Carol
The Germanic karl, “free man”: Carl directly, Carol as the English feminine of Charles through Latin Carolus.
Popularity, 1880–2025
A midcentury favorite, helped along by the cheerful association with Christmas carols.
Carol appears in the national records from the very first year, 1880. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American girls in every year from 1928 to 1971. It spent 15 years inside the top 10. Its biggest year was 1946, when 34,284 newborn girls received the name, ranking it No. 5 nationally. Its best ranking came in 1941, at No. 4. All told, 825,584 Americans have been given the name since 1880.
Related names
Other spellings on record: Carl (508,017), Carole (110,952), Karl (101,751), Carroll (41,347), Karol (11,131), Carrol (10,319) (total births since 1880)
Other names that share a story: Charles, Carl, Carrie, Carole
Explore Carol interactively →By the decade
| Decade | Births | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 120 | No. 439 |
| 1890s | 394 | No. 361 |
| 1900s | 964 | No. 294 |
| 1910s | 5,585 | No. 196 |
| 1920s | 22,978 | No. 63 |
| 1930s | 117,731 | No. 6 |
| 1940s | 292,333 | No. 4 |
| 1950s | 222,656 | No. 9 |
| 1960s | 112,333 | No. 23 |
| 1970s | 23,477 | No. 71 |
| 1980s | 8,808 | No. 232 |
| 1990s | 4,952 | No. 349 |
| 2000s | 2,727 | No. 718 |
| 2010s | 1,379 | No. 1250 |
| 2020s | 491 | No. 1908 |
Births and rank shown for girls, the sex more often given the name. The Social Security Administration omits name–year combinations with fewer than five births.
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Data: U.S. Social Security Administration national baby-name file, 1880–2025.