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Carter

English occupational name
"transporter of goods by cart"
Sophie Kihm
By Sophie Kihm
Updated Mon Sep 02 2024

Carter Origin and Meaning

The name Carter is a boy's name of English origin meaning "transporter of goods by cart".

Carter has ranked in the Top 100 since the the turn of the millennium, but despite its recent popularity, it's not a trendy new name. In fact, Carter is one of those names that just misses ranking in the US Top 1000 for its entire 140+ year history.

Carter's off its recent popularity peak now, but it's getting some fresh style via Beyonce's country album Cowboy Carter, which references the surname of her husband Jay-Z aka Shawn Carter.

Having hot characters named Carter on both Gossip Girl and The OC probably didn't hurt Carter's rise, along with Noah Wyle's Dr. John Carter on ER, who was always called by his last name. Carter also, of course, has presidential cred.

Carter is especially popular in the Midwest, having recently been Number 2 in Nebraska and Number 3 in Iowa, as well as spreading north to Canadian provinces Saskatchewan (recently Number 2) and Manitoba (recently Number 5). It does straddle the line between country and city, another reason for its longtime appeal.

# 48 in the US

Carter Rank in US Top 1000

# 329 on Nameberry

Carter Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Carter Popularity

Famous People Named Carter

  • Carter Nicholas OosterhouseAmerican TV personality
  • Carter James CamperAmerican ice hockey player
  • Carter Mark JenkinsAmerican actor
  • Carter Benedict BurwellAmerican film composer
  • Carter Henry HarrisonU.S. Congressman from Illinois
  • Carter DeHaven (born Francis O'Callaghan)American actor
  • Carter Tate BarronAmerican football player and film executive
  • Carter Godwin WoodsonAmerican historian and author
  • Carter L. BaysAmerican writer and producer
  • Carter BeaufordAmerican drummer for the Dave Matthews Band
  • Carter ChassonAmerican model
  • John Carter CashAmerican singer,songwriter; son of Johnny and June Carter Cash
  • Carter Vanderbilt Cooperlate brother of TV journalist Anderson Cooper
  • Carter William Thicke (b. 1999)son of actor Alan Thicke and Miss World Gina Tolleson; half,brother of singer Robin Thicke
  • Carter Sabathia (b. 2010)son of baseball player CC Sabathia
  • Carter Scott McMurray (b. 2010)son of NASCAR driver Jamie McMurray
  • Carter Quick (b. 2013)son of ice hockey player Jonathan Quick
  • Carter Seven Seabrook (b. 2013)son of ice hockey player Brent Seabrook
  • Carter Bridge (b. 2015)son of singer Frankie Sandford and footballer Wayne Bridge
  • Carter John Bruce (b. 2016)son of baseball player Jay Bruce
  • Jimmy Carter39th US President
  • Jim CarterEnglish actor
  • Carter Stone Strauss (b. 2016)son of American pro wrestler Robbie E
  • Carter William DeFranco (b. 2017)son of American news reporter and YouTube personality Philip DeFranco
  • Carter Loard BaysAmerican television showrunner, writer & producer
  • Carter HartCanadian NHL goaltender for the Philadelphia Flyers

Carter in Pop Culture

  • Carter Hughescharacter in 2018 film Benji
  • Carter Heywoodmain character on TV's "Spin City"
  • Carter Kanecharacter in Rick Riordan's "The Kane Chronicles"
  • Carter Pewterschmidtcharacter on TV's "Family Guy"
  • Carter Tibbitscharacter on TV's "8 Simple Rules"
  • Dr John Cartercharacter on TV's "ER"
  • Carter Rutherfordcharacter in the movie "Leatherheads"
  • Carter Hall aka Hawkmancharacter in "Arrow," "The Flash," and "Legends of Tomorrow"
  • Carter Bowencharacter on TV's "Arrow"
  • Carter Bowencharacter on TV's "American Gothic"
  • Carter Baizencharacter on TV's "Gossip Girl"
  • Carter J. Burkecharacter in "Alien" series
  • Carter'sbaby clothing brand
  • Carter Boydcharacter on Canadian sitcom "18 to Life"
  • Cartercharacter on TV's "Robin Hood"
  • Cartercharacter on TV's "The Walking Dead"
  • Carter GraysonRed Ranger on TV's "Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue"
  • "John Carter" book series and film
  • Cartercharacter in Robert Cormier's "The Chocolate War"
  • Cartercharacter introduced in Season 9 of The Original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series which ran from 1987,1996

Carter in Nameberry Blog Posts