Carson

What Carson means

Means “rock”

Could originate from the Gaelic name "Carr" or "Carra", meaning "rock" or "fort," combined with "son", thus "son of Carr.".

Source: Wiktionary, “Carson” (revision 93487027), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Carson?

US: Falling: down from #89 in 2015. England & Wales: Steady: #383 in 2015, #401 now.

Biggest US share so far: 2018, when 5,259 boys got the name (#70 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 592 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 2,692 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 401 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in WV (5.85 per 1,000 boys), NH (5.55 per 1,000 boys), VT (4.95 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Carson is #124 in the US and #401 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 93.6% of US babies named Carson were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Karson690 US · 30 E&W
• Karsyn168 US
• Karsen81 US
• Carsen65 US · 3 E&W
• Carsyn61 US
• Karsin7 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Carson

Boys

• Jackson#36Editor’s note Down from #17 in 2015 to #36 in 2025 in the US. About 1 in 260 US boys in the 2025 records
• Brayden#229Variant of Braden, meaning “descendant of Bradán”^*
• Rohan#810“to ascend”^*
• Carter#45“son of Arthur”^*
• Camden#205“enclosure + valley”^*
• Finnegan#526“descendant of Fionnagán”^*

For a sister

• Rylee#137Variant of Riley, meaning “rye + clearing, meadow”^*
• Riley#48“rye + clearing, meadow”^*
• Reagan#248“descendant of Riagán”^*
• Macie#438Editor’s note Down from #415 in 2015 to #438 in 2025 in the US
• Reese#192“ardor”^*
• Rylie#476Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #476 vs #1,454 in 2025

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under From a surname, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Carson’s. Rank is US 2025.