Carla
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from the Germanic languages. From German and Italian Carla. By surface analysis, Carl + -a.
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Carla (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Carla has been fairly steady over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2015. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1998 | – |
| 1999 | – |
| 2000 | – |
| 2001 | – |
| 2002 | – |
| 2003 | – |
| 2004 | 13 |
| 2005 | 12 |
| 2006 | 24 |
| 2007 | 15 |
| 2008 | 13 |
| 2009 | 17 |
| 2010 | 16 |
| 2011 | 17 |
| 2012 | 20 |
| 2013 | 21 |
| 2014 | 25 |
| 2015 | 26 |
| 2016 | 16 |
| 2017 | 21 |
| 2018 | 24 |
| 2019 | 17 |
| 2020 | 18 |
| 2021 | 13 |
| 2022 | 22 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 477 |
| 2000 | 472 |
| 2001 | 475 |
| 2002 | 475 |
| 2003 | 473 |
| 2004 | 480 |
| 2005 | 491 |
| 2006 | 508 |
| 2007 | 530 |
| 2008 | 535 |
| 2009 | 553 |
| 2010 | 566 |
| 2011 | 579 |
| 2012 | 608 |
| 2013 | 619 |
| 2014 | 651 |
| 2015 | 691 |
| 2016 | 714 |
| 2017 | 753 |
| 2018 | 780 |
| 2019 | 813 |
| 2020 | 824 |
Carla in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Carla.Hi! My name is Carla.
- Har du träffat Carla? Hon började jobba här i måndags.Have you met Carla? She started working here on Monday.
- Vet du om Carla kommer på festen på lördag?Do you know if Carla is coming to the party on Saturday?
- Carlas mamma är lärare.Carla's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Carlas mamma is Carla's mum.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Carla
How do you pronounce Carla in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Carla in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Carla mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from the Germanic languages. From German and Italian Carla. By surface analysis, Carl + -a.
How popular is Carla in Sweden?
22 babies were named Carla in 2022. In 2020, 824 people in Sweden had Carla as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been fairly steady lately and peaked in 2015 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.