Girls' name · peaked in 1964
Karla name popularity since 1925
91,845 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Karla. Half of them were born in 1981 or earlier, so the typical Karla is about 45 years old in 2026. Karla peaked in 1964 as the #182 name for girls, and it ranked #803 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 91,845
- Named Karla, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #803
- for girls in 2025 (340 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.7% girls
- 91,536 girls · 309 boys
- Most popular in
- South Dakota
- 2.42× its national share
Peak year is the year Karla made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Karla births per year, 1925–2025
1964 was the biggest year for Karla both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1941 and 1946, Karla became 2.2× more common, from 1 in 8,160 baby girls to 1 in 3,680.
- Steepest fall: Between 2008 and 2013, its share of baby girls fell by 51%, from 1 in 1,330 to 1 in 2,710.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Karla's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Karla.
Decade by decade
Babies named Karla in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 41 | 0 | – |
| 1930s | 536 | 0 | #1,148 |
| 1940s | 3,102 | 0 | #397 |
| 1950s | 11,462 | 5 | #234 |
| 1960s | 17,716 | 40 | #188 |
| 1970s | 11,367 | 48 | #242 |
| 1980s | 9,360 | 89 | #278 |
| 1990s | 12,873 | 88 | #241 |
| 2000s | 16,145 | 39 | #203 |
| 2010s | 6,555 | 0 | #511 |
| 2020–25 | 2,379 | 0 | #803 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
25.5% of babies named Karla from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Gen Z years (1997–2012). The full split by generation:
Where Karla is most popular
The index compares Karla'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 Karla.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| South Dakota | 2.42× | 692 |
| North Dakota | 2.26× | 638 |
| Iowa | 1.97× | 2,243 |
| Arizona | 1.89× | 2,191 |
| California | 1.87× | 17,762 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Karla and were given to at least 1,000 girls from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Girls | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Karla (this page) | 91,536 | 1964 |
| Carla | 150,014 | 1962 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Karla's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Karla.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Karla (1964).
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