Carson
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Meaning
“Scottish surname of uncertain meaning”
The story
Carson began as a Scottish surname whose meaning remains uncertain. America knows its bearers well: the frontiersman Kit Carson, the novelist Carson McCullers, the late-night institution Johnny Carson. As a first name it idled at the low edge of the US records for a full century, began stirring in the 1970s, and took off through the 1990s and 2000s, right as surname names became the reigning American fashion and a young Carson Daly was on television every afternoon; the timing invites a guess, though nobody can prove it. The peak came in the 2010s, and the name has given back only a little since. It wears well in both directions, literary if you lean one way and outdoorsy the other, and it is comfortable anywhere between.
How popular is Carson around the world?
In the United States, 21,477 babies were named Carson between 2020 and 2025. In Scotland, 57 boys named Carson were registered in 2024, the 91st most common name among boys that year.
Carson is on the official records of the United States, Scotland, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, England and Wales, South Australia and Brazil.
United States
1 in 1,000
In the United States, 21,477 babies were named Carson between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Carson peaked in the 2010s. Carson went to 4,939 US babies in 2015 and 3,080 in 2025, 62% of the earlier figure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Scotland
1 in 800
In Scotland, 57 boys named Carson were registered in 2024, the 91st most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
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
Canada
1 in 2,000
In Canada, 174 boys named Carson were born in 2024, the 198th most common name among boys that year.
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)
New Zealand
1 in 3,400
In New Zealand, 17 boys named Carson were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Ireland
1 in 3,600
In Ireland, 15 boys named Carson were born in 2025, the 286th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
England and Wales
1 in 5,800
In England and Wales, 101 boys named Carson were born in 2025, the 401st most common name among boys that year.
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
South Australia
1 in 18,0002017
In South Australia, 1 boy was registered as Carson in 2017.
The count never rose above 2 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
Brazil
1 in 1M
At the 2022 census, 108 people in Brazil were named Carson, ranked 39,099th, with a median age of 36.
Among people named Carson living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1980s 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
Austria
last on record 2015
Carson is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Mexico City City
last on record 2016
Carson is not on the 2022 record for Mexico City, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Not on the record in Spain, Argentina, Puerto Rico 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 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 Carson
Most people given the name Carson in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
Names like Carson · Names that go with Carson · Middle names for Carson · Pen names and the names writers chose · Climbers and fallers
The Carson deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Carson 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 Carson fits with your family’s names and surname.
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