Carlston
A masculine name derived from a surname meaning "from the town of Carlton".
Name Census estimates that about 4 living Americans carry the first name Carlston. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Carlston today is around 67 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Carlston births was 1962 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Carlston. 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 Carlston is about 67 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Carlstons were born before 1969.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Carlston. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
4
~ 1 in 85,688,585 Americans
Peak year
1962
5 babies that year
Average age
67
years old
1962 SSA rank
#4,122
Tracked since 1962
Census
Carlston in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 97 people with the first name Carlston, which placed it at #53,534 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
#53,534
National first-name rank
People counted
97
97 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
66.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Carlston
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Carlston is Black at 66.0%. The next largest groups are White (23.7%) and Two or More Races (7.2%). 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 Carlston 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 Carlston at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American66.0% · 64
- White23.7% · 23
- Two or more races7.2% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.1% · 3
Popularity
Carlston: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Carlston 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 Carlston during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Carlston
The name Carlston is believed to have originated from the Old English and Old Norse languages, with roots dating back to the 9th century. The name is a combination of the elements "carl" or "karl," meaning a free man or a husband, and "tun" or "ton," referring to an enclosure or a settlement.
Carlston was initially a surname used in England and Scotland, often given to individuals who lived in a particular town or settlement. Over time, it evolved into a given name, with the earliest recorded instances appearing in historical records from the 12th century.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Carlston of Hexham, a 12th-century monk and scholar renowned for his work on the history of the region of Northumbria in England. Another notable figure was Sir Carlston de Brus, a 13th-century Scottish nobleman and military commander who fought alongside William Wallace during the Scottish Wars of Independence.
In the 14th century, Carlston de Wycliffe, an English philosopher and theologian, gained prominence for his criticisms of the Catholic Church and his advocacy for translating the Bible into English. His teachings laid the foundation for the Lollard movement, which challenged many of the Church's doctrines and practices.
During the Renaissance period, Carlston von Nürnberg, a 15th-century German artist and engraver, made significant contributions to the development of printmaking techniques, particularly in the field of woodcut illustrations.
In more recent times, Carlston Reeves, an American actor and musician born in 1951, achieved fame for his roles in films such as "The Matrix" and "John Wick." His portrayal of Neo in the "Matrix" trilogy cemented his status as an iconic action hero in popular culture.
While the name Carlston has maintained its presence throughout history, it has remained relatively uncommon in comparison to other names of similar origins. Its unique blend of Old English and Old Norse elements has endowed it with a distinctive character and a rich cultural heritage.
People
Carlston + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Carlston 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
Carlston: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Carlston?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Carlston 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 Carlston a common name?
We classify Carlston 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 Carlston most popular?
The single biggest year for Carlston was 1962, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Carlston is about 67 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Carlston in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 97 people with the name Carlston, or 0.03 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #53,534 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 Carlston 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 Carlston?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Carlston appears almost entirely male. Of the 102 people counted with this name, 99.0% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Carlston?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Carlston is Black at 66.0%. The next largest groups are White (23.7%) and Two or More Races (7.2%). 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 Carlston most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Carlston in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.0% (64 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 Carlston in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Carlston a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Carlston 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 Carlston still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Carlston 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 Carlston 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 Americans are named Carlston?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.