How popular is the baby name Carin in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Find out using the graph below! Plus, check out all the blog posts that mention the name Carin.

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Popularity of the Baby Name Carin


Posts that Mention the Name Carin

Popular boy names in the United States, 2020

monument valley

We just looked at last year’s girl names, so now it’s time for the boy names!

Here are the most popular boy names overall:

  1. Liam, 19,659 baby boys
  2. Noah, 18,252
  3. Oliver, 14,147
  4. Elijah, 13,034
  5. William, 12,541
  6. James, 12,250
  7. Benjamin, 12,136
  8. Lucas, 11,281
  9. Henry, 10,705
  10. Alexander, 10,151

Henry and Alexander replaced Mason (now ranked 11th) and Ethan (13th).

The boy names that saw the largest increases in usage in terms of absolute numbers of babies were…

  1. Kobe, increased by 998 babies
  2. Theodore, 685
  3. Luka, 618
  4. Asher, 592
  5. Enzo, 490
  6. Adriel, 471
  7. Archer, 451
  8. Kylo, 424
  9. River, 410
  10. Beau, 398

Kobe was influenced by the untimely death of basketball great Kobe Bryant (whose daughter, Gianna, had an equally strong influence on girl names.)

Theodore and Luka were also among the fastest risers of 2019.

The boy names that saw the largest increases in usage in terms of relative numbers of babies were…

  1. Omere, increased by 460%
  2. Ripp, 342%
  3. Hardin, 300%
  4. Vardaan, 280%
  5. Rip, 260%
  6. Alekai, 260%
  7. Sharvil, 255%
  8. Evian, 253%
  9. Neizan, 243%
  10. Barkon, 240%

Omere could be from Omere Harris, son of YouTubers (and former Love & Hip Hop-ers) Mendeecees Harris and Yandy Smith.

Ripp was a debut name just one year earlier. Speaking of debuts…

Here are the boy names that debuted most impressively in the 2020 data:

  1. Aarnik, debuted with 14 baby boys
  2. Itzan, 14
  3. Azhir, 13
  4. Carin, 13
  5. Jahkor, 13
  6. Krown, 13
  7. Amavi, 12 (a double-debut with 30 girls as well)
  8. Deluka, 12
  9. Ezrin, 12
  10. Hardyn, 12

Some explanations…

  • Itzan is probably from Spanish actor Itzan Escamilla, who stars in the Netflix series Élite.
  • Carin could be from Mexican singer Carin Leon (whose real name is Oscar; “Carin” is a shortening of his nickname, Oscarin.)
  • Jahkor was the name of a character in the Netflix movie All Day and a Night (2020).

The boy names that saw the largest decreases in usage in terms of absolute numbers of babies were…

  1. Ethan, decreased by 1,801 babies
  2. Jacob, -1,525
  3. Logan, -1,434
  4. Mason, -1,407
  5. Matthew, -1,170
  6. Lucas, -1,164
  7. Carter, -1,141
  8. Jaxon, -1,132
  9. Isaac, -1,121
  10. Alexander, -1,113

The boy name that saw the largest decrease in usage in terms of relative numbers of babies was Daer (-80%), and the boy name that saw the steepest drop off the list was Montae (from 20 babies in 2019 to fewer than 5 in 2020).

If you can explain any of these rises (or drops), please leave a comment!

Source: SSA
Image by Clay Banks from Unsplash

[Latest update: 5/11/2021]

Name quotes #90

double quotation mark

Time for another batch of name quotes!

From an article about how the name Karen has become a handicap in dating, according to the dating app Wingman:

Women named Karen say their love lives have taken a hit since the name became synonymous with pushy, entitled middle-aged women — and more recently, racist ones who target people of color.

[…]

According to the app’s data, women named Karen have received 31 per cent fewer matches this year compared to last, and messages sent by women named Karen got 1/3 fewer responses than last year.

Overall, Karens have seen a 45 per cent drop in engagement.

Women with other spellings of the name — Karin, Carin, Caren — have seen a smaller drop, 22 per cent, but a drop all the same.

