Carli
Torn between Carli and another name? Compare them side by side →
Meaning
variant of Carly, feminine form of Carl (Germanic karl, 'man'); famously borne by Carli Lloyd
The story
Carli is a bright respelling of Carly, the feminine line of Carl, from the Germanic karl, a plain word for man. The spelling is younger than the name itself: it surfaces in American records only in the 1970s and has stayed uncommon ever since, a quiet presence rather than a fashion. What fame it has, it owes largely to one competitor: Carli Lloyd, the American midfielder who scored the gold-medal-winning goals in two straight Olympic finals, then produced one of the World Cup's unforgettable performances in 2015, a hat trick in the final's opening sixteen minutes that ended with a strike launched from midfield. She was twice named the world's best player. The name remains uncommon in the records, easy to say and seldom met twice, and it carries one of the great big-game legacies in American sports.
How popular is Carli around the world?
In the United States, 419 babies were named Carli between 2020 and 2025.
Carli is on the official records of the United States and Brazil.
United States
1 in 52,000
In the United States, 419 babies were named Carli between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Carli peaked in the 1980s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Brazil
1 in 250,000
At the 2022 census, 711 people in Brazil were named Carli, ranked 10,478th, with a median age of 53.
Among people named Carli living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1960s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Canada
last on record 2016
Carli is not on the 2024 record for Canada, where names under 5 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
England and Wales
last on record 2013
Carli is not on the 2025 record for England and Wales, where spellings under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Scotland
last on record 2012
Carli is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
South Australia
last on record 2006
Carli is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Ireland, New Zealand and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Austria record for 1984 to 2025: Statistik Austria publishes every first name down to a single birth, so this name was not given there in those years (before 2010 the record covers babies with Austrian citizenship only). Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Carli
Most people given the name Carli in the United States were born between 1990 and 2009. The Carli you meet today is most often in her 20s or 30s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Carli deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Carli 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 Carli fits with your family’s names and surname.
Does Carli fit YOUR family?
nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.
Add Carli to your family’s tree →