Boy · Old English
Carlton
Say it: KARL-tun
Meaning
From an English place name and surname, Old English ceorl 'free peasant' + tun 'settlement'.
Certainscholars agree on this meaning.
Used as an American given name from the late 19th century.
Its wave through time
Fading since the 1930s
In the United States
- 48,933 babies given this name since 1880
- At its height in 1937, about 1 in 1,900 boys
- 60 babies in 2020
Through the ages
Used by
The family of the name
Other spellings: Carleton
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.