Boys' name · peaked in 2018
Carson name popularity since 1925
139,254 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Carson (5.8% girls, 94.2% boys). Half of them were born in 2010 or earlier, so the typical Carson is about 16 years old in 2026. Carson peaked in 2018 as the #70 name for boys, and it ranked #124 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 139,254
- Named Carson, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #124
- for boys in 2025 (2,883 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 94.2% boys
- 8,113 girls · 131,141 boys
- Most popular in
- Utah
- 2.90× its national share
Peak year is the year Carson made up the largest share of US boys, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Carson births per year, 1925–2025
2018 was the biggest year for Carson both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1996 and 2001, Carson became 3.8× more common, from 1 in 1,880 baby boys to 1 in 493.
- Steepest fall: Between 2018 and 2023, its share of baby boys fell by 35%, from 1 in 345 to 1 in 533.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Carson's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Carson.
Decade by decade
Babies named Carson in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 0 | 494 | – |
| 1930s | 0 | 933 | #648 |
| 1940s | 22 | 1,123 | #611 |
| 1950s | 46 | 1,212 | #654 |
| 1960s | 23 | 859 | #786 |
| 1970s | 110 | 1,184 | #750 |
| 1980s | 236 | 2,333 | #548 |
| 1990s | 2,244 | 9,970 | #297 |
| 2000s | 2,554 | 44,632 | #101 |
| 2010s | 1,776 | 48,026 | #89 |
| 2020–25 | 1,102 | 20,375 | #124 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
49.0% of babies named Carson from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Gen Z years (1997–2012). The full split by generation:
Where Carson is most popular
The index compares Carson's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Carson.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Utah | 2.90× | 3,331 |
| Idaho | 2.35× | 1,260 |
| Nevada | 1.75× | 841 |
| Alaska | 1.69× | 339 |
| North Carolina | 1.67× | 6,382 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Carson and were given to at least 1,000 boys from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Boys | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Carson (this page) | 131,141 | 2018 |
| Karson | 21,394 | 2020 |
| Carsen | 4,046 | 2010 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Carson's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Carson.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Carson (2018).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data