Carlson
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- KARL-sun
- Origin
- Scandinavian
- US rank, 2025
- #12,003 for boys
Carlson is a boys' name of Scandinavian origin, meaning “son of Carl”. In 2025 it ranked 12,003rd for boys in the US (5 babies).
What does Carlson mean?
Scandinavian: Swedish surname
“son of Carl”
A Swedish-American surname; Carl comes from a Germanic word for a free man.
Is Carlson a girl's or a boy's name?
Carlson is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 5 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Carlson in the UK?
No boys in the UK were given it in 2025, or too few to be listed. Its busiest year was 2007, with 6 boys.
Carlson in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 5 | #3,772 |
| 2023 | 0 | – |
| 2022 | 0 | – |
| 2021 | 0 | – |
| 2020 | 0 | – |
| 2019 | 4 | #4,126 |
| 2018 | 5 | #3,596 |
| 2017 | 3 | #4,995 |
| 2016 | 5 | #3,655 |
| 2015 | 0 | – |
| 2014 | 0 | – |
| 2013 | 3 | #4,884 |
| 2012 | 0 | – |
| 2011 | 0 | – |
| 2010 | 0 | – |
| 2009 | 0 | – |
| 2008 | 0 | – |
| 2007 | 6 | #2,873 |
How popular is Carlson in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 12,003rd among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 5 about 1 in 340,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Too rare to call too few babies to tell
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 5 boys in the US were named Carlson, making it the 12,003rd most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 8,734th. Its busiest year was 2016, with 19 boys. It first appears in the records in 1920.
Half of all the boys named Carlson in the US since 1880 were born between 1958 and 2009, the years shaded on the chart below.
Carlson in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 5 | #12,003 |
| 2024 | 14 | #6,194 |
| 2023 | 12 | #6,892 |
| 2022 | 0 | – |
| 2021 | 12 | #6,693 |
| 2020 | 8 | #8,734 |
| 2019 | 13 | #6,401 |
| 2018 | 11 | #7,132 |
| 2017 | 18 | #5,107 |
| 2016 | 19 | #4,941 |
| 2015 | 17 | #5,285 |
| 2014 | 15 | #5,729 |
| 2013 | 10 | #7,532 |
| 2012 | 9 | #8,152 |
| 2011 | 12 | #6,572 |
| 2010 | 9 | #8,133 |
| 2009 | 8 | #8,980 |
| 2008 | 11 | #7,182 |
| 2007 | 9 | #8,169 |
| 2006 | 14 | #5,777 |
| 2005 | 12 | #6,220 |
| 2004 | 13 | #5,807 |
| 2003 | 10 | #6,708 |
| 2002 | 13 | #5,388 |
| 2001 | 12 | #5,660 |
| 2000 | 15 | #4,779 |
| 1999 | 6 | #8,697 |
| 1998 | 15 | #4,409 |
| 1997 | 7 | #7,275 |
| 1996 | 6 | #7,964 |
| 1995 | 11 | #5,118 |
| 1994 | 8 | #6,366 |
| 1993 | 8 | #6,221 |
| 1992 | 11 | #4,864 |
| 1991 | 10 | #5,088 |
| 1990 | 10 | #4,986 |
| 1989 | 8 | #5,608 |
| 1988 | 11 | #4,157 |
| 1987 | 7 | #5,453 |
| 1986 | 5 | #6,715 |
| 1985 | 5 | #6,517 |
| 1984 | 6 | #5,557 |
| 1983 | 7 | #4,904 |
| 1982 | 0 | – |
| 1981 | 5 | #6,260 |
| 1980 | 0 | – |
| 1979 | 0 | – |
| 1978 | 0 | – |
| 1977 | 0 | – |
| 1976 | 0 | – |
| 1975 | 6 | #4,795 |
| 1974 | 15 | #2,547 |
| 1973 | 7 | #4,052 |
| 1972 | 6 | #4,438 |
| 1971 | 6 | #4,373 |
| 1970 | 7 | #3,834 |
| 1969 | 7 | #3,594 |
| 1968 | 7 | #3,364 |
| 1967 | 5 | #3,964 |
| 1966 | 0 | – |
| 1965 | 5 | #3,928 |
| 1964 | 0 | – |
| 1963 | 8 | #3,043 |
| 1962 | 0 | – |
| 1961 | 8 | #3,095 |
| 1960 | 13 | #2,313 |
| 1959 | 13 | #2,294 |
| 1958 | 5 | #3,942 |
| 1957 | 8 | #3,022 |
| 1956 | 5 | #3,940 |
| 1955 | 7 | #3,199 |
| 1954 | 12 | #2,315 |
| 1953 | 7 | #3,142 |
| 1952 | 10 | #2,512 |
| 1951 | 5 | #3,712 |
| 1950 | 0 | – |
| 1949 | 9 | #2,605 |
| 1948 | 9 | #2,607 |
| 1947 | 7 | #3,095 |
| 1946 | 6 | #3,171 |
| 1945 | 5 | #3,337 |
| 1944 | 10 | #2,308 |
| 1943 | 11 | #2,276 |
| 1942 | 0 | – |
| 1941 | 7 | #2,871 |
| 1940 | 0 | – |
| 1939 | 7 | #2,829 |
| 1938 | 8 | #2,646 |
| 1937 | 0 | – |
| 1936 | 8 | #2,628 |
| 1935 | 0 | – |
| 1934 | 0 | – |
| 1933 | 0 | – |
| 1932 | 0 | – |
| 1931 | 0 | – |
| 1930 | 0 | – |
| 1929 | 8 | #2,978 |
| 1928 | 6 | #3,695 |
| 1927 | 0 | – |
| 1926 | 5 | #4,199 |
| 1925 | 0 | – |
| 1924 | 6 | #3,865 |
| 1923 | 0 | – |
| 1922 | 0 | – |
| 1921 | 6 | #3,867 |
| 1920 | 10 | #2,764 |
Names like Carlson
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Jenson, Hudson, Mason, Grayson, Jaxon, Carson, Harrison, Caleb, Carter, Austin, Noah, Vinnie
More Scandinavian names
Kaia, Jensen, Maren, Gustavo, Anders, Stellan, Iverson, Kari, Kaja, Larson, Olsen, Nea, Ronya, Jensyn, Soley, Loa
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Carlson: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/carlson, updated 20 October 2026.