# Carol (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/carol/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /ˈkæ.ɹəl/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | Caz |
| Variant spellings | Carroll, Carole, Carrol |
| US babies named this | 825,584 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 8,656 / 816,928 (99% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 256, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Shortened from Caroline. Associated by folk etymology with the English noun carol.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 191 | 1,251 |
| 2012 | 168 | 1,386 |
| 2013 | 133 | 1,617 |
| 2014 | 150 | 1,489 |
| 2015 | 118 | 1,770 |
| 2016 | 129 | 1,662 |
| 2017 | 114 | 1,817 |
| 2018 | 114 | 1,790 |
| 2019 | 112 | 1,818 |
| 2020 | 100 | 1,911 |
| 2021 | 87 | 2,156 |
| 2022 | 82 | 2,278 |
| 2023 | 74 | 2,424 |
| 2024 | 66 | 2,642 |
| 2025 | 82 | 2,242 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 13 | 3,435 |
| 1986 | 22 | 2,437 |
| 1987 | 15 | 3,217 |
| 1988 | 19 | 2,869 |
| 1989 | 23 | 2,703 |
| 1990 | 15 | 3,802 |
| 1991 | 10 | 5,143 |
| 1992 | 11 | 4,921 |
| 1993 | 7 | 6,920 |
| 1994 | 12 | 4,836 |
| 1999 | 5 | 10,129 |
| 2005 | 14 | 5,615 |
| 2006 | 5 | 12,331 |
| 2007 | 9 | 8,288 |
| 2009 | 5 | 12,777 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 8 | 2,438 |
| 2006 | 6 | 3,116 |
| 2007 | 4 | 4,294 |
| 2008 | 6 | 3,397 |
| 2009 | 8 | 2,759 |
| 2010 | 8 | 2,843 |
| 2011 | 8 | 2,893 |
| 2012 | 4 | 4,838 |
| 2013 | 7 | 3,160 |
| 2015 | 5 | 4,103 |
| 2016 | 5 | 4,096 |
| 2017 | 4 | 4,763 |
| 2018 | 4 | 4,684 |
| 2019 | 3 | 5,591 |
| 2021 | 6 | 3,519 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 7 | 2,707 |
| 2016 | 4 | 4,023 |
| 2021 | 8 | 2,493 |
| 2022 | 6 | 3,048 |
| 2023 | 5 | 3,523 |
| 2025 | 11 | 2,133 |

## In other languages

- French: Carole
- Greek: Καρόλα
- Russian: Кэ́рол

## People named Carol

- Joyce Carol Oates, American author (born 1938)
- Carole King, American singer-songwriter and musician (born 1942)
- Carol Burnett, American actress, comedian and singer (born 1933)
- Carol Channing, American actress (1921–2019)
- Carol Reed, English film director (1906–1976)
- Carol Kane, American actress (born 1952)
- Carol J. Adams, author, animal rights activist
- Carol Gilligan, American feminist, ethicist, and psychologist
- Carol Moseley Braun, American politician and lawyer
- Carol Shields, American/Canadian author
- Carol Lynley, American actress (1942–2019)
- Carol Morris, American actress, model and beauty queen (born 1936)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.