Carol
Carol was given to 82 girls in 2025, #2,242 among girls’ names; 825,584 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 511,000 Americans named Carol and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (62% of everyone recorded); the median is 73 years old and half are between 66 and 80.
Carol is the #33 most common first name among living American women and girls, by this estimate.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Carol by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Carol mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Carol is “a female given name from the Germanic languages, popular in the middle of the 20th century.”
Also “a male given name from the Germanic languages.”
Shortened from Caroline. Associated by folk etymology with the English noun carol.
/ˈkæ.ɹəl/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Carol?
#2,242 among girls’ names, 2025
Carol fell from #1,770 in 2015 to #2,242 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 66.1 to 51.0 per million.
34,458 babies in 1946, the peak
Carol peaked in 1946, when 34,458 babies were given it (34,284 girls, #5 among girls’ names). The 82 births of 2025 are under 1% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 82 | #2,242 | 0.05 |
| 2024 | 66 | #2,642 | 0.04 |
| 2023 | 74 | #2,424 | 0.05 |
| 2022 | 82 | #2,278 | 0.05 |
| 2021 | 87 | #2,156 | 0.05 |
| 2020 | 100 | #1,911 | 0.06 |
| 2019 | 112 | #1,818 | 0.07 |
| 2018 | 114 | #1,790 | 0.07 |
| 2017 | 114 | #1,817 | 0.07 |
| 2016 | 129 | #1,662 | 0.07 |
Every recorded year (145)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 118 | #1,770 | 0.07 |
| 2014 | 150 | #1,489 | 0.08 |
| 2013 | 133 | #1,617 | 0.08 |
| 2012 | 168 | #1,386 | 0.10 |
| 2011 | 191 | #1,251 | 0.11 |
| 2010 | 150 | #1,495 | 0.08 |
| 2009 | 189 | #1,285 | 0.10 |
| 2008 | 228 | #1,130 | 0.12 |
| 2007 | 250 | #1,048 | 0.13 |
| 2006 | 270 | #972 | 0.14 |
| 2005 | 351 | #758 | 0.19 |
| 2004 | 289 | #851 | 0.16 |
| 2003 | 276 | #871 | 0.15 |
| 2002 | 274 | #845 | 0.15 |
| 2001 | 278 | #831 | 0.15 |
| 2000 | 322 | #719 | 0.18 |
| 1999 | 302 | #740 | 0.17 |
| 1998 | 351 | #658 | 0.20 |
| 1997 | 374 | #607 | 0.21 |
| 1996 | 412 | #565 | 0.24 |
| 1995 | 460 | #525 | 0.26 |
| 1994 | 501 | #495 | 0.28 |
| 1993 | 506 | #494 | 0.28 |
| 1992 | 612 | #413 | 0.33 |
| 1991 | 672 | #384 | 0.36 |
| 1990 | 762 | #349 | 0.40 |
| 1989 | 752 | #338 | 0.41 |
| 1988 | 741 | #334 | 0.42 |
| 1987 | 763 | #318 | 0.44 |
| 1986 | 770 | #310 | 0.45 |
| 1985 | 841 | #292 | 0.49 |
| 1984 | 906 | #268 | 0.54 |
| 1983 | 942 | #251 | 0.56 |
| 1982 | 944 | #263 | 0.56 |
| 1981 | 1,044 | #238 | 0.63 |
| 1980 | 1,105 | #232 | 0.67 |
| 1979 | 1,163 | #225 | 0.72 |
| 1978 | 1,264 | #204 | 0.83 |
| 1977 | 1,348 | #198 | 0.88 |
| 1976 | 1,492 | #171 | 1.0 |
| 1975 | 1,784 | #150 | 1.2 |
| 1974 | 2,038 | #139 | 1.4 |
| 1973 | 2,457 | #121 | 1.7 |
| 1972 | 3,010 | #109 | 2.0 |
| 1971 | 3,857 | #92 | 2.3 |
| 1970 | 5,064 | #71 | 2.9 |
| 1969 | 6,138 | #56 | 3.6 |
| 1968 | 7,078 | #49 | 4.3 |
| 1967 | 7,491 | #47 | 4.5 |
| 1966 | 8,259 | #48 | 4.9 |
| 1965 | 10,097 | #42 | 5.7 |
| 1964 | 12,125 | #36 | 6.4 |
| 1963 | 12,492 | #33 | 6.5 |
| 1962 | 14,523 | #28 | 7.4 |
| 1961 | 16,667 | #24 | 8.3 |
| 1960 | 17,463 | #23 | 8.6 |
| 1959 | 18,140 | #22 | 9.0 |
| 1958 | 19,683 | #20 | 9.8 |
| 1957 | 21,898 | #18 | 10.7 |
| 1956 | 21,408 | #16 | 10.7 |
| 1955 | 22,046 | #15 | 11.3 |
| 1954 | 22,247 | #15 | 11.5 |
| 1953 | 22,290 | #16 | 11.8 |
| 1952 | 24,000 | #12 | 12.9 |
| 1951 | 24,781 | #11 | 13.8 |
| 1950 | 26,163 | #9 | 15.3 |
| 1949 | 26,780 | #8 | 15.7 |
| 1948 | 28,977 | #8 | 17.1 |
| 1947 | 33,543 | #6 | 18.9 |
| 1946 | 34,284 | #5 | 21.8 |
| 1945 | 30,389 | #5 | 23.2 |
| 1944 | 30,456 | #5 | 22.9 |
| 1943 | 31,686 | #5 | 22.7 |
| 1942 | 30,272 | #5 | 22.4 |
| 1941 | 24,187 | #4 | 20.0 |
| 1940 | 21,759 | #6 | 19.0 |
| 1939 | 20,166 | #6 | 18.4 |
| 1938 | 19,421 | #6 | 17.6 |
| 1937 | 17,336 | #6 | 16.3 |
| 1936 | 14,520 | #10 | 14.0 |
| 1935 | 11,735 | #11 | 11.2 |
| 1934 | 10,273 | #14 | 9.8 |
| 1933 | 8,220 | #20 | 8.2 |
| 1932 | 6,570 | #32 | 6.2 |
| 1931 | 4,892 | #46 | 4.6 |
| 1930 | 4,598 | #54 | 4.1 |
| 1929 | 4,279 | #63 | 3.8 |
| 1928 | 3,349 | #77 | 2.9 |
