Karson
A masculine name of Old Norse origin meaning "son of Carl."
Name Census estimates that about 22,535 living Americans carry the first name Karson. It sits at #397 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. It is a predominantly male name (90.9% of registrations). The average person named Karson today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Karson births was 2018 (1,412 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Karson. 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
- • Karson is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 13 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
23K
~ 1 in 15,210 Americans
Peak year
2018
1,412 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#397
Tracked since 1966
Gender
Gender distribution for Karson
Karson leans heavily male at 90.9% of total registrations, but 2,063 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Karson as a male name
- Ranked #397 in 2024
- 813 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2018 (1,344 births)
Karson as a female name
- Ranked #3,132 in 2024
- 51 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1999 (105 births)
Popularity
Karson: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Karson from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 11,360 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Karson remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Karson 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 Karson during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Karsons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 49 states and territories. Texas, Georgia, Ohio recorded the most babies named Karson, while Alaska, New Mexico, Vermont recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 405 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Karson
The name Karson has its origins in the Old Norse language and is derived from the word "Karlsson," which means "son of Karl." Karl was a common Germanic name that was derived from the word "karl," meaning "free man" or "husband." The name Karson gained popularity during the Viking Age, which lasted from the late 8th century to the late 11th century.
The earliest recorded use of the name Karson can be traced back to the medieval period in Scandinavia, particularly in areas such as Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. It was commonly used as a patronymic surname, indicating that the person was the son of someone named Karl.
There are no known historical references to the name Karson in ancient texts or religious scriptures. However, the name has been associated with several notable figures throughout history.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Karson was Karson the Red, a Norwegian Viking who is said to have lived in the 9th century. He was renowned for his fierce battle skills and his participation in numerous raids across Europe.
Another notable figure with the name Karson was Karson Gustavsson, a Swedish military officer who lived from 1612 to 1679. He played a significant role in the Thirty Years' War and was known for his bravery and strategic prowess.
In the 19th century, Karson Sæter, a Norwegian farmer and politician, made a name for himself as a prominent figure in the Norwegian independence movement. He was born in 1827 and died in 1901.
More recently, Karson Kuhlman, an American singer and songwriter, gained popularity in the early 2000s for his work in the Christian music industry. He was born in 1978 and is still active in the music scene today.
Lastly, Karson Jákupsstovu, a Faroese politician and member of the Løgting (the Faroese parliament), has been a prominent figure in the Faroese political landscape since the early 2000s. He was born in 1973 and continues to serve in the Løgting.
People
Karson + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Karson 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
Karson: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Karson?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 22,535 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Karson 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 15,210 US residents.
Is Karson a common name?
We classify Karson as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 22,753 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Karson most popular?
The single biggest year for Karson was 2018, when 1,412 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Karson is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Karson a male name?
Yes, 90.9% of people registered as Karson 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.
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.