Carmella
A feminine name of Italian origin meaning "garden".
Name Census estimates that about 8,645 living Americans carry the first name Carmella. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Carmella today is around 43 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Carmella births was 1922 (554 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Carmella. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Carmella with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
8.6K
~ 1 in 39,648 Americans
Peak year
1922
554 babies that year
Average age
43
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,345
Tracked since 1891
Census
Carmella in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 9,489 people with the first name Carmella, which placed it at #2,554 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#2,554
National first-name rank
People counted
9.5K
9,489 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
3.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
68.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Carmella
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Carmella is White at 68.0%. The next largest groups are Black (15.0%) and Hispanic (10.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Carmella described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Carmella at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White68.0% · 6,456
- Black or African American15.0% · 1,421
- Hispanic or Latino10.9% · 1,032
- Two or more races4.0% · 384
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 117
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 79
Popularity
Carmella: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Carmella from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 4,761 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Carmella by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Carmella during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Carmellas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 34 states and territories. New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Carmella, while Kentucky, Delaware, Colorado recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 460 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Carmella
The name Carmella has its origins in the Italian language. It is a feminine form derived from the Late Latin name Carmellus, which itself comes from the Hebrew word "kerem-el" meaning "vineyard of God." The name is associated with Mount Carmel in northern Israel, where the Carmelite religious order was founded.
The earliest recorded use of the name Carmella dates back to the 12th century in Italy. During this time, it was popular among devout Catholic families who wished to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary, also known as Our Lady of Mount Carmel. The name gained widespread popularity in Italy and other parts of Europe during the Middle Ages and Renaissance periods.
In ancient texts, references to Mount Carmel can be found in the biblical books of 1 Kings, 2 Kings, and Amos. However, the name Carmella itself does not appear in religious scriptures or early historical records. Its usage likely emerged as a diminutive or pet form of the name Carmela, which was more commonly used in Italy during the Middle Ages.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Carmella was Carmella Battaglia (c. 1370-1420), an Italian nun and mystic from Sicily. Another notable figure was Carmella Guidi (1548-1634), an Italian philosopher and writer who published works on theology and moral philosophy.
In the 17th century, Carmella Acton (1630-1706) was a wealthy English heiress and philanthropist who established several charitable foundations. During the 18th century, Carmella Cafarelli (1715-1795) was an Italian operatic soprano who performed in numerous operas across Europe.
One of the most famous individuals with the name Carmella was Carmella Pávon (1826-1889), a Mexican poet and writer who was a prominent figure in the Mexican Romantic literary movement. She published several collections of poetry and was known for her lyrical style and vivid descriptions of nature.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who bore the name Carmella. While not an exhaustive list, it showcases the long-standing use of this name across various cultures and time periods, with its roots firmly planted in Italian and religious traditions.
People
Carmella + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Carmella as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Carmella: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Carmella?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 8,645 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Carmella going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 39,648 US residents.
Is Carmella a common name?
We classify Carmella as "Rare". It ranks above 97.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 20,477 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Carmella most popular?
The single biggest year for Carmella was 1922, when 554 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Carmella is about 43 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Carmella in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 9,489 people with the name Carmella, or 3.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,554 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Carmella in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Carmella?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Carmella appears almost entirely female. Of the 9,487 people counted with this name, 99.6% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Carmella?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Carmella is White at 68.0%. The next largest groups are Black (15.0%) and Hispanic (10.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Carmella most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Carmella in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.0% (6,456 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Carmella in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Carmella a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Carmella in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Carmella still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Carmella in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Carmella can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have the name Carmella?
Find out how many people share the name Carmella on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.