Given name & surname · also Gaelic
Carter
“a transporter of merchandise”·“one who transports goods; one who drives a cart”
Carter is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “a transporter of merchandise” (English) and “one who transports goods; one who drives a cart” (English). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “a transporter of merchandise” (English) and “one who transports goods; one who drives a cart” (English). These may reflect different naming traditions.
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.
Carter through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 216,871
- 206,833 boys · 10,038 girls
- Most popular year
- 2015
- 11,395 babies
- 2025
- 6,703
- #45 for boys · #454 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −29%
- Easing
Boys, girls and both
The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 93% boys.
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 6,024 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 45 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 30.5% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 10,814 in 2015. It also appeared in 679 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (480). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 160,407 as a first name in 2020; 364,355 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.
Carter’s family of names
In English usage, Carter developed from the Irish form Mac Artúir. Carter has a related form in Cartier. Carter has a related form in Cartrell.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Carter has relatives in 6 languages. Lines run from its English roots to each of them.
Englishwhere Carter comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 13
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Kartervariant · English
- Cartiervariant
- Cartyrvariant
- Cartrellvariant
- Cartterlikely variant
- Carrterlikely variant
- Carterovávariant · Czech
- Cartrelvariant
Show 5 moreShow fewer
Across languages 4
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Carter
- Carter BurwellAmerican film composer (born 1954)
- Carter JenkinsAmerican actorborn 1991
- Carter GlassAmerican politician (1858–1946)
- Carter BraxtonAmerican politician (1736-1797), signer of the Declaration of Independence
- Carter G. WoodsonAmerican historian, writer, and journalist (1875–1950)
- Carter BaysAmerican television writer and producerborn 1975
- Carter DeHavenactor, director, writer (1886-1977)
- Carter HartCanadian ice hockey playerborn 1998
- Carter HuttonCanadian ice hockey playerborn 1985
Characters named Carter: Carter Pewterschmidt (the television series Family Guy), Hawkman (the DC-Universe (Carter Hall)).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Carter, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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