Americans
Peak year
2006
92 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,461
Tracked since 1964
Popularity
Carlito: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Carlito from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 475 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Carlito 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 Carlito during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Carlitos live
The SSA's state-level files cover 10 states and territories. Ohio, Michigan, Florida recorded the most babies named Carlito, while Virginia, New Jersey, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 21 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Carlito
Carlito is a Spanish diminutive form of the name Carlos, which itself derives from the Germanic name Karl, meaning "free man." The name gained popularity during the 8th century when Charlemagne, the King of the Franks, was bestowed the name Carolus Magnus, Latin for Charles the Great. His reign and conquests helped spread the name across Europe.
The earliest recorded use of the name Carlito can be traced back to the 13th century in parts of Spain and Portugal. It is a diminutive form, often used as a nickname or term of endearment for someone named Carlos. The suffix "-ito" is a common Spanish diminutive ending.
One of the earliest notable figures with the name Carlito was Carlito Brigante, a 14th-century Italian nobleman and military leader from Narni, Italy. He was known for his service under Pope Innocent VI during the Papal States' conflicts with Milan.
In the 16th century, Carlito Caravaggio, an Italian painter from the city of Caravaggio, gained recognition for his revolutionary naturalistic style and dramatic use of light and shadow. His works, such as The Calling of Saint Matthew and Bacchus, are considered masterpieces of the Baroque period.
During the 17th century, Carlito Vieira de Figueredo, a Portuguese poet and playwright, made significant contributions to the development of theater in his native country. His most famous work, El Príncipe Constante, is a tragicomedy that explores themes of loyalty and honor.
In the 18th century, Carlito Allioni, an Italian botanist and physician, was renowned for his extensive research on the flora of Piedmont, Italy. He authored several influential works, including the Auctarium ad Floram Pedemontanam and Rariorum Pedemontii Stirpium.
Another notable figure with the name Carlito was Carlito Rojas, a Venezuelan military leader and patriot who played a crucial role in the Venezuelan War of Independence against Spain in the early 19th century. He fought alongside Simón Bolívar and was instrumental in several key battles that led to Venezuela's independence.
People
Carlito + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Carlito 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
Carlito: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Carlito?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,308 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Carlito 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 262,045 US residents.
Is Carlito a common name?
We classify Carlito as "Rare". It ranks above 91.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,331 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Carlito most popular?
The single biggest year for Carlito was 2006, when 92 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Carlito is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Carlito a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Carlito 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.