name ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Proper Noun

1. 1
   A female given name from the Germanic languages.

   "She introduced herself. I said, 'Where'd you get a name like Carly?' and she said, from her aunt."

Example

More examples

"You're so vain, you sued Carly Simon for defamation."

Etymology

A feminine form of Carl, taken to use in the latter half of the 20th century; also a pet form of Carla, Carlene and Carlotta.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.