Carla

Carla made her debut on the American female naming charts in 1926 and very quickly showed promise. For a couple of decades, Carla continued to demonstrate overall gains on the charts until she finally landed herself a spot on the Top 100 list in 1961. The 1960s were by far the best years for this simple German fräulein, although she never got higher than #76 on the list. Her position on the Top 100 would only last for 10 years after she dropped off in 1971. From that point on, Carla is a name that’s been on a consistent decline. We can understand this, though – just look at how much competition she has! There are currently 12 different spelling choices and variations on the American girl’s naming charts today (a little obnoxious). Carly, Karla, Karlee and Carlee are all more commonly used than Carla today. But if you don’t like any of those choices, there’s always Carlie, Carley, Karlie, Carleigh, Karly, Karley or Karli. Karla and Carla keep it simple, in our opinion (and easy to spell without much energy). Carla is also quite a bit more sophisticated and mature than the cutesy Carlee. Carla has that strong, no-nonsense German sensibility without surrendering her femininity. Clara is an anagram of Carla and therefore a great pairing of names for twin girls!