Carmalita
A feminine name of Spanish origin meaning "little carmen" or "little song".
Name Census estimates that about 336 living Americans carry the first name Carmalita. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Carmalita today is around 52 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Carmalita births was 1973 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Carmalita. 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
336
~ 1 in 1,020,102 Americans
Peak year
1973
22 babies that year
Average age
52
years old
2006 SSA rank
#17,625
Tracked since 1925
Census
Carmalita in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 450 people with the first name Carmalita, which placed it at #22,210 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
#22,210
National first-name rank
People counted
450
450 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
43.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Carmalita
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Carmalita is Black at 43.8%. The next largest groups are White (20.4%) and Hispanic (17.8%). 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 Carmalita 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 Carmalita at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American43.8% · 197
- White20.4% · 92
- Hispanic or Latino17.8% · 80
- American Indian and Alaska Native6.7% · 30
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.4% · 29
- Two or more races4.9% · 22
Popularity
Carmalita: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Carmalita from the 1920s through to the 2000s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 139 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Carmalita 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 Carmalita 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 Carmalita
The given name Carmalita has its origins in the Spanish language and culture. It is a feminine form of the name Carmelo, derived from the Hebrew word "karmel," meaning "garden" or "orchard." The name is closely associated with Mount Carmel, a coastal mountain range in northern Israel, which is mentioned in the Bible as a place of fertile lands and abundant orchards.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Carmalita can be found in the 13th century, when it was used by members of the Carmelite religious order. This order of Catholic mendicant friars and nuns took its name from Mount Carmel, where it was founded in the 12th century by a group of hermits.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Carmalita. One of the most famous was Carmalita Alonso (1925-2010), a Spanish dancer and choreographer renowned for her interpretations of flamenco. She was born in Madrid and achieved international acclaim for her performances and contributions to the art form.
Another notable Carmalita was Carmalita Garratón (1909-1989), a Cuban actress and singer who rose to prominence in the 1940s and 1950s. She appeared in numerous films and television shows, showcasing her talents as a versatile performer.
In the literary world, Carmalita Tropicana was the pen name of Cuban-American writer and performer Alina Roberta Troyano (1953-2003). Her works explored themes of identity, sexuality, and cultural hybridity, and she was celebrated for her groundbreaking performances that challenged societal norms.
The name Carmalita also has religious significance in the Catholic tradition. Saint Carmalita of Valois (1370-1436) was a French princess who renounced her royal status to become a Carmelite nun. She is venerated for her piety and charitable works.
Another notable bearer of the name was Carmalita Mondrego (1895-1975), a Mexican artist known for her vibrant paintings that captured the essence of Mexican culture and traditions. Her works are celebrated for their expressive use of color and depiction of everyday life.
These examples illustrate the rich history and cultural significance of the name Carmalita, which has been borne by individuals from diverse backgrounds and fields, each leaving their mark on the world through their talents and contributions.
People
Carmalita + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Carmalita 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
Carmalita: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Carmalita?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 336 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Carmalita 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 1,020,102 US residents.
Is Carmalita a common name?
We classify Carmalita as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 415 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Carmalita most popular?
The single biggest year for Carmalita was 1973, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Carmalita is about 52 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Carmalita in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 450 people with the name Carmalita, or 0.15 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #22,210 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 Carmalita 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 Carmalita?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Carmalita appears almost entirely female. Of the 456 people counted with this name, 99.3% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Carmalita?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Carmalita is Black at 43.8%. The next largest groups are White (20.4%) and Hispanic (17.8%). 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 Carmalita most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Carmalita in the 2020 Census, accounting for 43.8% (197 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 Carmalita in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Carmalita a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Carmalita in the SSA data are female. 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 Carmalita still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Carmalita 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 Carmalita 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 people are named Carmalita?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.