Given Name or Nickname: Carly

Actress Sarah Brown via Wikipedia

I love the name Carly. Well-known Carlys include singer-songwriter Carly Simon, the character Carly Shay from the Nickelodeon show iCarly, and the singer who brought us "Call Me Maybe," Carly Rae Jepsen. Admittedly, the first time I remember hearing the name was watching General Hospital. The character of Carly Benson Quartermaine Alcazar Corinthos Jacks was a favorite of mine, but her name differs from the previously mentioned Carlys because hers was a nickname. Her real first name was Caroline.

{Side Note: The actress Sarah Brown played the first Carly on General Hospital. I stopped watching soaps several years ago but from my research, I discovered that she later played a character called Aggie on The Bold and the Beautiful. Aggie's real name was Agnes. Awesome. Not only the nickname, but the fact that a soap opera chose to use the name Agnes.}

Back to Carly. As the feminine form of Carl, Carly is a given name. As a nickname, it can be used as a shortened form for many longer names. Here is a list of possible full names for Carly, their 2011 ranks, and where they came from:

Carla - #747 - feminine form of Carlo, Carlos or Carl
Carlene - not ranked - feminine form of Carl
Carlissa - not ranked - probably a variant of Carla
Carlotta - not ranked - Italian form of Charlotte
Carmella - not ranked - Latin form of Carmel
Carol - not ranked - as a female name, a shortened form of Caroline
Carolina - #429 - Latin feminine form of Carolus
Caroline - #87 - French feminine form of Carolus
Carolyn - #741 - variant of Caroline
Charla - not ranked - feminine form of Charles
Charlene - not ranked - feminine form of Charles
Charlize - not ranked - feminine form of Charles
Charlotta - not ranked - Swedish form of Charlotte
Charlotte - #27 - feminine diminutive of Charles
Scarlett - #80 - a surname for a person who sold clothes made of scarlet

Carly was ranked #251 and has several possible spellings that also ranked: Carlie #849, Carley #891, Karlie #921 and Karly #988.

So... what do you prefer? Do you like Carly as a given name? Or if you like is as a nickname, which full name would you choose?

Thanks to Behind the Name for the above information.