Carmen is a girl name with a classic feel, drawn from real birth records. Below you'll find what Carmen means and where it comes from, plus how many babies have been named Carmen across the United States, UK, Ireland and New Zealand, how popular Carmen has been over the decades, and the year it peaked.
Carmen is a girl name of Latin origin meaning “song”. also linked to a Spanish title of the Virgin Mary.
| Country | Births on record |
|---|---|
| United States since 1880 | 159,756 births |
| England & Wales since 1996 | 2,282 births |
| Scotland since 1974 | 572 births |
| Northern Ireland since 1997 | 17 births |
| Ireland since 1964 | 137 births |
| New Zealand top 100, since 1954 | 233 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 Carmen per year, United States (1881 to 2025). United States peaked in 1961 (2,622/yr) · England & Wales peaked in 2004 (126/yr) · Scotland peaked in 2003 (24/yr) · Ireland peaked in 2016 (11/yr) · Northern Ireland peaked in 2009 (4/yr).
Carmen has been a fairly common baby name in the United States. It was most common in 1961, when it ranked #296 nationally (given to 2,622 babies that year).
German · Carmine · Carmon · Karmen · Carman · Gorman · Karmyn · Carmino
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