Given name & surname
Carver
“one who carves wood”
Carver is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “one who carves wood.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “one who carves wood.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
How it developed
From Middle English Carver, from Middle English carver.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1912. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Carver through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 3,263
- 3,161 boys · 102 girls
- Most popular year
- 2018
- 153 babies
- 2025
- 133
- #1,499 for boys · #6,899 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −6%
- Steady
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 117 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,499 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 7.2% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 143 in 2018. It also appeared in 16 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, Iowa had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (15). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 2,254 as a first name in 2020; 30,640 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.
Carver’s family of names
Carver has a related form in Carvar. Carver has a related form in Carvir. Carver has a related form in Carvor.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 5
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 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Carver
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Carver, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Carter
“a transporter of merchandise” · “one who transports goods; one who drives a cart”
93% boys · 7% girls
Colter
“a horse herdsman”
>99% boys
Keoni
“God is gracious”
87% boys · 13% girls
Cooper
“one who makes barrels”
98% boys · 2% girls
King
“the royal ruler”
>99% boys
Colt
“a young horse; from the coal town”
>99% boys
Tucker
“one who makes garments”
99% boys · 1% girls
Walker
“walker of the forests” · “one who trods the cloth”
97% boys · 3% girls