girl's name
Carmen
KAR-men
- Origin Spanish
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 197,120
the United States
#390
2025 births
Carmen has two unrelated sources — the Latin word for a song, and a Spanish Marian title from Mount Carmel in Israel. The Spanish route is the real one, and the song reading is a coincidence of spelling.
- Carmen is a name of Spanish origin.
- Peaked in 1961, when 2,622 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 3,676 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1881.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Carmen over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 141 |
| 1890s | 460 |
| 1900s | 1,183 |
| 1910s | 5,867 |
| 1920s | 12,335 |
| 1930s | 10,852 |
| 1940s | 12,912 |
| 1950s | 21,086 |
| 1960s | 24,535 |
| 1970s | 18,932 |
| 1980s | 13,436 |
| 1990s | 11,814 |
| 2000s | 12,681 |
| 2010s | 8,827 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 4,695 |
What Carmen means
Carmen means a song or incantation in Latin, and a garden or orchard in Hebrew by way of Mount Carmel. The Spanish name descends from the second, not the first.
Where Carmen comes from
Carmen looks Latin and mostly is not. The Spanish name is clipped from María del Carmen, Our Lady of Mount Carmel — a Marian title from the mountain in northern Israel whose Hebrew name karmel means a garden or orchard, and where the Carmelite order was founded. Separately, the Latin carmen means a song, a poem or an incantation, and gives the English charm, in the sense of a spell rather than an attraction. The two converge on one spelling, and Bizet's 1875 opera made the song reading irresistible even though it has nothing to do with the name's history.
Carmen in use
Carmen peaked in the United States in 1961, when 2,622 babies were registered, and our data marks it stable rather than falling. It now ranks 390th in the United States on 902 births, 423rd in France on 130, 538th in Scotland, 806th in England and Wales on 59 and 877th in Ireland, across 197,120 lifetime births in six of the seven markets we track. About 91 percent of recorded births are female.
How popular is Carmen?
In 2025, Carmen was given to 902 babies in the United States, ranking #390 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Carmen is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Carmen
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Carmen also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Carmen over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Carmen
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Carmen in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Carmen
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Carmen — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Carmen
What does the name Carmen mean?
A garden or orchard, through Mount Carmel — not song, despite the Latin word that looks identical.
Is Carmen related to the word charm?
The Latin carmen gives charm, meaning a spell. But the Spanish name comes from Mount Carmel instead.
Is Carmen from the opera?
Bizet's 1875 opera made the song reading popular, but the name predates it and has a different source.
How popular is Carmen?
390th in the United States and 423rd in France, and our data marks it stable.
Is Carmen a girl's or a boy's name?
Carmen is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Carmen?
Carmen has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Carmen?
Carmen is usually shortened to Carmie.
Is Carmen a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Carmen currently ranks #390 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.