Carley is a girl name with a modern feel, drawn from real birth records. Below you'll find what Carley means and where it comes from, plus how many babies have been named Carley across the United States, UK, Ireland and New Zealand, how popular Carley has been over the decades, and the year it peaked.
Carley is a girl name of Germanic origin meaning “free woman”. A feminine variant of Carly, from Charles.
| Country | Births on record |
|---|---|
| United States since 1880 | 17,328 births |
| England & Wales since 1996 | 389 births |
| Scotland since 1974 | 89 births |
| Northern Ireland since 1997 | 3 births |
| Ireland since 1964 | 100 births |
Counts come from official national birth-registration statistics: U.S. Social Security Administration, England & Wales (Office for National Statistics), Scotland (National Records of Scotland), Northern Ireland (NISRA), Ireland (Central Statistics Office) and New Zealand (Dept. of Internal Affairs). Coverage spans differ, so totals aren't directly comparable across countries.
Babies named Carley per year, United States (1912 to 2025). United States peaked in 1998 (718/yr) · England & Wales peaked in 1998 (45/yr) · Scotland peaked in 1996 (9/yr) · Ireland peaked in 2008 (8/yr) · Northern Ireland peaked in 2002 (3/yr).
Carley has been a fairly common baby name in the United States. It was most common in 1998, when it ranked #743 nationally (given to 763 babies that year).
Carol · Carole · Carl · Carla · Carly · Karl · Karla · Carrol
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