Carren
A feminine name meaning "pure" or "lovely" derived from Irish and Scottish Gaelic.
Name Census estimates that about 285 living Americans carry the first name Carren. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Carren today is around 62 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Carren births was 1970 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Carren. 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
285
~ 1 in 1,202,647 Americans
Peak year
1970
17 babies that year
Average age
62
years old
1994 SSA rank
#12,029
Tracked since 1939
Census
Carren in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 528 people with the first name Carren, which placed it at #19,834 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
#19,834
National first-name rank
People counted
528
528 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
59.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Carren
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Carren is White at 59.7%. The next largest groups are Black (22.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (9.1%). 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 Carren 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 Carren at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White59.7% · 315
- Black or African American22.3% · 118
- Asian and Pacific Islander9.1% · 48
- Hispanic or Latino5.7% · 30
- Two or more races2.7% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 3
Popularity
Carren: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Carren from the 1930s through to the 1990s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 110 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Carren 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 Carren 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 Carren
Carren is a given name with origins that can be traced back to the ancient Celtic languages. It is believed to have derived from the Gaelic word "caran," which means "beloved" or "friend." The name was particularly popular in Ireland and Scotland during the Middle Ages.
In early Irish folklore and mythology, Carren was sometimes used as a name for minor deities or mythical figures associated with nature and the natural world. One such reference can be found in the Book of Leinster, a 12th-century manuscript that contains a collection of Irish legends and stories.
The earliest recorded use of the name Carren can be traced back to the 9th century, when a Irish monk named Carren of Clonmacnoise was known for his scholarly works and contributions to the preservation of ancient manuscripts.
During the 12th century, Carren mac Muiredaig was a renowned Irish bard and poet who composed several poems and songs that were widely popular in his time. His works celebrated the natural beauty of Ireland and the valor of its warriors.
In the 15th century, Carren O'Daly was a notable Irish chieftain and leader of the O'Daly clan, known for his involvement in various battles and conflicts during the turbulent period of Irish history.
Another notable figure with the name Carren was Carren Borland, a Scottish soldier who fought in the Battle of Culloden in 1746, which was a significant event in the Jacobite rising against the British crown.
In the 19th century, Carren Aird was a Scottish painter known for her landscape paintings, particularly those depicting the Scottish Highlands. Her works were widely exhibited and appreciated during her lifetime.
While the name Carren has its roots in Celtic cultures, it has been adopted and used in various parts of the world over the centuries, albeit with varying spellings and pronunciations.
People
Carren + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Carren 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
Carren: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Carren?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 285 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Carren 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 1,202,647 US residents.
Is Carren a common name?
We classify Carren as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 385 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Carren most popular?
The single biggest year for Carren was 1970, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Carren is about 62 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Carren in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 528 people with the name Carren, or 0.17 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,834 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 Carren 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 Carren?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Carren leans strongly female. 509 people counted with this name were female (95.0%), compared with 27 male bearers (5.0%). 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 Carren?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Carren is White at 59.7%. The next largest groups are Black (22.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (9.1%). 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 Carren most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Carren in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.7% (315 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 Carren in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Carren a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Carren 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 Carren still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Carren 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 Carren 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 have the name Carren?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Carren on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.