Karlie
A feminine name of English origin meaning "free man".
Name Census estimates that about 11,164 living Americans carry the first name Karlie. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Karlie today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Karlie births was 2004 (445 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Karlie. 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
11K
~ 1 in 30,702 Americans
Peak year
2004
445 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,896
Tracked since 1966
Popularity
Karlie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Karlie from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 3,672 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Karlie 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 Karlie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Karlies live
The SSA's state-level files cover 43 states and territories. California, Texas, Ohio recorded the most babies named Karlie, while New Mexico, Hawaii, Connecticut recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 215 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Karlie
The name Karlie is a modern English variation of the German name Karla, which is a feminine form of the male name Karl. The name Karl is derived from the Old German word "karl," meaning "free man" or "husband." The name's origins can be traced back to the 9th century AD.
Karlie is believed to have emerged as a diminutive or pet form of Karla in the late 20th century. While the name Karla has been in use for several centuries, the variation Karlie is relatively new and became more popular in English-speaking countries like the United States and United Kingdom in the late 1900s.
The name Karlie does not appear to have any direct historical references in ancient texts, religious scriptures, or notable historical records. However, its root name, Karl, has a significant historical presence, particularly in European history.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Karlie was Karlie Lilia Efurd, an American actress born in 1995. Karlie Kloss, an American model and entrepreneur, was born in 1992 and has gained widespread recognition for her modeling career and philanthropic endeavors.
Karlie Justus Marlowe, an American actress, was born in 1988 and is known for her roles in various television series. Karlie Samuelson, an American basketball player born in 1994, played for the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks and Chicago Sky.
Karlie Zamudio, an American soccer player born in 1991, has represented the United States national team and played professionally for clubs like the Western New York Flash and Sky Blue FC.
It's important to note that while these individuals are among the earliest recorded examples of people with the name Karlie, the name's modern popularity and usage may have led to many more individuals bearing this name in recent decades.
People
Karlie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Karlie as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Karlie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Karlie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 11,164 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Karlie 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 30,702 US residents.
Is Karlie a common name?
We classify Karlie as "Uncommon". It ranks above 97.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 11,400 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Karlie most popular?
The single biggest year for Karlie was 2004, when 445 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Karlie is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Karlie a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Karlie 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.
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.