From an article in The Economist about the unusual names of Tabasco, Mexico (found via A Mitchell’s tweet – thanks!):

[The unusual names] impressed Amado Nervo, a Mexican poet. In every family “there is a Homer, a Cornelia, a Brutus, a Shalmanasar and a Hera,” he wrote in “The Elysian Fields of Tabasco”, which was published in 1896. Rather than scour the calendar for saints’ names, he wrote, parents of newborns “search for them in ‘The Iliad’, ‘The Aeneid’, the Bible and in the history books”. Andrés Iduarte, a Tabascan essayist of the 20th century, concurred. Tabasco is a place “of Greek names and African soul”, he wrote, endorsing the cliche that the state has similarities with Africa.

From a newspaper article about soccer player Diego Maradona’s influence on baby names in Naples in July of 1984, soon after he’d joined S.S.C. Napoli:

Maternity hospitals reported another 30 new-born babies named Diego Armando, raising the count to 140 so far.

[Maradona died in late November. Last Friday, the Naples city council unanimously voted to change the name of the city’s stadium from “Stadio San Paolo” to “Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.” (CBS Sports)]

Baby names with CAR: Carter, Scarlett, Oscar

steering wheel

Are you a car-lover looking for baby names that contain the word CAR?

If so, here’s a long list of options to choose from!

Top baby names with CAR

First, a quick rundown of the most popular names with the letter sequence “c-a-r,” according to the current U.S. baby name data.

Top girl names with “c-a-r”Top boy names with “c-a-r”
Scarlett
Caroline
Carmen
Scarlet
Carter
Carolina
Carly
Scarlette
Cara
Carsyn
Carter
Carson
Carlos
Oscar
Ricardo
Carmelo
Carl
Cartier
Giancarlo
Carlo

Now here are the same names again, but this time around I’ve added definitions, variant forms/spellings, and links to popularity graphs.

Cara

The name Cara comes either from the Italian word cara, meaning “beloved” (which is how it’s used in the name Caramia), or the Irish word cara, meaning “friend” (as in the case of Cara Delevingne).

The name is also sometimes spelled Carra, Carah, Carrah, and Caragh.

Carl, Carlo, Carlos, Carly, Carolina, Caroline + Giancarlo

The “carl” element of all seven names above — Carl, Carlo, Carlos, Carly, Carolina, Caroline, and Giancarlo — can be traced back to the Germanic name Karl, which meant “freeman” (i.e., not a serf or slave).

Feminine forms of these names include Carla, Carlota, and Carlotta. Diminutive forms include Carlito and Carlitos.

Variant forms of Caroline include Carolyn, Carolynn, and Carolyne.

The name Carly is also sometimes spelled Carlee, Carley, Carleigh, Carlie, Carli, or Carlei.

Carmelo + Carmen

The name Carmelo was derived from the Marian title “Our Lady of Carmel.” The Biblical place-name Carmel means “garden” in Hebrew.

The name Carmen is a variant form of Carmel that was influenced by the Latin word carmen, meaning “song.”

Other forms of Carmelo include Carmela, Carmello, and Carmella. Carmel itself is also used as a name.

Carter

The name Carter comes from the English surname that originally referred to someone who’s occupation was transporting goods by cart or wagon.

Cartier

The name Cartier — which is closely associated with the French jewelry brand — comes from a French surname that has several possible derivations. In some cases, Cartier is synonymous with Carter (see above). In other cases, it refers to a location.

Carson + Carsyn

The name Carson comes from a Scottish surname of unknown derivation.

Variant spellings of the name include Carsyn, Carsen, Carsin and Carsynn.

Oscar

The origin of the name Oscar isn’t known for certain. If it comes from Old Irish, it’s made up of elements meaning “deer” and “friend.” (The second element, cara, is the same one the gave rise to the name Cara.) If it comes from Old English, on the other hand, it’s comprised of elements meaning “god” and “spear.”

Ricardo

The name Ricardo is made up of Germanic elements meaning “ruler” and “hardy.”

A variant form of the name is Riccardo. Feminine forms include Ricarda and Riccarda.

Scarlett, Scarlet + Scarlette

The name Scarlett comes from the English surname that originally referred to someone who was employed as the maker or seller of a bright (often red-colored) woolen cloth called scarlet.

It was put on the map by fictional character Scarlett O’Hara in the late 1930s.

The name is also sometimes spelled Scarlet (like the color itself), Scarlette, Scarlotte, or Scarlytt. Modern Hispanic variants include Scarleth, Escarlet, Escarlett, and Escarleth.

