Karmelo
A masculine name derived from the Hebrew name Carmel meaning "orchard, fruitful".
Name Census estimates that about 1,267 living Americans carry the first name Karmelo. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Karmelo today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Karmelo births was 2021 (121 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Karmelo. 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
- • Karmelo is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 10 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.3K
~ 1 in 270,524 Americans
Peak year
2021
121 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,737
Tracked since 2003
Census
Karmelo in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 594 people with the first name Karmelo, which placed it at #18,210 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
#18,210
National first-name rank
People counted
594
594 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
61.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Karmelo
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Karmelo is Black at 61.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (26.4%) and Two or More Races (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 Karmelo 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 Karmelo at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American61.6% · 366
- Hispanic or Latino26.4% · 157
- Two or more races9.1% · 54
- White1.9% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 2
Popularity
Karmelo: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Karmelo from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 655 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Karmelo remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Karmelo 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 Karmelo during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Karmelos live
The SSA's state-level files cover 14 states and territories. Texas, Florida, Georgia recorded the most babies named Karmelo, while Maryland, Mississippi, Pennsylvania recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 37 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Karmelo
The name Karmelo has its origins in the Basque language, spoken primarily in the Basque Country, a region spanning parts of northern Spain and southwestern France. The name likely emerged during the medieval period, derived from the Basque word "karmel," which means "garden" or "orchard."
In Basque culture, names often reflected elements of nature or occupations, and Karmelo may have been initially bestowed upon individuals associated with gardening or horticulture. Alternatively, it could have been inspired by the biblical Mount Carmel, a significant location in the Old Testament, particularly for the Carmelite religious order.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Karmelo can be found in the 13th century, when a nobleman named Karmelo Lope de Haro was mentioned in historical documents from the Kingdom of Navarre. In the 15th century, a Basque friar named Karmelo Bertranitz gained recognition for his religious writings and sermons.
Karmelo Etxegarai (1825-1899) was a notable Basque poet and playwright who contributed significantly to the preservation and promotion of the Basque language and culture during the 19th century. His works often explored themes of Basque identity and rural life.
In the realm of sports, Karmelo Anasagasti (1914-1990) was a renowned Spanish footballer who played as a striker for Athletic Bilbao and the Spanish national team during the 1930s and 1940s. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of Athletic Bilbao.
Another notable figure was Karmelo Biondini (1920-1999), an Italian painter and sculptor who became known for his abstract expressionist works. His artistic career spanned several decades, and his pieces are featured in various galleries and museums throughout Europe.
Karmelo Esnal (1940-2010) was a Basque politician and activist who played a significant role in the struggle for Basque autonomy and independence. He served as a member of the Basque Parliament and was instrumental in promoting Basque language and cultural rights.
While the name Karmelo has its roots in the Basque region, it has gained recognition and popularity in other parts of the world, particularly in Spanish-speaking countries and among certain Christian communities, likely influenced by its biblical connections.
People
Karmelo + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Karmelo 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
Karmelo: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Karmelo?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,267 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Karmelo 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 270,524 US residents.
Is Karmelo a common name?
We classify Karmelo as "Rare". It ranks above 91.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,277 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Karmelo most popular?
The single biggest year for Karmelo was 2021, when 121 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Karmelo is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Karmelo in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 594 people with the name Karmelo, or 0.20 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #18,210 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 Karmelo 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 Karmelo?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Karmelo appears almost entirely male. Of the 604 people counted with this name, 99.5% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Karmelo?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Karmelo is Black at 61.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (26.4%) and Two or More Races (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 Karmelo most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Karmelo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 61.6% (366 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 Karmelo in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Karmelo a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Karmelo in the SSA data are male. 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 Karmelo still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Karmelo 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 Karmelo 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 Karmelo?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Karmelo, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.