Carmi
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "vinedresser" or "gardener".
Name Census estimates that about 81 living Americans carry the first name Carmi. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 59.6% of registrations being female. The average person named Carmi today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Carmi births was 1962 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Carmi. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Carmi with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Carmi. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
81
~ 1 in 4,231,535 Americans
Peak year
1962
11 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2023 SSA rank
#9,049
Tracked since 1916
Census
Carmi in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 355 people with the first name Carmi, which placed it at #26,287 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
#26,287
National first-name rank
People counted
355
355 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
49.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Carmi
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Carmi is White at 49.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (19.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (13.0%). 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 Carmi 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 Carmi at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White49.3% · 175
- Hispanic or Latino19.7% · 70
- Asian and Pacific Islander13.0% · 46
- Black or African American12.1% · 43
- Two or more races5.4% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Carmi
Carmi is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 114 total registrations, 46 (40.4%) were male and 68 (59.6%) were female.
Carmi as a male name
- Ranked #9,049 in 2023
- 8 male births in 2023
- Peak: 2023 (8 births)
Carmi as a female name
- Ranked #13,764 in 2024
- 6 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1978 (7 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Carmi on both sides of the split. Of the 350 people counted with this name, 112 were male (32.0%) and 238 were female (68.0%).
Popularity
Carmi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Carmi from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 24 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
Carmi 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 Carmi 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 Carmi
The name Carmi originates from the Hebrew language and culture, tracing its roots back to ancient times. It is derived from the Hebrew word "kerem," which means vineyard or orchard, suggesting a connection to agriculture and the cultivation of fruits and grapes.
In the Bible, Carmi is mentioned as the name of a son of Reuben, one of the twelve tribes of Israel. This reference can be found in the Book of Genesis, indicating the name's use in the ancient Israelite society. Additionally, the name appears in the Book of Chronicles, further solidifying its presence in biblical texts.
One of the earliest recorded individuals bearing the name Carmi was Carmi ben Rabbi, a Jewish scholar who lived in the 3rd century CE. He was a prominent member of the Jewish community in Babylonia and is known for his contributions to the Talmud, a central text of Rabbinic Judaism.
In the Middle Ages, Carmi was the name of a notable Italian rabbi and scholar, Carmi ben Shemuel, who lived in the 12th century. He was recognized for his expertise in Jewish law and his writings on various religious topics.
During the Renaissance period, Carmi Buonaiuti was an Italian painter and architect from Florence, born in 1503. He was known for his frescoes and architectural designs, contributing to the artistic and cultural landscape of the time.
In more recent history, Carmi Naor was an Israeli politician and diplomat who served as a member of the Knesset (Israeli parliament) and as the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations from 1977 to 1980.
Another notable figure was Carmi Sheli, an Israeli author and playwright born in 1938. He gained recognition for his contributions to Hebrew literature, particularly his plays and novels exploring themes of identity and social issues.
These examples showcase the diverse backgrounds and accomplishments of individuals who have borne the name Carmi throughout history, reflecting its enduring presence across various cultures and time periods.
People
Carmi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Carmi 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
Carmi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Carmi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 81 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Carmi 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 4,231,535 US residents.
Is Carmi a common name?
We classify Carmi as "Very Rare". It ranks above 61.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 114 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Carmi most popular?
The single biggest year for Carmi was 1962, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Carmi is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Carmi in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 355 people with the name Carmi, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #26,287 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 Carmi 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 Carmi?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Carmi on both sides of the split. Of the 350 people counted with this name, 112 were male (32.0%) and 238 were female (68.0%). 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 Carmi?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Carmi is White at 49.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (19.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (13.0%). 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 Carmi most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Carmi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 49.3% (175 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 Carmi in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Carmi a female name?
Yes, 59.6% of people registered as Carmi 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 Carmi still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Carmi 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 Carmi 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 share the name Carmi?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.