Carter

English occupational name
"transporter of goods by cart"

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

# 224 on Nameberry

Carter Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Carter Popularity

Famous People Named Carter

  • Carter Loard Bays
    American television showrunner, writer & producer
  • Carter Nicholas Oosterhouse
    American TV personality
  • Carter James Camper
    American ice hockey player
  • Carter Mark Jenkins
    American actor
  • Carter Benedict Burwell
    American film composer
  • Carter Henry Harrison
    U.S. Congressman from Illinois
  • Carter DeHaven (born Francis O'Callaghan)
    American actor
  • Carter Tate Barron
    American football player and film executive
  • Carter Godwin Woodson
    American historian and author
  • Carter L. Bays
    American writer and producer
  • Carter Beauford
    American drummer for the Dave Matthews Band
  • Carter Chasson
    American model
  • John Carter Cash
    American singer,songwriter; son of Johnny and June Carter Cash
  • Carter Vanderbilt Cooper
    late 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 Carter
    39th US President
  • Jim Carter
    English 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 Hart
    Canadian NHL goaltender for the Philadelphia Flyers

Carter in Pop Culture

  • Carter Hughes
    character in 2018 film Benji
  • Carter Heywood
    main character on TV's "Spin City"
  • Carter Kane
    character in Rick Riordan's "The Kane Chronicles"
  • Carter Pewterschmidt
    character on TV's "Family Guy"
  • Carter Tibbits
    character on TV's "8 Simple Rules"
  • Dr John Carter
    character on TV's "ER"
  • Carter Rutherford
    character in the movie "Leatherheads"
  • Carter Hall aka Hawkman
    character in "Arrow," "The Flash," and "Legends of Tomorrow"
  • Carter Bowen
    character on TV's "Arrow"
  • Carter Bowen
    character on TV's "American Gothic"
  • Carter Baizen
    character on TV's "Gossip Girl"
  • Carter J. Burke
    character in "Alien" series
  • Carter's
    baby clothing brand
  • Carter Boyd
    character on Canadian sitcom "18 to Life"
  • Carter
    character on TV's "Robin Hood"
  • Carter
    character on TV's "The Walking Dead"
  • Carter Grayson
    Red Ranger on TV's "Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue"
  • "John Carter
    " book series and film
  • Carter
    character in Robert Cormier's "The Chocolate War"
  • Carter
    character introduced in Season 9 of The Original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series which ran from 1987,1996