NameRealm
Carter

Carter: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning
“cart driver”
Origin
English
Say it
KAR-ter · 2 syllables
Used for
Boys (95% of all uses)

Occupational surname turned given name, from Middle English carter. It originally referred to someone who transported goods by cart.

English namesAmerican namesSurname-style namesModern names

How popular is Carter?

20242,064 per million US babies
1880192019602000
Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Babies named Carter in 20246,871

2024 rank#46 boys

Peak year2015

Total US babies since 1880210,119

Carter has been fairly stable over the last fifteen years.

Names like Carter

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

  • Kartercarter, transporter of goods · English
  • JackGod is gracious · English
  • Hudsonson of Hudd · English
  • Jacksonson of Jack · English
  • Wyattbrave in war · English
  • Maverickindependent person · English
  • Masonstoneworker · English
  • Graysonson of the steward · English

Carter questions

What does the name Carter mean?

Carter means "cart driver". It comes from English. Occupational surname turned given name, from Middle English carter. It originally referred to someone who transported goods by cart.

Is Carter a boy or girl name?

Carter is mainly a boy's name in US records (96% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Carter?

6,871 US babies were named Carter in 2024. Its peak year was 2015.

How do you pronounce Carter?

Carter is usually pronounced KAR-ter.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.