NameCensus.

UK girl's name

Carina

A feminine name of Latin origin meaning "beloved".

For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.

Carina is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Carina popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #2771, with 9 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 1998, with 31 births.

This profile covers 606 England and Wales registrations across 29 recorded years from 1996 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales and NRS Scotland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.

The latest count is about 29% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.

We estimate that about 783 living people in the UK are called Carina. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.

Key insights

  • Carina ranked #2771 for girls in England and Wales in 2024, with 9 registrations.
  • The name peaked in 1998, when 31 girls were registered as Carina.
  • Carina ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #790 in 2024.
  • About 783 living people in the UK are estimated to have Carina as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.

Latest rank (E&W)

#2771

2024

Births in 2024

9

Latest year

Peak year

1998

31 births

Estimated living

783

2026

Meaning

What does Carina mean?

The name Carina has its origins in Latin, derived from the word "carina," which means "keel" or "the bottom of a ship." This ties the name to the nautical and maritime worlds of ancient Rome. In astronomy, Carina is also the name of a constellation in the southern celestial hemisphere.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Carina can be found in ancient Roman texts, where it was used as a feminine form of the name Carinus, which was a family name. The name gained popularity during the Roman Empire, particularly among families with connections to the sea or navy.

In the 3rd century AD, there was a Roman empress named Carina who was the wife of Emperor Galerius. Her full name was Galeria Valeria Carina, and she was known for her influence and involvement in political affairs during her husband's reign.

During the Renaissance period, the name Carina resurfaced in Italy. One notable figure was Carina Grimaldi, who lived from 1457 to 1512. She was a member of the Grimaldi family, a prominent noble family in Genoa, and was known for her patronage of the arts and her support for artists and writers of the time.

In the 17th century, Carina Loos (1625-1680) was a Dutch botanist and artist, renowned for her intricate botanical illustrations. Her work was highly regarded and contributed to the advancement of scientific knowledge during the era.

Another notable figure was Carina Ari (1784-1855), a Swedish writer and feminist who advocated for women's rights and education. She published several works, including novels and plays, and was a prominent figure in the Swedish literary and intellectual circles of her time.

In the 19th century, Carina Nellie Pierson (1825-1868) was an American author and poet. She wrote several works of fiction and poetry, and her writings often explored themes of nature, love, and the human condition.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

Popularity

Carina over time

The chart below shows babies named Carina registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1996 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.

For Carina, the clearest high point is 1998. The latest England and Wales figure is 9 births in 2024, compared with 31 at the peak.

Babies born per year

Carina
08162331199620102024

Decades

Carina by decade

Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Carina was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.

Decade Average rank Total births Years covered
2020s #1594 108 5
2010s #1673 189 10
2000s #1227 207 10
1990s #868 102 4

Geography

Where Carina is most common

The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Carina. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.

Carina ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #790 in 2024.

Scotland
3

Across the UK

Carina in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Scotland (NRS)

#790 in 2024

36 years of NRS records, 183 total registered

Notable bearers

Famous people named Carina

  • Carina Leung Hoi-ching

    entertainer

    Hong Kong actress

    1995-

  • Carina Tyrrell

    physician; investor; model; beauty pageant contestant

    British-Swiss physician, investor, and beauty pageant contestant

    1989-

  • Carina Birrell

    actor

    British actress

    1988-

  • Carina Reeves

    actor; voice actor

    British voice actor

    1985-

  • Carina Round

    singer; singer-songwriter; guitarist

    British songwriter

    1979-

  • Carina Haslam

    (born 1965)

    1965-

  • Carina Fitzalan-Howard

    noblewoman; born 1952; second child of Miles Fitzalan-Howard, 17th Duke of Norfolk, and Anne Constable-Maxwell

    1952-

  • Carina Lepore

    businessperson

    British entrepreneur

Related

Names similar to Carina

FAQ

Carina: questions and answers

How popular is the name Carina in the UK right now?

In 2024, Carina was ranked #2771 for girls in England and Wales, with 9 births registered.

When was Carina most popular?

The peak year on record was 1998, with 31 babies registered as Carina in England and Wales.

What is the meaning and origin of Carina?

A feminine name of Latin origin meaning "beloved".

How many people are called Carina in the UK?

A total of 606 babies have been registered as Carina across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 183 more in Scotland.

Where is Carina most common?

In the latest published local rankings, Carina ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #790 in 2024. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.

Which records is this page based on?

The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.