Carson is an androgynous executive-type name, with a dash of the Wild West via the legendary Missouri frontiersman Kit Carson. Dating back to when it was the name of Nancy Drew's Dad, Carson is still steadily in the Top 100, reaching its highest point at Number 80 in 2010.

Current Carsons include TV personalities Carson Daly and Carson Kressley, and Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Carter Palmer. Carson Wells was the bounty hunter character played by Woody Harrelson in No Country for Old Men, and Carson is the name chosen by actress Kathryn Erbe for her son.

Although its best known namesake is writer Carson McCullers, Carson has not caught on as a girl's name.