Carlson

Spellings & scripts●

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 2 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Carlson is also recorded as 2 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Spanish surname77K records spelled Carlson7 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina

  Languages: Spanish, Portuguese, Italian

  Also written Cärlson, Carlsón

• Russian surname1.4K records spelled Carlson11 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Russia, United States, Ukraine, United Kingdom

  Languages: Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian

  Also written Карлсон, Karlson, Карлсан

66 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Carlson is also recorded in one other lexicon, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, A surname originating as a patronymic, of Scandinavian origin.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 82 years between 1920–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Frank Carlsonb. 1893USAmerican politician who served as the 30th Governor of Kansas (1893–1987)
• Chester Carlsonb. 1906USAmerican physicist (1906-1968)
• Richard Carlsonb. 1912USAmerican actor, television and film director, and screenwriter (1912–1977)
• Leslie Carlsonb. 1933USAmerican actor (1933-2014)
• Len Carlsonb. 1937CACanadian voice actor (1937–2006)
• Carolyn Carlsonb. 1943USAmerican dancer
• Gretchen Carlsonb. 1966USAmerican broadcast journalist, author, television personality and female empowerment advocate
• Amy Carlsonb. 1968USAmerican actress
• Whigfieldb. 1970DKnot in their usual nameDanish singer
• Kelly Carlsonb. 1976USAmerican actress

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 181 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Carlson?

We estimate roughly 298 thousand people bear Carlson (counting its spellings and scripts) across 12 countries in our records.

In which country does Carlson have the most bearers?

We estimate about 155 thousand people bear Carlson in Sweden, more than in any other country in our records, where it is most often spelled carlson.

Where is Carlson most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Carlson is densest in Åland Islands — about 1 in 24 people — even though Sweden holds more of our records for it.

How common is Carlson compared with other names?

In Sweden, Carlson is the 363rd most common surname of 135,489 surnames recorded there.

What does the name Carlson mean?

Recorded meaning: anglicization of Danish and Norwegian Carlsen and Swedish Carlsson, both literally ‘son of Karl’