Carmen

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A few things about Carmen you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Carmen

Carmen Electra

American actress, model, and singer

Choose Carmen and your child shares a first name with Carmen Electra, an American actress, model, and singer. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Carmen, like who?” Carmen Electra's Wikipedia article is available in 62 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Carmen Electra on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Carmen_Electra.jpg: dodge challenger1 derivative work: Tabercil (talk), CC BY 2.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 2,014 baby girls born in the US in 2025 was named Carmen, 798 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Carmen would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryCarmen first shows up in US birth records in 1881, the first year at least 5 babies got it. It has been in use for 144 years since.
• 🏆Best yearIts best year was 1968, when it reached #141.
• 🚀TrendCarmen has climbed 44 places in the US rankings over the last five years and now sits at #389. Fast risers like this often keep climbing, so expect to hear it more.
• 📍Where it's lovedCarmen is most popular in Mississippi, where it ranks #242, followed by Tennessee (#254) and Washington (#263). It's in the top 1,000 in 34 states.
• ⚖️Boy or girlCarmen is given to both boys and girls: 88% of the 902 babies named Carmen in 2025 were girls. That makes it one of the names that truly works for either.
• 💬MeaningCarmen is a Spanish form of Carmel, which means “garden”. Our records link it to Hebrew, Hispanic and Latin roots.
• 🌍OriginCarmen is the #9 most popular Hispanic girl name in the US. That's out of 30 Hispanic girl and unisex names in our list.

About the name Carmen

Carmen is a gender-neutral name of Hebrew, Hispanic and Latin origin meaning “garden”. It has 6 letters and 2 syllables, starting with C and ending in “-men”. US birth records list Carmen for girls from 1881 to 2025, in 145 of those 145 years. Its best year was 1968, when it ranked #141 among girl names. In 2025 it ranked #389, with 798 babies. Of the 902 US babies named Carmen in 2025, 88% were girls and 12% were boys.

Origin:Hebrew namesHispanic namesLatin names