Carlisle

Where Carlisle comes from

From Middle English Carlele, from Middle English Carleol, Carleul, from Cumbric [Term?] (compare Caer Ligualid in the Historia Brittonum, Middle Welsh Caer Liwelydd, Welsh Caerliwelydd, all suffixed with -ydd), composed of Proto-Brythonic *kaɨr (“fort”) + Proto-Brythonic [Term?] (> Latin Luguvalium), from Proto-Celtic *Luguwalos (personal name, literally “strength of Lugus”), from *Lugus + *walos (“strength”). The absence of a suffix comparable to Welsh -ydd in the underlying Cumbric form is unexplained; see w:Cumbric/Absence of -ydd.
— Wiktionary's entry for Carlisle
  • 2 syllables
  • Vowel-ended
Along the way
  1. 1888
    First appearance
    #704 among boys, 9 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  2. 1893
    Peak, #615
    11 babies named Carlisle — more than any year before or since.
  3. 1895
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births.
  4. 1926
    Carlisle Floyd born
    American composer
  5. 1930
    Carlisle Trost born
    United States admiral
  6. 2010
    Mostly boys from here
    Until now more girls than boys got the name; from this year it's the other way round, and has stayed that way.
In the dictionary
  • A unisex given name.
Namesakes
  • Carlisle Floyd · American composer, 1926–2021
  • Carlisle Trost · United States admiral, 1930–2020
  • Carlisle Towery · American basketball player, 1920–2012
  • Carlisle Best · West Indian cricketer, born 1959
  • Carlisle M. Adams · cryptographer, born 1961

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.