ESC Name Rank Total Searching... No names found Try searching for: Emma, Liam, Olivia, Noah... 👦As Boy Name 1945 First Year 2000 Last Year 1946 Peak Year #2919 Peak Rank 40 Total Count 7 Years Active 👧As Girl Name 1951 First Year 1973 Last Year 1951 Peak Year #5415 Peak Rank 25 Total Count 5 Years Active 🌍 ## Meaning & Origin of Carlan What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures. Elena Daniela Cîrlan, known as Daniela Cîrlan, is a female long-distance runner and former race walker from Romania. Source: [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniela%5FC%C3%AErlan) (CC BY-SA 3.0). [Read more → ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniela%5FC%C3%AErlan) [![Wikipedia thumbnail for Carlan](https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/46/Daniela_C%C3%A2rlan_Rio2016.jpg/330px-Daniela_C%C3%A2rlan_Rio2016.jpg?utm_source=en.wikipedia.org&utm_campaign=api&utm_content=thumbnail)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniela%5FC%C3%AErlan) 📖 ## The Story of Carlan ### As a girl name Carlan first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a girl name in 1951, with 5 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 1951: 5 births, good for #5,415 nationwide. About 40% of every Carlan on record arrived during the 1950s, its defining decade. Carlan last appeared in the published SSA data in 1973, with 5 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 25 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1950s to the 2020s. ### As a boy name The earliest SSA record of Carlan as a boy name dates back to 1945, when 6 babies received it. 1946 was its biggest year on record, with 7 newborns named Carlan — #2,919 in the national rankings. About 45% of every Carlan on record arrived during the 1940s, its defining decade. Carlan last appeared in the published SSA data in 2000, with 5 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 40 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1940s to the 2020s. ## Popularity Over Time Girls Boys ## Popularity by State 👧 Girls 👦 Boys ME WA MT ND MN WI MI NY VT NH MA OR ID SD IA IL IN OH PA NJ CT RI CA NV WY NE MO KY WV VA MD DE DC UT CO KS AR TN NC SC AK AZ NM OK LA MS AL GA HI TX FL Top 10 11-50 51-100 101-500 500+ No data 🎶 ## Names that sound like Carlan Phonetically similar names — useful when Carlan is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name. * [Carlen](/carlen) * [Carlin](/carlin) * [Carlyn](/carlyn) * [Karlin](/karlin) * [Karlyn](/karlyn) * [Carlene](/carlene) * [Carleen](/carleen) * [Carline](/carline) * [Karlene](/karlene) * [Carling](/carling) * [Carla](/carla) * [Karla](/karla) Source: [Datamuse ](https://www.datamuse.com/api/). Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated. ❓ ## Frequently Asked Questions about Carlan What does the name Carlan mean? Elena Daniela Cîrlan, known as Daniela Cîrlan, is a female long-distance runner and former race walker from Romania. How popular is Carlan in 2026? In 2026, Carlan ranks #10,349 among boys' names in the U.S., with 5 babies given the name that year. When was Carlan most popular? Carlan reached its peak popularity in 1946, ranking #2,919 that year with 7 babies given the name. Is Carlan a unisex name? Yes — Carlan is used for both girls and boys in U.S. records, with about 38% of Carlans assigned female and 62% assigned male historically. What names go well with Carlan? Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Carlan include Cleaster, Claybon, Herdis. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data. ## Similar Names ### 👦 Similar Boy Names [👦CleasterPeak #2919](/cleaster)[👦ClaybonPeak #2919](/claybon)[👦HerdisPeak #2919](/herdis)[👦HarmiePeak #2919](/harmie) ### 👧 Similar Girl Names [👧AlpheaPeak #5415](/alphea)[👧BallariePeak #5415](/ballarie)[👧CathyleenPeak #5415](/cathyleen)[👧CharlonaPeak #5415](/charlona) ## About the name Carlan Carlan is a unisex baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1945 and has accumulated 40 births in the dataset. Carlan's peak popularity came in 1946 when it ranked #2,919\. Use the chart and map above to compare Carlan's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices. ### Continue exploring * [ Top names of 1946 → ](/year/1946) * [ Names of the 1940s → ](/decade/1940s) * [ Names starting with "C" → ](/letter/c) * [ Browse all boy names → ](/names/boys) * [ Top names of 2026 → ](/year/2026) * [ Browse unisex names → ](/names/unisex) Data sources * Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. [Social Security Administration ](https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/). 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 ](https://www.behindthename.com/) (used under their public API terms). * Meaning prose and editorial summary — [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/) article extracts, licensed under [CC BY-SA 3.0 ](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/). * Predicted nationality distribution — [Nationalize.io ](https://nationalize.io/). * Phonetically similar names — [Datamuse ](https://www.datamuse.com/api/). 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.