Carnella
A feminine Latin name meaning "flesh-colored" or "fleshy".
Name Census estimates that about 47 living Americans carry the first name Carnella. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Carnella today is around 59 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Carnella births was 1950 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Carnella. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Carnella. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
47
~ 1 in 7,292,645 Americans
Peak year
1950
8 babies that year
Average age
59
years old
1989 SSA rank
#12,679
Tracked since 1921
Census
Carnella in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 162 people with the first name Carnella, which placed it at #43,512 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
#43,512
National first-name rank
People counted
162
162 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
71.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Carnella
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Carnella is Black at 71.0%. The next largest groups are White (20.4%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (3.1%). 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 Carnella 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 Carnella at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American71.0% · 115
- White20.4% · 33
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.1% · 5
- Two or more races2.5% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 2
Popularity
Carnella: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Carnella from the 1920s through to the 1980s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 16 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1950s peak, Carnella remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Carnella 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 Carnella 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 Carnella
The given name Carnella has its roots in the Latin language and is derived from the word "caro," meaning flesh or carnal. This suggests that the name may have originated during the ancient Roman era or was influenced by Latin-speaking cultures.
In early Christian history, the name Carnella was sometimes used as a symbolic reference to the physical or earthly nature of human existence, contrasting with the spiritual realm. Some early Christian texts and writings may have mentioned this name in a metaphorical or allegorical context.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Carnella can be traced back to medieval Europe, particularly in regions where Latin and its derivatives were spoken, such as Italy, France, and Spain. However, the name remained relatively uncommon throughout much of history.
One notable historical figure who bore the name Carnella was a 12th-century Italian noblewoman and landowner from the region of Tuscany. Records indicate that she played a role in mediating disputes between local feudal lords and the clergy during a period of political and social upheaval.
In the 16th century, a Spanish theologian and philosopher named Carnella de Ávila gained recognition for her writings on religious mysticism and the contemplative life. She was born in 1515 and lived until 1587.
During the Renaissance period, an Italian painter and fresco artist named Carnella Boccaccino, born in 1460 and died in 1524, was known for her contributions to the development of the Italian Renaissance art style, particularly in the city of Cremona.
In the 18th century, a French writer and poet named Carnella Désirée de Montfort, born in 1721 and died in 1798, gained some recognition for her romantic poetry and literary works, which reflected the sentiments of the time.
Another notable figure was Carnella María Velázquez, a 19th-century Mexican activist and advocate for women's rights and education. She was born in 1826 and dedicated her life to promoting social reforms and empowering women in her country.
While the name Carnella has been relatively uncommon throughout history, these examples illustrate its occasional usage across various cultures and time periods, often associated with individuals who made notable contributions in their respective fields or societies.
People
Carnella + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Carnella 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
Carnella: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Carnella?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 47 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Carnella 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 7,292,645 US residents.
Is Carnella a common name?
We classify Carnella as "Very Rare". It ranks above 53.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 70 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Carnella most popular?
The single biggest year for Carnella was 1950, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Carnella is about 59 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Carnella in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 162 people with the name Carnella, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #43,512 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 Carnella 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 Carnella?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Carnella appears almost entirely female. Of the 165 people counted with this name, 99.4% 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 Carnella?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Carnella is Black at 71.0%. The next largest groups are White (20.4%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (3.1%). 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 Carnella most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Carnella in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.0% (115 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 Carnella in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Carnella a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Carnella 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 Carnella still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Carnella 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 Carnella 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 Carnella?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.