Carla is the feminized version of Carl or Charles, from ceorl in Old English, which means "free man". Notable people with the name include:
Carla Abellana, a Filipina actress and commercial model
Carla Azar, a drummer and singer for the band Autolux.
Carla Balingit a beauty queen from the Philippines
Carla Barbarinoa retired Italian sprinter and hurdler
Carla Beurskens a prominent long distance runner from the Netherlands
Carla Bley, an American jazz composer, pianist, organist and bandleader.
Carla Bonner, an Australian actress
Carla Borrego, a Jamaican basketball and netball player
Carla Boyd, a retired Australian basketball player with two Olympic medals.
Carla Bozulich, the lead singer, lyricist and founder of The Geraldine Fibbers and Evangelista.
Carla Bruni, an Italian-French singer, songwriter and former model.
Carla Cassidy, an American romance novelist.
Carla Cook, a jazz vocalist.
Carla Cortijo, a Puerto Rican basketball player
Carla Couto, a Portuguese football striker
Carla Del Poggio, an Italian cinema, theatre, and television actress
Carla Del Ponte, the Chief Prosecutor at two United Nations international criminal law tribunals.
Carla Dunlap, an American bodybuilding champion.
Carla Dziwoki, an Australian netball player
Carla Emery DeLong, an author born in Los Angeles
Carla Estrada, one of the foremost telenovela producers of Latin America.
Carla Fracci, a ballet dancer and actress
Carla Garapedian, a documentary filmmaker
Carla Gavazzi, an Italian operatic soprano
Carla Geurts, a freestyle swimmer
Carla Gravina, an Italian film actress.
Carla Gugino, an American actress.
Carla Hall, an American chef
Carla Harryman, an American poet, essayist, and playwright
Carla Anderson Hills, an American lawyer
Carla Howell, President of the Center For Small Government.
Carla Humphries, a commercial model and actress in the Philippines.
Carla Jimenez, an American television and film actress.
Carla Kelly, another American romance writer
Carla Khan, a Pakistan squash player
Carla Kihlstedt, an American violinist, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist.
Carla Körbes, a Brazilian ballet dancer
Carla Laemmle, an American actress
Carla Lane, pseudonym of Romana Barrack, an English television writer.
Carla Lehmann, a Canadian film and television actress
Carla MacLeod, a retired Canadian national women's hockey player
Carla Marins, a Brazilian actress
Carla McGhee, an American basketball player
Carla Speed McNeil, an American science fiction writer, cartoonist, and illustrator
Carla Mendonça, an English actress
Carla Molema, a Dutch darts player
Carla Moreno, a Brazilian triathlete
Carla Morrison, a Mexican singer, songwriter and guitarist.
Carla Overbeck, an American soccer player
Carla Rahal, a Bulgarian actress
Carla Rebecchi, an Olympic bronze medalist in field hockey
Carla Rhodes, an American ventriloquist, comedian and musician
Carla Rueda Cotito, a Peruvian volleyball player
Carla Ryan, a professional cyclist from Australia
Carla Sacramento, a middle distance runner from Portugal.
Carla J. Shatz, an American neurobiologist
Carla Sozzani, an Italian art dealer
Carla Stovall, a politician and former Attorney General of Kansas
Carla Suárez Navarro, a Spanish tennis player.
Carla Swart, a South African cyclist
Carla Thomas, the Queen of Memphis Soul.
Carla Tuzzi, a retired Italian hurdler
Carla Ulbrich, an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and author
Carla Werner, a singer and songwriter from New Zealand
Carla White, an American jazz vocalist
Carla Zampatti, a fashion designer and businesswoman.