Carbon
Carbon is a chemical element; it has symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent—meaning that its atoms are able to form up to four covalent bonds due to its valence shell exhibiting 4 electrons. It belongs to group 14 of the periodic table. Carbon makes up about 0.025 percent of Earth's crust.
Meaning & Origin of Carbon
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Carbon is a chemical element; it has symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent—meaning that its atoms are able to form up to four covalent bonds due to its valence shell exhibiting 4 electrons. It belongs to group 14 of the periodic table. Carbon makes up about 0.025 percent of Earth's crust.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
The Story of Carbon
The earliest SSA record of Carbon as a baby boy name dates back to 2009, when 5 babies received it. 2020 was its biggest year on record, with 15 newborns named Carbon — #5,697 in the national rankings. About 58% of every Carbon on record arrived during the 2010s, its defining decade. Carbon last appeared in the published SSA data in 2024, with 7 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 76 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 2000s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Names that sound like Carbon
Phonetically similar names — useful when Carbon is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Carbon
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About the name Carbon
Carbon is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 2009 and has accumulated 76 births in the dataset. Carbon's peak popularity came in 2020 when it ranked #5,697. Use the chart and map above to compare Carbon's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 2020 →
- Names of the 2020s →
- Names starting with "C" →
- Browse all boy names →
- Top names of 2026 →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.