Carlin
Masculine · “descendant of Cearbhallan”
Carlin is given to both — 2,626 boys and 1,939 girls since 1880. See Carlin as a girl nameSee other names given to both
In Scots a carlin is an old woman or a witch, and the word is the feminine of carl, a common man; the same carl gives Carlos, Charles and Charlemagne. Carlin the Irish surname is unrelated to any of that, and the two have been sharing a spelling for centuries.
How old is the name Carlin?
Carlin first appears in US birth records in 1905 — 120 years ago. The typical Carlin alive today was born around 1990, making them about 35 years old. About 2,100 people named Carlin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Carlin most popular?
Carlin peaked in 1905, reaching #1233 nationally. Today it ranks #6446, 5,213 places below that high. See the whole 1905 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Cearbhall to Carlin
The story of Carlin
Cearbhall was a common early Irish name, and the family O Cearbhallain produced the blind harper Turlough O'Carolan, the most celebrated Irish composer of the eighteenth century. The surname anglicized as Carolan, Carlin and Carland. Meanwhile Germanic karl, which originally meant a free man of the lowest rank, gave rise to Charles at the top of European naming and to churl at the bottom of English vocabulary, and to the Scots carlin along the way. Carlin as an American given name follows the surname route, and its best year in United States records is 1905.
Meaningscholars disagree
descendant of Cearbhallan, or a diminutive of Carl
The Irish surname O Cearbhallain descends from Cearbhall, a name usually read as valorous or connected to a word for hacking in battle, and gives Carolan and Carlin. Separately, Carlin exists as a diminutive of the Germanic Carl, from karl, a free man or common man. A third and quite separate word, Scots carlin, means an old woman or witch and is the feminine of the same karl.
How the name formed
- Cearbhall
- O Cearbhallain
- Carolan
- Carlin
Related forms: O Cearbhallain · Carolan · Karlein
Pronouncing Carlin
KAR-lin
Two syllables with the stress on the first and the second reduced. The Irish original is closer to kar-uh-LAWN, which the anglicization has flattened considerably.
Nicknames for Carlin
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1905
- Most boys named
- 199350 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1233reached in 1905
- Change vs 2023
- −7.1%13 in 2025, from 14
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Carlin in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- O Cearbhallain in Irish — related form
- Carolan in English — spelling variant
- Karlein in German — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Pennsylvania.
Carlins among us
people named Carlin are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 131,390 born in 2025 was named Carlin
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Carlin
- #6446
- Carlin on the 2025 chart
- #908
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Carlin went to 13 boys in 2025, but Karlin is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 20, which makes it the 908th most-given boys’ name of the year — 5,538 places above the chart.
- Carlin13
- Karlin7
About 1 boy in 85,404 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 131,390 for Carlin itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Carlin sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Carlin beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Carlin in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A documented Irish surname with a famous composer behind it.
- Carl is available as a complete and long-established everyday form.
- Six letters, two syllables, and no spelling difficulty.
- In Scots the word means an old woman or a witch.
- Carlin, Carlyn and Carolan all circulate and get confused.
- A well-known American comedian shares the surname, which is the association many will have.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Carlin to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Carlin? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Carlin
Masculine · #6446 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Carlins are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,100 people named Carlin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Carlin?
- Carlin is the most-used spelling in US records — 13 of the 20 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Karlin.
- How popular is the name Carlin in 2025?
- Carlin ranks #6446 among US boy names in 2025, with 13 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Carlin?
- About 1 in every 131,390 US boys born in 2025 was named Carlin — 13 in all.
- Will my child share the name Carlin with classmates?
- Carlin will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Carlin
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Rollie#6446 · Billie#6446 · Worth#6446 · Blas#6446 · Starling#6446 · Alvis#6446 · Elwyn#6446 · Rollin#6446
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Carlin? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Carlin and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle