How common is the name Carlos?

473,046 people in the United States have the first name Carlos, about 1 in 638. It ranks #95 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

CARLOS

#95

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
473,046
About
1 in 638
This common or more
29.5%
Who bears it

Of the 473,046 people named Carlos, 89.7% reported their origin as Hispanic or Latino, 4.5% as Black and 4.4% as White. Virtually all are male (99.8%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Carlos peaked in 2001, when 6,864 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
18802025
Peak year
2001
Births that year
6,864
In 2025*
2,418 ▼65%
Recorded as
almost entirely male

At least 309,076 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Carlos by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 2000s, when it ranked #108. The largest share of babies named Carlos, 30.3%, were born between 1997 and 2012, as Generation Z.

1880s#829209
1890s#944252
1900s#764489
1910s#6922,115
1920s#5574,850
1930s#4785,654
1940s#4478,198
1950s#38115,996
1960s#31022,664
1970s#16537,383
1980s#14541,953
1990s#13255,461
2000s#10863,329
2010s#19435,332
2020s#26615,191
Before 19010.2%
Greatest Generation 1901–272%
Silent Generation 1928–453.5%
Baby boom 1946–649.9%
Generation X 1965–8017.4%
Millennials 1981–9624.5%
Generation Z 1997–1230.3%
2013 and later12.2%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Carlos is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Carlos has been most common in New Mexico (3.2×), Arizona (3.1×), and Texas (2.6×), and least common in South Dakota (0.05×).

303,846 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Either side of Carlos

#93 Nathan · 481,621#94 Heather · 473,464#96 Katherine · 470,588#97 Julie · 467,484

Spelled almost the same

5 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Carlos, most common first.

#10,437 Carlis · 1,279#21,237 Carles · 480#24,979 Carlus · 382#25,331 Carlous · 375#28,942 Carlas · 308

Also a last name

As a last name, Carlos ranks #2,338 of 156,621, with 15,191 people. See Carlos as a last name

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