| 1927 | 2,643 | #106 | 2.2 |
| 1926 | 2,427 | #113 | 2.0 |
| 1925 | 2,286 | #119 | 1.9 |
| 1924 | 2,094 | #132 | 1.7 |
| 1923 | 1,864 | #139 | 1.5 |
| 1922 | 1,522 | #158 | 1.3 |
| 1921 | 1,374 | #166 | 1.1 |
| 1920 | 1,140 | #182 | 1.0 |
| 1919 | 932 | #200 | 0.82 |
| 1918 | 1,011 | #196 | 0.87 |
| 1917 | 798 | #215 | 0.74 |
| 1916 | 789 | #215 | 0.76 |
| 1915 | 596 | #243 | 0.61 |
| 1914 | 437 | #251 | 0.57 |
| 1913 | 332 | #254 | 0.53 |
| 1912 | 324 | #247 | 0.58 |
| 1911 | 181 | #291 | 0.43 |
| 1910 | 185 | #285 | 0.47 |
| 1909 | 142 | #302 | 0.41 |
| 1908 | 146 | #294 | 0.44 |
| 1907 | 112 | #329 | 0.35 |
| 1906 | 97 | #339 | 0.33 |
| 1905 | 91 | #351 | 0.31 |
| 1904 | 98 | #330 | 0.36 |
| 1903 | 67 | #389 | 0.26 |
| 1902 | 80 | #357 | 0.30 |
| 1901 | 61 | #378 | 0.25 |
| 1900 | 70 | #397 | 0.23 |
| 1899 | 65 | #361 | 0.28 |
| 1898 | 63 | #391 | 0.24 |
| 1897 | 42 | #455 | 0.18 |
| 1896 | 36 | #490 | 0.15 |
| 1895 | 48 | #404 | 0.21 |
| 1894 | 31 | #519 | 0.14 |
| 1893 | 30 | #503 | 0.14 |
| 1892 | 29 | #504 | 0.14 |
| 1891 | 24 | #526 | 0.13 |
| 1890 | 26 | #510 | 0.14 |
| 1889 | 30 | #443 | 0.17 |
| 1888 | 20 | #561 | 0.11 |
| 1887 | 15 | #590 | 0.10 |
| 1886 | 13 | #638 | 0.09 |
| 1885 | 11 | #661 | 0.08 |
| 1884 | 8 | #800 | 0.06 |
| 1882 | 6 | #827 | 0.06 |
| 1881 | 10 | #543 | 0.11 |
| 1880 | 7 | #685 | 0.08 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Carol a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 825,584 Americans recorded as Carol, 99% are girls and 1% boys. In 2025 it went to 82 girls; SSA lists no boys with it that year (fewer than 5, or none).
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Carol: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Carol, and how old are they?
511,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 62% of the 825,584 Americans ever recorded as Carol. The median Carol alive today is 73 years old; half are between 66 and 80.
The 2020 Census counted 614,466 people named Carol (611,753 women and girls, 2,713 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 597,569 born in the U.S. The Census count is 3% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 118,000 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 317,000 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 58,400 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 11,500 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 4,250 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 1,350 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Carol born?
The states with the most babies named Carol are New York, Pennsylvania and California, with 26% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 86,504 | #1,878 | 1.2× |
| Pennsylvania | 65,051 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| California | 57,141 | #1,980 | 1.0× |
| Illinois | 55,638 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Ohio | 53,310 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Michigan | 44,991 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| New Jersey | 31,025 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Massachusetts | 30,836 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Texas | 28,413 | #2,070 | 0.6× |
| Wisconsin | 27,590 | not ranked | 1.4× |
Where Carol is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Carol is most over-represented in Wisconsin: since 1910 it was given 1.4 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Carol with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 849,533 babies since 1880, Carol is the most given (97% of them). In 2025 it was given to 82 of their 132 babies (62%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Carol
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Carol and names like it
- Compare Carol and KarolBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1940sCarol peaked in 1946.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Carol since 1910.
- Germanic namesWiktionary’s origin for Carol: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1946The year the most babies were named Carol.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Carol alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with CMost given first.