Cartier is a French occupational surname that means "carter" or "cart driver". Americans know it from the explorer Jacques Cartier, who claimed the St. Lawrence valley for France in the 1530s, and above all from the Paris jewelry house, which gives the name its luxurious ring and places it beside Dior and Armani. Cartier had fewer than 40 births a year in 2000, reached the top 1000 in 2022 at number 983 and ranks number 1297 in 2025.