Recorded 1941–2025 · United States
Cari was most popular in 1976, when 541 American babies were given the name — ranking #701 that year. In 2025 it ranked #11,831, with 16 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 12,870 people named Cari.
Cari first appears in Social Security Administration records in 1941, which makes it about 84 years old as a recorded American name. It has been recorded in 79 of the 85 years since.
The Social Security Administration has recorded 12,870 American births named Cari between 1880 and 2025. That is recorded US births, not a world population — it counts people issued a Social Security number at birth in the United States. Of those, roughly 12,145 are estimated to be alive today.
16 American babies were named Cari in 2025, ranking #11,831 that year.
Cari is holding steady. Across 2021–2025 it averaged 32 births a year, against 27 a year across 2011–2015 — a change of +19% over the decade.
Measured on recorded births. American births overall have fallen since 2007, so most established names lose births over any recent decade — a name can shed births and still hold its rank. Compare the rank above, which is measured against the other names of the same year.
Across the whole record Cari is a girl’s name — 99.1% of the 12,870 Americans given it were girls and 0.9% were boys. In births since 2016 it is 82% girls and 18% boys.
Counted from every US birth the Social Security Administration recorded under this name, so it reflects use rather than opinion. A name given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year is withheld at source and is not counted.
Roughly 12,145 Americans named Cari are alive today — 94% of everyone ever recorded with the name. The median is 49 years old, and half are between 41 and 56.
An estimate, not a count. Recorded births are carried forward through the Social Security Administration’s 2023 period life table, by age and sex. That table describes mortality in one recent year, so it credits the oldest cohorts with today’s survival rather than the harsher rates they actually lived through — the further back a name peaked, the more this will overstate how many remain. It counts people issued a Social Security number at birth, not immigrants who arrived later.
How much more common the name is in each state than across the country as a whole.
See Cari on the interactive charts
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Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org