Girl · #2,831 in 2026

Carol

Name: Popularity of the name Carol in U.S. births, 1880–2026
Creator: U.S. Social Security Administration
License: https://www.ssa.gov/foia/
Keywords: Carol, baby name, popularity, U.S., SSA, rankings

Carol is a unisex given name in English, although in contemporary usage it is more commonly used for women. It is a variant of the English Charles, Germanic Carl, and Latin Carolus. Spelling variations include Carroll, Caryl, and Carole.

English
Romanian

Current Rank

#2,831

Peak Rank

#4 (1946)

Total Babies

817K

5-Yr Trend

-35%

1880

First Year

2026

Last Year

1946

Peak Year

Peak Rank

817K

Total Count

146

Years Active

Meaning & Origin of Carol

What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →

Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)

English
Romanian

The Story of Carol

Carol first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1880, with 7 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 1946: 34,283 births, good for #5 nationwide. About 36% of every Carol on record arrived during the 1940s, its defining decade. As of 2026, Carol ranks #2,831 for baby girls with 59 births, falling sharply (-35%). All told, over 817K Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1880s to the 2020s.

Popularity Over Time

Popularity by State

Top 10

11-50

51-100

101-500

500+

No data

Variants & Related Forms of Carol

Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Carol. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Names that sound like Carol

Phonetically similar names — useful when Carol is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.

Frequently Asked Questions about Carol

What does the name Carol mean?

What is the origin of the name Carol?

Carol has roots in the following cultural and linguistic traditions: English, Romanian.

How popular is Carol in 2026?

In 2026, Carol ranks #2,831 among girls' names in the U.S., with 59 babies given the name that year.

When was Carol most popular?

Carol reached its peak popularity in 1946, ranking #4 that year with 34,283 babies given the name.

In which U.S. states is Carol most popular?

Carol has historically been most popular in Hawaii, North Dakota, Connecticut. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Carol.

Is Carol a unisex name?

In U.S. Social Security records, Carol is primarily a girl's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a boy's name.

What names go well with Carol?

Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Carol include Abigail, Judith, Elizabeth. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data.

What are nicknames or variants of Carol?

Common variants and related forms of Carol include Callie, Carla, Carlene, Carlyn, Carolina, Caroline. These cover foreign-language equivalents, alternate spellings, and short forms.

About the name Carol

Carol is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1880 and has accumulated 817K births in the dataset. Carol's peak popularity came in 1946 when it ranked #4. Use the chart and map above to compare Carol's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.

Continue exploring

Data sources

Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .

Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.