(Before we leave this section, I just wanted to note — for all my fellow lefties out there — that both Cara and Carter are typed entirely with the left hand on a standard QWERTY keyboard.)

More names with CAR

So, what other names have CAR in them? Here are some less-common choices. (Most of these come directly from the SSA’s baby name data.)

  • Aboubacar
  • Alcario
  • Alucard
  • Amilcar
  • Boubacar
  • Hamilcar
  • Carabella
  • Caradoc
  • Caraline, Caralina
  • Caralyn, Caralynn
  • Carbon
  • Cardale
  • Cardarius
  • Cardea
  • Cardel, Cardell
  • Cardelia
  • Cardella
  • Carden, Cardin, Cardon, Cardyn
  • Carder
  • Cardero
  • Cardi
  • Cardinal
  • Careem
  • Careen, Carreen
  • Carel, Carell, Carrel, Carrell
  • Careli
  • Caren, Carin, Caron, Caryn
  • Carena
  • Caressa, Caresa, Carressa
  • Caresse, Caress
  • Caretha
  • Caretta
  • Carice
  • Caricia
  • Caridad
  • Carilee
  • Carina, Careena
  • Carine, Carinne, Carrine
  • Cario
  • Carisma
  • Carissa, Carisa, Caryssa, Carrisa, Carrissa
  • Carita
  • Carlasia
  • Carlene, Carleen, Carlean
  • Carletha, Carlethia
  • Carlia, Carlea, Carleah, Carliya, Carliyah
  • Carlier
  • Carlin, Carlon
  • Carlina, Carlena, Carleena
  • Carline
  • Carlis, Carliss
  • Carlisa
  • Carlissa
  • Carlisle, Carlyle
  • Carlson
  • Carlton, Carleton
  • Carlynn, Carlyn
  • Carma
  • Carmani
  • Carmelia
  • Carmesha, Carmeshia
  • Carmi, Carmie
  • Carmilla
  • Carmin
  • Carmina
  • Carmine
  • Carmisha
  • Carmo
  • Carnation
  • Carnel, Carnell
  • Carnelia
  • Carnella
  • Carnetta
  • Carney, Carnie
  • Carnesha, Carneshia
  • Carnisha
  • Carnita
  • Carol, Carole, Carrol, Carroll, Caryl
  • Carola
  • Carolann, Carolanne
  • Carold
  • Caroldean, Caroldine
  • Carolee, Caralee
  • Caroleen, Carolene
  • Caroleena
  • Carolen, Carolena
  • Caroletta, Carolette
  • Carolin
  • Carolus
  • Carpenter
  • Carper
  • Carr
  • Carranza
  • Carrera
  • Carrick
  • Carriana, Carrianna, Carianna, Cariana
  • Carrie, Carri, Carey, Cary, Carie, Cari
  • Carrieann, Carrieanne, Carriann, Carrianne, Cariann, Carianne
  • Carrigan
  • Carrington
  • Carshena
  • Carsten, Carston
  • Cartavious
  • Cartez
  • Cartha
  • Carthel
  • Carti
  • Cartina
  • Cartisha
  • Cartrell
  • Caruso
  • Carvel, Carvell
  • Carver
  • Carvin
  • Carwyn, Carwin
  • Carys, Caris, Carris
  • Carzell
  • Encarna
  • Encarnación
  • Dacari
  • Decari
  • Giscard
  • Icarus
  • Jacari, Jhacari
  • Jocari
  • Licarayén
  • Lucario
  • Macarena
  • Macari
  • Macaria
  • Macario
  • Macarius
  • McArthur, MacArthur
  • McCartney
  • Policarpia
  • Policarpio
  • Tocara, Tocarra, Toccara, Toccarra
  • Zacarias
  • Zacariah, Zacaria
  • Zacari, Zacary
  • Zaccaria

Some of these names could be considered variants of the more popular CAR names, though it’s hard to tell. For instance, Caralynn — is it a form of Caroline? Is it Cara + Lynn? (Maybe a bit of both?) Others are non-traditional spellings of more common names, such as Karim, Karen, and Cornelia.

Which CAR name do you like most? Let me know in the comments!

Sources:

Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay

[Latest update: Aug. 2022]