Carly is a girl name with a modern feel, drawn from real birth records. Below you'll find what Carly means and where it comes from, plus how many babies have been named Carly across the United States, UK, Ireland and New Zealand, how popular Carly has been over the decades, and the year it peaked.
Carly is a girl name of Germanic origin meaning “free woman”. A feminine pet form of Carl or Charles.
| Country | Births on record |
|---|---|
| United States since 1880 | 66,626 births |
| England & Wales since 1996 | 2,511 births |
| Scotland since 1974 | 2,253 births |
| Northern Ireland since 1997 | 239 births |
| Ireland since 1964 | 607 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 Carly per year, United States (1951 to 2025). United States peaked in 1995 (2,585/yr) · England & Wales peaked in 1996 (235/yr) · Scotland peaked in 1990 (97/yr) · Ireland peaked in 2010 (34/yr) · Northern Ireland peaked in 2009 (19/yr).
Carly has been a fairly common baby name in the United States. It was most common in 1995, when it ranked #258 nationally (given to 2,667 babies that year).
Carol · Carole · Carl · Carla · Karl · Karla · Carroll · Carrol
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