Carla
Meaning
feminine form of Carlo (Germanic karl, 'man')
Carla around the world
One shared root links 24 names across 7 languages.
Shared root: from Germanic karl "man", Latinized as Carolus and spread everywhere by Charlemagne's fame
The constellation
16 more branches of this family
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Carla peaked in the 1950s and the 1970s in nearly equal measure.
Popularity in Brazil
303,790 people · the #97 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 668 · median age 35
Among people named Carla living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1980s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 2,688 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Carla
People given the name Carla in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1950 to 1989. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Carla deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Carla truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Carla fits with your family’s names and surname.
Where Carla travels
Italian Argentine · feminine of Carlo (Germanic karl, 'man'); short, warm, identical across Italian and Spanish, a fixture of Argentina's mid-century classrooms
Catalan · Catalan and Italian feminine form of Carlo/Carles (Germanic karl, 'man'); a long-running favorite across Catalonia
Keep exploring
Catalan baby names · Italian Argentine baby names · Italian baby names
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