Carlis last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Carlis is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Carlis.

Meaning of Carlis

A derivative of the surname Carlisle, meaning from the town of Carlisle.

Carlis, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Carlis surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Carlis in America

Carlis is the 78316th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Carlis surname appeared 244 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Carlis.

We can also compare 2010 data for Carlis to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 78316 71372 9.28%
Count 244 255 -4.41%
Proportion per 100k 0.08 0.09 -11.76%

The history of the last name Carlis

The surname CARLIS is thought to have originated in Italy, dating back to the 12th century. It is believed to be derived from the Italian word "carlo," which means "free man" or "freeman." This suggests that the earliest bearers of this name were individuals who had been granted their freedom or held a status of independence.

The name CARLIS can be traced back to various regions of Italy, including Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio. In these areas, variations of the name, such as CARLISI, CARLISIO, and CARLISCI, were also commonly found. Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name appear in medieval documents and records from these regions.

One of the earliest known references to the name CARLIS can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Cavensis, a collection of historical documents from the Benedictine monastery of Cava de' Tirreni in Campania, Italy. This manuscript, dating back to the 11th century, mentions a certain "Petrus Carlisi" as a witness to a legal transaction.

In the 13th century, a noble family bearing the name CARLIS resided in the town of Orvieto, located in Umbria. This family played a significant role in the local politics and governance of the region during that time period.

Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the surname CARLIS. One such figure was Giovanni Battista Carlis (1547-1621), a renowned Italian painter and architect who worked primarily in Rome during the late Renaissance era. Another was Antonio Carlis (1688-1756), a Venetian composer and violinist who was celebrated for his contributions to baroque music.

In the literary realm, the Italian writer and poet Vincenzo Carlis (1819-1892) gained recognition for his works that captured the essence of rural life in Tuscany. Meanwhile, in the field of science, Luigi Carlis (1875-1942) was an esteemed Italian physicist and professor who made significant contributions to the study of electromagnetism.

Finally, one cannot overlook the achievements of Margherita Carlis (1908-1988), a pioneering Italian aviator and one of the first women to obtain a pilot's license in her country. She broke numerous records and paved the way for future generations of female pilots.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Carlis

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Carlis.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Carlis was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 37.30% 91
Non-Hispanic Black Only 56.15% 137
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races (S)% (S)
Hispanic Origin 5.33% 13

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Carlis has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 37.30% 44.71% -18.07%
Black 56.15% 52.94% 5.89%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races (S)% (S)% (S)%
Hispanic 5.33% (S)% (S)%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Carlis was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Carlis, please contact us.

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"Carlis last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on August 24, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/carlis-surname-popularity/.

"Carlis last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/carlis-surname-popularity/. Accessed 24 August, 2025

Carlis last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/carlis-surname-popularity/.

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