C or K? The old names kept their C

In 2017, 9,753 American boys were called Carter and 2,273 were called Karter. Carter has been in the American records since 1881. Karter first made the top 1,000 in 2005. Today Carter is 45th in America and Karter is 270th.

In England and Wales it is not close. 536 boys were called Carter in 2025, and 35 were called Karter.

Carter is one of 58 names that can start with a C or a K and are given to enough babies in both countries to compare. Put them side by side and the rule is simple. If a name is old, the C wins, nearly every time. If it is new, it could go either way. And Britain reaches for the K less often than America does.

How we counted

Two spellings count as one name when the only difference is the first letter: a C against a K. A Ch counts as a C when it is said like one, so Chloe and Kloe are a pair, and so are Christopher and Kristopher. A soft C, as in Cecilia, does not count. Any other difference makes two names, so Caitlin and Kaitlyn are not a pair. Boys and girls are counted separately.

A name is on our list when it went to at least 200 American babies in 2017 and at least 50 in England and Wales in 2025, with both letters in use somewhere. That gives 58: 35 boys' names and 23 girls'. Every one of them is in the full table at the bottom of this page.

We call a name old if it was in the American top 1,000 before 1900. 27 of the 58 are. The other 31 arrived later.

The old names kept the C

Of the 27 old names, the C leads on 24 in America. It leads on 26 in England and Wales. On the typical old name, 14% of American babies get the K and 7% of British ones.

The 24 are not close calls, either. In every year of the American records from 1880 to 2008, not one of them had more K babies than C babies. Caleb 7,084 and Kaleb 2,091. Cameron 5,925 and Kameron 1,320. Cooper 4,581 and Kooper 181. Clara 3,022 and Klara 113. Christopher 8,255 and Kristopher 370.

The three where America prefers the K are Katie, Katherine and Kara. Britain only goes along with Katie. Katie has had the K from the start: it was in the American top 1,000 in 1880 and Catie never has been. In 2017 it was 770 Katies to 10 Caties. Katherine and Kara both changed letter, which we come to below.

The K came later

On most of the old names the K spelling is not old at all. In 1880 only two of the 27 had a K spelling in the American top 1,000, Katherine and Katie. Twelve more arrived between 1956 and 2005: Kara in 1956, Kristopher in 1958, Kristian in 1967, Kasey in 1971, Kaleb in 1977, Kody in 1978, Kassie in 1982, Kameron in 1984, Kallie in 1989, Kole in 1993, Karson in 1999 and Karter in 2005.

The other 13 K spellings never made the top 1,000 in any year up to 2008. Klara, Kloe, Kooper, Kora, Kruz, Klementine, Kassius, Kamille, Kamilla, Klaudia, Kordelia, Klayton and Karmen. So on an old name the K is nearly always the newer spelling, and on most of them it never caught up.

The short forms were different. Kathy was spelled with a K from the day it arrived. It first made the top 1,000 in 1932, Cathy in 1934, and Kathy was ahead in every year after. At its best, in 1958, Kathy went to 115.9 American girls in every 10,000 and Cathy to 53.0. That same year the full name was the other way round: Catherine 52.1, Katherine 31.2.

Katherine only went in front in 1973. We covered that one in The spellings that swapped places. Kara did it six years earlier. It arrived in 1956, when Cara was already there, and took the lead in 1967 while both were still climbing.

Britain never made either change. In 2025 England and Wales had 85 girls called Cara and 31 called Kara, and 66 Catherines to 40 Katherines.

The new names go either way

The 31 newer names are a different story. The K leads on 14 of them in America and 14 in England and Wales. The typical new name gives 48% of its American babies the K, and 34% of its British ones.

Look at which ones. Kai, Kaia, Kaiden, Kayden, Kayla, Kade, Kayson, Kaden and Kane. Nine of America's fourteen begin with the sound of the letter K itself, kay or kai. The other five are Kobe, Koda, Kareem, Kaliyah and Karina. We cannot tell you why the kay and kai names went K. We can tell you they did.

The new names that kept the C are mostly a different sound. Connor 6,382 and Konnor 237. Colton 5,253 and Kolton 679. Cassidy, Cohen, Colby, Corey and Callum all lead with the C in both countries.

The kay names are recent. Kayden and Cayden both made the American top 1,000 in 1999. Cayden led until 2007. Kayden was ahead in 2008, at 11.9 boys in every 10,000 against 10.7, and has been ahead in every year we hold since. In 2025 it was 135th and Cayden 414th. In England and Wales it is 226 Kaydens to 39 Caydens.

Britain uses the K less

Put the two countries side by side, name by name, and they agree on which letter leads on 54 of the 58. But on 40 of the 58, England and Wales gives the K to a smaller share of its babies than America does. Karter is 19% of its name in America and 6% here. Kassidy is 38% there and 10% here. Kameron 18% and 2%. Kassie 26% there, and fewer than three girls here.

The four where the countries disagree are Katherine and Kara, which America switched to K and Britain did not, and two newer boys' names. America had 1,840 Kadens to 1,700 Cadens in 2017, and England and Wales 24 to 46. Kairo goes the other way: 187 boys in England and Wales against 93 called Cairo, while America had 398 Cairos and 282 Kairos.

Those last two may already be settled. Our American counts stop in 2017, but the rankings run to 2025, and by then Caden was 201st and Kaden 328th, while Kairo was 226th and Cairo 341st. On both, America now leans the way Britain does.

Britain is more K than America on the other 18, and most of those are kay and kai names. Kayson is 67% K in America and 90% here. Kayden is 72% and 85%. Kairo, Kade, Kaia, Kayla, Kaiden and Kane are all more K here too. So Britain is not simply against the K. On the kay and kai names it goes further than America. On the old names it hardly touches it.

Of the 27 old names, Britain uses the K more on just five. The biggest gap is Kristian: 37 boys here against 129 Christians and Cristians, which is 22%. In America it is 4%.

The K is thinning out in America

The American rankings say the K spellings are getting fewer. Across our 58 names, 33 K spellings were in the American top 1,000 in 2015. By 2025 it was 27. Nine dropped out: Kody, Kole, Kristopher, Kristian, Kolby, Konnor, Kassandra, Kassidy and Kara. Three came in: Kairo, Kataleya and Koda. The C spellings held at 45 in both years.

That is ten years of one country. It does not tell you the K is on its way out. It does tell you the K was not taking over.

What it means for you

If the name is an old one, Carter, Caleb, Cameron, Clara, Cora, the C is the spelling most people will expect, in both countries. A K will usually mean spelling it out.

If it is a kay or kai name, Kai, Kayden, Kayla, Kade, the K is the main spelling and the C is the one you will be spelling out. And if you are in Britain, the C is a safer bet than it is in America on most of the names on our list.

All 58 names