US rank #2630 Girls' name Peak 1946 816,838 births

Carol — #2630 US girls' name

816,838 babies named Carol in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1946. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s1201890s3941900s9641910s55851920s229781930s1177291940s2923301950s2226541960s1123321970s234761980s88091990s49522000s27272010s13792020s409
#2630
of 17,661 girls in use

More common than 85% of names given to girls today.

1940s
Peak decade

36% of everyone ever named Carol was born in this single decade.

1946
Single peak year

34,283 babies were named Carol in 1946 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Carol

The Social Security Administration has registered 816,838 babies named Carol between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a girl's name, Carol currently holds the #2630 rank among girls for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1946, when 34,283 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Carol performed strongest in the 1940s, accumulating 292,330 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Carol shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in New York, which accounts for 86,214 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by Pennsylvania and California. In total, SSA state-level files list Carol in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Carol in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 816,838 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Carol at a glance

Outside the top 1,000

Total births

816,838

Since 1880

145 years of records

Peak year

1946

34,283 births that year

Strongest decade: 1940s

Current rank

#2,630

Among girls

As of 2024

Active since

1880

Recorded for 145 years

Last year on file: 2024

Carol popularity over time — girls

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880

Outside the top 1,000
Peak year (1946)
34,283
Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
-10,000010,00020,00030,00040,000 202420061988197019521934191618981880 7

Carol popularity over time — boys

8,656 total births recorded since 1884 (Carol as boys' name)

Unisex variant — 8,656 births
-1000100200300 200919851971195719431929191518981884 5

Carol by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 1940s
Peak decade
1940s
292,330 births that decade — 36% of Carol's all-time total
1880s1201890s3941900s9641910s55851920s229781930s1177291940s2923301950s2226541960s1123321970s234761980s88091990s49522000s27272010s13792020s409

Carol by state

Where Carol concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Carol
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 New York
86,214 10.6%
#2 Pennsylvania
64,889 7.9%
#3 California
56,916 7.0%
#4 Illinois
55,311 6.8%
#5 Ohio
53,096 6.5%
#6 Michigan
44,893 5.5%
#7 New Jersey
31,000 3.8%
#8 Massachusetts
30,755 3.8%
New York share of Carol's total US births 10.6%
Even split

86,214 of 816,838 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.

Carol appears in 51 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Carol?
816,838 babies have been named Carol since 1880. It currently ranks #2630 among girls. The peak year was 1946 with 34,283 births.
When was Carol most popular?
Carol was most popular in the 1940s decade with 292,330 total births. The single peak year was 1946.
Where is Carol most popular?
The top states for the name Carol are New York (86,214 births), Pennsylvania (64,889 births), California (56,916 births).
How long has the name Carol been used?
Carol has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 145 years of data through 2024.
What names are similar to Carol?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Carolyn, Carrie, Caroline, Carla, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.

Keep exploring Carol

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Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.