Carole
Carole was given to 9 girls in 2025, #10,254 among girls’ names; 110,952 Americans have been recorded with it since 1901 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 60,600 Americans named Carole and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (55% of everyone recorded); the median is 79 years old and half are between 68 and 84.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Carole by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Carole mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Carole is “a female given name from French, variant of Carol”
Borrowed from French Carole.
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Carole?
#10,254 among girls’ names, 2025
Carole rose from #10,282 in 2015 to #10,254 in 2025 among girls’ names, although its share of girls born held at 5.6 per million.
8,440 babies in 1942, the peak
Carole peaked in 1942, when 8,440 babies were given it (8,407 girls, #35 among girls’ names). The 9 births of 2025 are under 1% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 9 | #10,254 | 0.01 |
| 2023 | 9 | #10,475 | 0.01 |
| 2020 | 7 | #12,396 | under 0.01 |
| 2019 | 11 | #9,238 | 0.01 |
| 2018 | 10 | #9,964 | 0.01 |
| 2017 | 8 | #11,862 | under 0.01 |
| 2016 | 11 | #9,531 | 0.01 |
| 2015 | 10 | #10,282 | 0.01 |
| 2014 | 11 | #9,673 | 0.01 |
| 2013 | 13 | #8,684 | 0.01 |
Every recorded year (115)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 6 | #15,339 | under 0.01 |
| 2011 | 5 | #17,279 | under 0.01 |
| 2010 | 10 | #10,571 | 0.01 |
| 2009 | 12 | #9,506 | 0.01 |
| 2008 | 16 | #7,815 | 0.01 |
| 2007 | 8 | #12,899 | under 0.01 |
| 2006 | 17 | #7,215 | 0.01 |
| 2005 | 21 | #5,843 | 0.01 |
| 2004 | 20 | #6,015 | 0.01 |
| 2003 | 36 | #3,810 | 0.02 |
| 2002 | 30 | #4,198 | 0.02 |
| 2001 | 26 | #4,582 | 0.01 |
| 2000 | 24 | #4,811 | 0.01 |
| 1999 | 30 | #3,901 | 0.02 |
| 1998 | 29 | #3,931 | 0.02 |
| 1997 | 44 | #2,779 | 0.03 |
| 1996 | 48 | #2,590 | 0.03 |
| 1995 | 43 | #2,790 | 0.02 |
| 1994 | 56 | #2,320 | 0.03 |
| 1993 | 51 | #2,452 | 0.03 |
| 1992 | 48 | #2,574 | 0.03 |
| 1991 | 81 | #1,761 | 0.04 |
| 1990 | 92 | #1,617 | 0.05 |
| 1989 | 65 | #1,962 | 0.04 |
| 1988 | 87 | #1,532 | 0.05 |
| 1987 | 90 | #1,447 | 0.05 |
| 1986 | 70 | #1,670 | 0.04 |
| 1985 | 94 | #1,373 | 0.05 |
| 1984 | 95 | #1,304 | 0.06 |
| 1983 | 108 | #1,195 | 0.06 |
| 1982 | 100 | #1,279 | 0.06 |
| 1981 | 118 | #1,148 | 0.07 |
| 1980 | 114 | #1,177 | 0.07 |
| 1979 | 128 | #1,075 | 0.08 |
| 1978 | 133 | #1,025 | 0.09 |
| 1977 | 150 | #932 | 0.10 |
| 1976 | 140 | #927 | 0.10 |
| 1975 | 189 | #754 | 0.13 |
| 1974 | 192 | #742 | 0.13 |
| 1973 | 219 | #684 | 0.15 |
| 1972 | 289 | #570 | 0.19 |
| 1971 | 347 | #528 | 0.21 |
| 1970 | 422 | #480 | 0.24 |
| 1969 | 532 | #414 | 0.32 |
| 1968 | 612 | #363 | 0.37 |
| 1967 | 703 | #329 | 0.43 |
| 1966 | 756 | #322 | 0.45 |
| 1965 | 897 | #299 | 0.51 |
| 1964 | 1,164 | #263 | 0.61 |
| 1963 | 1,152 | #260 | 0.60 |
| 1962 | 1,382 | #232 | 0.70 |
| 1961 | 1,679 | #205 | 0.83 |
| 1960 | 1,689 | #203 | 0.84 |
| 1959 | 1,416 | #223 | 0.70 |
| 1958 | 1,510 | #211 | 0.75 |
| 1957 | 1,610 | #207 | 0.79 |
| 1956 | 1,418 | #214 | 0.71 |
| 1955 | 1,426 | #213 | 0.73 |
| 1954 | 1,507 | #203 | 0.78 |
| 1953 | 1,635 | #188 | 0.87 |
| 1952 | 1,836 | #170 | 1.0 |
| 1951 | 1,959 | #159 | 1.1 |
| 1950 | 2,218 | #140 | 1.3 |
| 1949 | 2,764 | #118 | 1.6 |
| 1948 | 3,313 | #106 | 2.0 |
| 1947 | 3,826 | #102 | 2.2 |
| 1946 | 4,621 | #72 | 2.9 |
| 1945 | 4,842 | #51 | 3.7 |
| 1944 | 6,268 | #43 | 4.7 |
| 1943 | 6,506 | #42 | 4.7 |
| 1942 | 8,407 | #35 | 6.2 |
| 1941 | 4,966 | #48 | 4.1 |
| 1940 | 4,790 | #49 | 4.2 |
