Nameling

Carmen

Gender
Girl
Say it
KAR-men
Origin
Hebrew
UK rank, 2025
#801 for girls
US rank, 2025
#389 for girls

Carmen is a girls' name of Hebrew origin, meaning “garden, orchard”. In 2025 it ranked 801st for girls in the UK (49 babies) and 389th for girls in the US (798 babies).

What does Carmen mean?

Hebrew: Spanish form of Carmel, via Our Lady of Mount Carmel

“garden, orchard”

Made famous by Bizet's 1875 opera Carmen, based on a novella by Prosper Mérimée.

More on Wiktionary.

Is Carmen a girl's or a boy's name?

Carmen is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 49 girls and 13 boys in the UK and 798 girls and 104 boys in the US.

How popular is Carmen in the UK?

Rank in 2025
#801among girls
Babies in 2025
49about 1 in 5,700 girls
Five-year trend
Steadydown 22% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1%chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 49 girls in the UK were named Carmen, making it the 801st most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 776th. Its busiest year was 2004, with 146 girls. 13 boys were also named Carmen in 2025 (1,964th for boys).

Half of all the girls named Carmen in the UK since 1996 were born between 2003 and 2014. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier girls aren't counted.

In 2025, 54 girls in the UK were given Carmen or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #688, up from #801 for this spelling alone.

In 2025, 79% of the babies named Carmen in the UK were girls.

Among girls in 2025, it was 792nd in England and Wales and 780th in Scotland.

1996Busiest: 146 in 20042025
Carmen in the UK, year by year
YearGirlsRank
202549#801
202454#749
202350#781
202241#920
202156#734
202052#776
201972#609
201871#631
201763#710
201664#707
201585#551
201483#562
201391#512
2012136#385
2011116#429
2010101#467
2009126#386
2008130#380
2007136#355
2006129#364
2005126#353
2004146#316
2003126#330
2002116#338
200189#400
200087#409
1999112#331
199880#432
199787#418
199670#465

How popular is Carmen in the US?

Rank in 2025
#389among girls
Babies in 2025
798about 1 in 2,000 girls
Five-year trend
Steadyup 4% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1%chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 798 girls in the US were named Carmen, making it the 389th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 433rd. Its busiest year was 1960, with 2,440 girls. It first appears in the records in 1881. 104 boys were also named Carmen in 2025 (1,621st for boys).

It has been given to more girls each year for the last 3 years. 2025 had more girls named Carmen than any year since 2016.

Half of all the girls named Carmen in the US since 1880 were born between 1951 and 1990, the years shaded on the chart below.

In 2025, 1,016 girls in the US were given Carmen or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #330, up from #389 for this spelling alone.

In 2025, 88% of the babies named Carmen in the US were girls.

1881Busiest: 2,440 in 19602025
Carmen in the US, year by year
YearGirlsRank
2025798#389
2024751#417
2023712#435
2022696#453
2021716#437
2020708#433
2019743#428
2018733#431
2017776#409
2016830#400
2015859#380
2014855#383
2013881#358
2012943#332
2011919#349
20101,017#314
20091,106#301
20081,312#262
20071,244#275
20061,284#257
20051,227#268
20041,363#239
20031,291#254
20021,020#306
20011,175#267
20001,195#270
19991,139#276
19981,121#278
19971,012#284
1996869#322
19951,004#272
19941,167#239
19931,092#254
19921,205#228
19911,235#230
19901,314#218
19891,187#231
19881,170#224
19871,151#234
19861,199#221
19851,168#224
19841,299#204
19831,228#206
19821,315#207
19811,446#188
19801,461#183
19791,609#172
19781,428#182
19771,630#166
19761,616#159
19751,775#151
19741,749#157
19731,757#156
19721,968#144
19712,139#153
19702,202#152
19692,200#149
19682,270#141
19672,173#157
19662,122#163
19652,148#165
19642,376#164
19632,347#168
19622,411#170
19612,401#169
19602,440#167
19592,215#174
19582,120#177
19572,218#172
19562,207#166
19552,048#169
19541,785#184
19531,725#185
19521,608#184
19511,567#184
19501,460#186
19491,455#189
19481,309#204
19471,237#212
19461,071#218
1945872#218
1944942#210
19431,036#204
1942991#206
1941956#195
1940823#211
1939776#214
1938793#213
1937775#216
1936847#199
1935830#206
1934852#208
1933832#208
1932886#205
1931934#196
19301,044#184
19291,066#187
19281,017#199
19271,019#199
1926956#202
1925939#209
1924942#207
1923925#209
1922783#231
1921776#234
1920757#237
1919632#255
1918637#254
1917559#264
1916508#270
1915483#267
1914374#269
1913300#269
1912231#297
1911199#273
1910181#288
1909157#287
1908122#321
1907125#311
1906135#286
190589#354
190480#365
190390#326
190275#368
190176#349
190091#352
189938#476
189863#390
189753#397
189648#417
189529#547
189449#399
189339#433
189241#413
189131#457
189028#491
188927#475
188826#486
188712#661
188616#556
188524#428
188414#556
18838#692
18827#740
18817#679

Names like Carmen

Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.

Molly Erin Ffion Cara Leah Maria Connie Charlotte Jessica Anna Holly Eden

Other spellings of Carmen

Karmen Karmyn Carmyn Karmin Carmin Karman

Names related to Carmen

Carman Carmina Carmon

More Hebrew names

Noah Isabella Elijah James Jack Mia Ava Jude Ezra Benjamin Isaac Jacob Ethan Daniel Samuel Elias

Every Hebrew name

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, “Carmen: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/carmen, updated 20 October 2026.