Carlyle
A masculine name of Scottish origin, possibly meaning "small, fortified dwelling place".
Name Census estimates that about 1,778 living Americans carry the first name Carlyle. It is a predominantly male name (94.7% of registrations). The average person named Carlyle today is around 49 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Carlyle births was 1918 (115 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Carlyle. 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
1.8K
~ 1 in 192,775 Americans
Peak year
1918
115 babies that year
Average age
49
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,683
Tracked since 1892
Gender
Gender distribution for Carlyle
Carlyle leans heavily male at 94.7% of total registrations, but 215 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Carlyle as a male name
- Ranked #5,683 in 2024
- 16 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1918 (115 births)
Carlyle as a female name
- Ranked #11,368 in 2023
- 8 female births in 2023
- Peak: 1997 (10 births)
Popularity
Carlyle: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Carlyle from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 806 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
Carlyle 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 Carlyle during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Carlyles live
The SSA's state-level files cover 19 states and territories. New York, North Carolina, Illinois recorded the most babies named Carlyle, while West Virginia, New Jersey, North Dakota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 47 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Carlyle
The name Carlyle has its origins in the Norman French language and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is a combination of two words – "carl" meaning a free man or peasant, and "l'isle" meaning an island or manor. Thus, the name Carlyle likely referred to a peasant or freeman living on an island or manor estate.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Carlyle can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive record of landholders in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. This suggests that the name was already in use among the Norman nobility who had settled in Britain after the Norman Conquest.
The name Carlyle gained popularity in Scotland during the Middle Ages, particularly in the regions of Dumfriesshire and Lanarkshire. It is believed that the name may have been introduced to Scotland by Norman settlers or through interactions with Norman nobles in England.
In the 16th century, the name Carlyle was associated with the Scottish Covenanter movement, a group of Presbyterians who opposed the religious reforms imposed by the Stuart monarchs. One notable figure from this period was Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881), a renowned Scottish essayist, satirist, and historian. His writings, particularly "The French Revolution" and "On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History," had a significant impact on Victorian literature and philosophy.
Another famous bearer of the name Carlyle was the American writer Thomas Carlyle Ford (1829-1901), who was a prominent advocate for the abolition of slavery and the temperance movement. His novel "The Web of Life" was widely read in the late 19th century.
In the 20th century, Carlyle Marney (1916-1965) was an influential Baptist minister and civil rights activist in the United States. He played a crucial role in desegregating churches and advocating for racial equality.
The name Carlyle has also been associated with notable figures in the arts and entertainment industry. For example, Carlyle Blackwell (1904-1988) was a Canadian-American actor and filmmaker who appeared in several silent films and early talkies.
Overall, the name Carlyle has a rich history that spans centuries and crosses cultural boundaries. Its origins can be traced back to the Norman conquest of England, and it has been borne by notable individuals in various fields, from literature and philosophy to civil rights and entertainment.
People
Carlyle + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Carlyle 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
Carlyle: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Carlyle?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,778 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Carlyle 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 192,775 US residents.
Is Carlyle a common name?
We classify Carlyle as "Rare". It ranks above 93.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,051 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Carlyle most popular?
The single biggest year for Carlyle was 1918, when 115 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Carlyle is about 49 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Carlyle a male name?
Yes, 94.7% of people registered as Carlyle 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.