Carron
Of Scottish origin meaning "winding river" or "meandering stream".
Name Census estimates that about 424 living Americans carry the first name Carron. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 82.4% of registrations being female. The average person named Carron today is around 55 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Carron births was 1942 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Carron. 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 Carron with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Carron was once a predominantly female name but has become increasingly popular for boys in recent decades.
People living today
424
~ 1 in 808,383 Americans
Peak year
1942
19 babies that year
Average age
55
years old
2013 SSA rank
#12,454
Tracked since 1938
Census
Carron in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 635 people with the first name Carron, which placed it at #17,398 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
#17,398
National first-name rank
People counted
635
635 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
57.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Carron
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Carron is White at 57.5%. The next largest groups are Black (35.3%) and Hispanic (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 Carron 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 Carron at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White57.5% · 365
- Black or African American35.3% · 224
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 20
- Two or more races3.0% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Carron
Carron leans heavily female at 82.4% of total registrations, but 98 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Carron as a male name
- Ranked #12,454 in 2013
- 5 male births in 2013
- Peak: 2008 (12 births)
Carron as a female name
- Ranked #13,293 in 1990
- 5 female births in 1990
- Peak: 1942 (19 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Carron on both sides of the split. Of the 633 people counted with this name, 145 were male (22.9%) and 488 were female (77.1%).
Popularity
Carron: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Carron from the 1930s through to the 2010s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 125 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
Carron 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 Carron during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Carrons live
Origin
Meaning and history of Carron
The name Carron has its roots in the Scottish Gaelic language, originating from the Gaelic word "carr" which means "rocky place" or "rough terrain." It is believed to have first emerged as a place name, referring to the Carron River in central Scotland, before becoming a personal name in the region.
The earliest recorded use of the name Carron dates back to the 12th century, when it appeared in various Scottish historical records and documents. One of the earliest known individuals with the name was Carron of Frendraught, a Scottish nobleman who lived in the 13th century and played a significant role in the Wars of Scottish Independence against England.
In the 16th century, the name gained prominence with the birth of Carron of Kilbride (1530-1599), a Scottish clergyman and scholar who served as the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. He was known for his contributions to the Scottish Reformation and his efforts to promote education in the country.
Another notable figure with the name Carron was Carron of Elphinstone (1665-1733), a Scottish politician and judge who served as Lord Justice Clerk, one of the highest judicial positions in Scotland at the time. He was renowned for his expertise in Scottish law and his commitment to upholding justice.
In the 18th century, the name Carron was associated with the Carron Company, a renowned ironworks and munitions factory located near Falkirk, Scotland. The company played a crucial role in supplying weapons and ammunition during the American Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars, contributing to the name's recognition beyond Scotland.
One of the most famous individuals with the name Carron was Carron de Nisau (1792-1856), a French military officer and adventurer who served in the Napoleonic Wars and later became involved in various revolutionary movements in South America. He gained notoriety for his daring exploits and his involvement in the Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire.
While the name Carron has its origins in Scotland, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly through Scottish migration and the influence of the Scottish diaspora. However, its roots remain firmly planted in the rugged landscapes and rich history of Scotland, where it has been a part of the cultural tapestry for centuries.
People
Carron + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Carron 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
Carron: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Carron?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 424 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Carron 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 808,383 US residents.
Is Carron a common name?
We classify Carron as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 557 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Carron most popular?
The single biggest year for Carron was 1942, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Carron is about 55 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Carron in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 635 people with the name Carron, or 0.21 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,398 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 Carron 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 Carron?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Carron on both sides of the split. Of the 633 people counted with this name, 145 were male (22.9%) and 488 were female (77.1%). 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 Carron?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Carron is White at 57.5%. The next largest groups are Black (35.3%) and Hispanic (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 Carron most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Carron in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.5% (365 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 Carron in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Carron a female name?
Yes, 82.4% of people registered as Carron 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 Carron still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Carron 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 Carron 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 called Carron?
You can see how many Americans are named Carron on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.