Names like Carter

In 2025, 6,024 boys born in the US were named Carter, #45 among boys' names.

It was in the top 1,000 as early as 1881, dropped out, and has been back every year since 1980.

Its best rank was #24, in 3 of the years from 2015 to 2018.

The most births in one year were 10,814, in 2015.

Births fell 44% from 10,814 in 2015.

For 1 of the 12 names below, the current unbroken run in the top 1,000 began in 1975 or later (Carter's began in 1980).

Carter's rank every ten years

1. 1880
   —
2. 1890
   #692
3. 1900
   #398
4. 1910
   #540
5. 1920
   #618
6. 1930
   #785
7. 1940
   #618
8. 1950
   #509
9. 1960
   #652
10. 1970
    #645
11. 1980
    #906
12. 1990
    #544
13. 2000
    #152
14. 2010
    #48
15. 2020
    #33
16. 2025
    #45

— outside the top 1,000

12 boy names with a similar curve

How this list was made

We compared Carter's rank in every year from 1880 to 2025 with every other boy's name in the 2025 top 1,000 (US Social Security birth records); the closest curves come first. Years outside the top 1,000 count the same however far outside, years since 1995 count four times as much, and each name appears in one spelling.