Given name & surname
Cari
“from the river”·“from the fort on the hill”·“having dark features”
Cari is a variant of Cary. Interpretations include “from the river”, “from the fort on the hill”, and “having dark features”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Cari is a variant of Cary. Interpretations include “from the river”, “from the fort on the hill”, and “having dark features”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1941. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Cari through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 12,870
- 113 boys · 12,757 girls
- Most popular year
- 1976
- 541 babies
- 2025
- 16
- #9,580 for girls · #10,901 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +2%
- Steady
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 10 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 9,580 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 3.9% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 541 in 1976. It also appeared in 6 birth records for boys in 2025. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 12,068 as a first name in 2020; 217 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Cari
- Cari ReadCanadian synchronized swimmerborn 1970
- Cari ChampionAmerican television hostborn 1975
- Cari RoccaroAmerican soccer playerborn 1994
- Cari TunaAmerican philanthropist (born 1985)
- Cari HigginsAmerican cyclistborn 1976
- Cari BeauchampAmerican film historian1949–2023
- Cari LekebuschSwedish DJ and music producerborn 1972
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Cari, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Kiri
“resembling the amaranth flower” · “resembling the mountains”
4% boys · 96% girls
Spring
“refers to the season; born in spring”
>99% girls
Marni
“woman of the sea”
>99% girls
Adria
“man from Hadria” · “a man from Hadria”
>99% girls
Marya
“star of the sea” · “from the sea of bitterness”
>99% girls
Starla
“a celestial body” · “a celestial body; as bright as a star”
>99% girls
Adrianne
“man from Hadria” · “a man from Hadria”
>99% girls
Holli
“of the holly tree” · “near the valley of the holly bushes”
>99% girls