Given name & surname
Carlton
“from the free man's town”
Carlton is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “from the free man's town.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “from the free man's town.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
How it developed
It entered given-name use through an existing surname.
The story
Its naming history includes the use of a family name as a given name.
Carlton through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 49,167
- 48,890 boys · 277 girls
- Most popular year
- 1957
- 962 babies
- 2025
- 43
- #2,893 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −34%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 43 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 2,893 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 34.2% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 955 in 1957. In 2025, Georgia had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (5). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 27,700 as a first name in 2020; 20,083 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.
Carlton’s family of names
In English usage, Carlton as a surname shares an earlier linguistic root with Charlton. Carlton has a related form in Carleton. Carlton has a related form in Carsten.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 12
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Carstenvariant
- Carletonvariant · English
- Carstonvariant
- Carlltonlikely variant
- Carrltonlikely variant
- Carletenvariant
- Carltenvariant
- Carletunvariant
Show 4 moreShow fewer
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Carlton
- Carlton ColeEnglish footballer (born 1983)
- Carlton CuseAmerican television producer and screenwriter (born 1959)
- Carlton PalmerEnglish association football player and manager (born 1965)
- Carlton MyersItalian-British basketball playerborn 1971
- Carl AndersonAmerican singer, film and theatre actor (1945–2004)
- Carl DouglasJamaican singerborn 1942
- Carlton ChambersCanadian sprinterborn 1975
- Carlton FiskAmerican baseball playerborn 1947
- Carlton MorrisEnglish association football player (born 1995)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Carlton, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Ken
“born of fire” · “handsome, fair one”
>99% boys
Stanton
“from the stone town”
>99% boys
Kelvin
“a friend of ships; a man of the river”
>99% boys
Ron
“song of Joy”
>99% boys
Daron
“the great one” · “from a small rocky hill”
>99% boys
Kemp
“the champion”
>99% boys
Nelson
“the son of Neil; the son of a champion”
99% boys · 1% girls
Derwin
“a friend of the deer; a gifted friend”
>99% boys