Cara vs Carol

Side-by-side comparison of Cara and Carol — popularity rank, total births, peak decade, and historical trends from Social Security Administration data.

Name A

Cara

Girl name · Rank #1294

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Name B

Carol

Girl name · Rank #2630

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Which name is more popular?

Metric Cara Carol
Current Rank #1294 #2630
Total Births (all years) 53,135 816,838
Peak Year 1985 1946
Peak Year Births 1,465 34,283
Peak Decade 1980ss 1940ss
Gender Girl Girl
First Recorded Year 1882 1880

Births by Decade

Decade Cara Carol
1880ss 63 120
1890ss 91 394
1900ss 113 964
1910ss 219 5,585
1920ss 281 22,978
1930ss 305 117,729
1940ss 492 292,330
1950ss 1,291 222,654
1960ss 5,779 112,332
1970ss 10,413 23,476
1980ss 13,277 8,809
1990ss 9,843 4,952
2000ss 6,034 2,727
2010ss 3,830 1,379
2020ss 1,104 409

Recent Annual Births (2014–present)

Year Cara Carol
2014 421 150
2015 389 118
2016 352 129
2017 318 114
2018 310 114
2019 252 112
2020 288 100
2021 248 87
2022 208 82
2023 182 74
2024 178 66

Data Sources

Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, ssa.gov/oact/babynames.
Source: SSA Annual Name Rankings, 1882–2024.

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