Girls' name · since 1880
Carol
Since 1880, U.S. Social Security records show 816,928 babies named Carol, peaking in 1946. See the year-by-year trend, decade totals, and state rankings below, sourced from federal birth data.
- #24 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #2,240 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 816,928
- born since 1880
- 1940s
- peak decade
Carol currently ranks #2240 among girls' names in America, with 816,928 babies recorded since 1880.
Carol has 816,928 recorded births among girls since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #2240 as of the latest data, more common than 87% of girls, busiest in the 1940s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #24 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #2,240 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 816,928 born since 1880
- 1940s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Carol ranks #24 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #2,240 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 816,928 born since 1880, peaking in the 1940s.
- #24 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #2,240 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 816,928
- born since 1880
- 1940s
- peak decade
Carol's 816,928 recorded births place it above 99.96% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by New York.
How Carol compares
816,928 Top 1% higher than 99% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Carol's all-time total is 2,173x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Carol | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 816,928 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 34,284 | 21 | 19,840 |
Carol's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Carol splits its recorded history at 1953: 37% of all births land in the more recent half, 63% in the earlier half, leaning more toward its earlier era than today's. The single quietest year was 1882 (6 births) -- compare that against the 1946 peak of 34,284 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Carol popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1946)
- 34,284
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Carol popularity over time - boys
8,656 total births recorded since 1884 (Carol as boys' name)
Carol by decade
1940s is the heaviest window (292,333 births, 36% of the file).
1940s was Carol's strongest decade.
292,333 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 36% of all-time use.
Carol births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 120
1880s
120 births
- 1890s 394
1890s
394 births
- 1900s 964
1900s
964 births
- 1910s 5,585
1910s
5,585 births
- 1920s 22,978
1920s
22,978 births
- 1930s
1930s
117,731 births
- 1940s
1940s
292,333 births
- 1950s
1950s
222,656 births
- 1960s 112,333
1960s
112,333 births
- 1970s 23,477
1970s
23,477 births
- 1980s 8,808
1980s
8,808 births
- 1990s 4,952
1990s
4,952 births
- 2000s 2,727
2000s
2,727 births
- 2010s 1,379
2010s
1,379 births
- 2020s 491
2020s
491 births
What this shows Peak: 1940s at 292,333 births (36% of all-time use).
How Carol compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Carol's total volume
Carol by state
Where Carol concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | New York | | 86,223 | 10.6% |
| #2 | Pennsylvania | | 64,888 | 7.9% |
| #3 | California | | 56,927 | 7.0% |
| #4 | Illinois | | 55,311 | 6.8% |
| #5 | Ohio | | 53,097 | 6.5% |
| #6 | Michigan | | 44,893 | 5.5% |
| #7 | New Jersey | | 30,999 | 3.8% |
| #8 | Massachusetts | | 30,756 | 3.8% |
86,223 of 816,928 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Carol appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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What to do with Carol's data
- Carol's decade-level peak was the 1940s (292,333 total births); usage has since declined to 491 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- New York records the most Carols (86,223 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. New York names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Carol
Nearby Names Like Carol
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Carol
Compare Carol side by side: Carol vs Carolyn Carol vs Carrie Carol vs Caroline
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Carol
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Carol: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1946)
Similar record span (~145 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Carol draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.