| 1939 | 4,679 | #47 | 4.3 |
| 1938 | 4,616 | #46 | 4.2 |
| 1937 | 4,198 | #56 | 3.9 |
| 1936 | 3,199 | #73 | 3.1 |
| 1935 | 2,680 | #93 | 2.6 |
| 1934 | 2,655 | #89 | 2.5 |
| 1933 | 2,149 | #107 | 2.1 |
| 1932 | 1,317 | #151 | 1.2 |
| 1931 | 850 | #212 | 0.80 |
| 1930 | 425 | #321 | 0.38 |
| 1929 | 326 | #373 | 0.29 |
| 1928 | 250 | #428 | 0.22 |
| 1927 | 213 | #477 | 0.18 |
| 1926 | 204 | #488 | 0.17 |
| 1925 | 218 | #466 | 0.18 |
| 1924 | 204 | #487 | 0.16 |
| 1923 | 184 | #518 | 0.15 |
| 1922 | 159 | #569 | 0.13 |
| 1921 | 143 | #608 | 0.12 |
| 1920 | 103 | #715 | 0.09 |
| 1919 | 82 | #779 | 0.07 |
| 1918 | 92 | #743 | 0.08 |
| 1917 | 82 | #763 | 0.08 |
| 1916 | 67 | #825 | 0.06 |
| 1915 | 50 | #935 | 0.05 |
| 1914 | 44 | #879 | 0.06 |
| 1913 | 31 | #962 | 0.05 |
| 1912 | 25 | #1,034 | 0.04 |
| 1911 | 10 | #1,556 | 0.02 |
| 1910 | 9 | #1,651 | 0.02 |
| 1909 | 13 | #1,159 | 0.04 |
| 1901 | 5 | #1,715 | 0.02 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Carole a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Carole has been given almost only to girls: 264 boys in 115 years of records.
Girls and boys named Carole: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Carole, and how old are they?
60,600 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 55% of the 110,952 Americans ever recorded as Carole. The median Carole alive today is 79 years old; half are between 68 and 84.
The 2020 Census counted 80,915 people named Carole (80,842 women and girls, 73 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 75,014 born in the U.S. The Census count is 8% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 25,300 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 28,300 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 5,320 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 1,210 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 330 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 98 |
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 Carole born?
The states with the most babies named Carole are New York, Pennsylvania and California, with 30% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 12,866 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Pennsylvania | 10,386 | not ranked | 1.4× |
| California | 8,516 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Illinois | 8,085 | not ranked | 1.4× |
| Ohio | 7,149 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Michigan | 6,109 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Massachusetts | 4,990 | not ranked | 1.4× |
| New Jersey | 4,602 | not ranked | 1.4× |
| Texas | 3,067 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Indiana | 2,814 | not ranked | 1.0× |
Where Carole is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Carole is most over-represented in Massachusetts: 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 Carole 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 388,752 babies since 1880, Carole is the second most given (29% of them). In 2025 it was given to 9 of their 754 babies (1.2%), the seventh most given that year.
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 Carole
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 Carole and names like it
- Compare Carole and CarlaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1940sCarole peaked in 1942.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Carole since 1910.
- The top names of 1942The year the most babies were named Carole.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Carole alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with CMost given first.