Given name & surname
Carlson
“the son of Carl”
Carlson is a variant of Carlsen. One Scandinavian interpretation is “the son of Carl.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Carlson is a variant of Carlsen. One Scandinavian interpretation is “the son of Carl.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Carlson is a variant of Carlsen. An origin associated with Carlsen is Scandinavian.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
From Danish and Norwegian Carlsen, built from English Carl + -son.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1920. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Carlson through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 747
- 747 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2016
- 19 babies
- 2025
- 5
- #12,360 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −38%
- Cooling
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 5 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 12,360 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for boys was 19 in 2016. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 840 as a first name in 2020; 115,532 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.
Carlson’s family of names
In English usage, Carlson as a surname shares an earlier linguistic root with KARLSSON. Carlson has a related form in Carlsen. In English usage, Carlson as a surname has a related form in Carlsen.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Carlson
- Carlson YoungAmerican actress and directorborn 1990
- Carlson GracieOne of the Gracie Family champions and first MMA trainer.1932–2006
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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If you love Carlson, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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