Carolyn
Carolyn was given to 185 girls in 2025, #1,222 among girls’ names; 558,397 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 352,000 Americans named Carolyn and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (63% of everyone recorded); the median is 71 years old and half are between 60 and 79.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Carolyn by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Carolyn mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Carolyn is “a female given name from the Germanic languages, a variant of Caroline used since the 19th century.”
A variant of Caroline with -lyn.
/ˈkɛɹəlɪn/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Carolyn?
#1,222 among girls’ names, 2025
Carolyn fell from #748 in 2015 to #1,222 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 0.21 to 0.12 per 1,000.
20,788 babies in 1947, the peak
Carolyn peaked in 1947, when 20,788 babies were given it (20,742 girls, #15 among girls’ names). The 185 births of 2025 are under 1% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 185 | #1,222 | 0.12 |
| 2024 | 207 | #1,160 | 0.13 |
| 2023 | 228 | #1,085 | 0.14 |
| 2022 | 194 | #1,240 | 0.12 |
| 2021 | 218 | #1,129 | 0.13 |
| 2020 | 270 | #947 | 0.17 |
| 2019 | 282 | #936 | 0.17 |
| 2018 | 313 | #866 | 0.18 |
| 2017 | 326 | #833 | 0.19 |
| 2016 | 352 | #809 | 0.20 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 377 | #748 | 0.21 |
| 2014 | 375 | #747 | 0.21 |
| 2013 | 347 | #785 | 0.20 |
| 2012 | 361 | #765 | 0.20 |
| 2011 | 371 | #742 | 0.21 |
| 2010 | 378 | #736 | 0.21 |
| 2009 | 426 | #683 | 0.23 |
| 2008 | 448 | #678 | 0.24 |
| 2007 | 495 | #606 | 0.26 |
| 2006 | 587 | #517 | 0.31 |
| 2005 | 626 | #489 | 0.34 |
| 2004 | 731 | #418 | 0.40 |
| 2003 | 701 | #430 | 0.38 |
| 2002 | 822 | #365 | 0.46 |
| 2001 | 870 | #346 | 0.48 |
| 2000 | 1,031 | #308 | 0.57 |
| 1999 | 1,037 | #297 | 0.58 |
| 1998 | 901 | #327 | 0.51 |
| 1997 | 1,061 | #276 | 0.61 |
| 1996 | 1,210 | #233 | 0.69 |
| 1995 | 1,175 | #242 | 0.67 |
| 1994 | 1,230 | #230 | 0.69 |
| 1993 | 1,479 | #200 | 0.82 |
| 1992 | 1,518 | #196 | 0.82 |
| 1991 | 1,559 | #193 | 0.83 |
| 1990 | 1,714 | #169 | 0.90 |
| 1989 | 1,809 | #158 | 1.0 |
| 1988 | 1,802 | #159 | 1.0 |
| 1987 | 1,813 | #149 | 1.0 |
| 1986 | 1,733 | #162 | 1.0 |
| 1985 | 1,837 | #155 | 1.1 |
| 1984 | 1,825 | #155 | 1.1 |
| 1983 | 1,914 | #150 | 1.1 |
| 1982 | 2,009 | #146 | 1.2 |
| 1981 | 1,958 | #144 | 1.2 |
| 1980 | 1,928 | #147 | 1.2 |
| 1979 | 2,053 | #138 | 1.3 |
| 1978 | 2,176 | #130 | 1.4 |
| 1977 | 2,197 | #129 | 1.4 |
| 1976 | 2,115 | #129 | 1.4 |
| 1975 | 2,346 | #119 | 1.6 |
| 1974 | 2,471 | #118 | 1.7 |
| 1973 | 2,569 | #116 | 1.8 |
| 1972 | 2,992 | #110 | 2.0 |
| 1971 | 3,609 | #104 | 2.2 |
| 1970 | 4,518 | #84 | 2.6 |
| 1969 | 5,129 | #71 | 3.0 |
| 1968 | 5,538 | #61 | 3.4 |
| 1967 | 5,719 | #60 | 3.5 |
| 1966 | 6,121 | #60 | 3.6 |
| 1965 | 6,965 | #58 | 3.9 |
| 1964 | 8,066 | #56 | 4.3 |
| 1963 | 8,124 | #56 | 4.2 |
| 1962 | 9,692 | #46 | 4.9 |
| 1961 | 10,509 | #42 | 5.2 |
| 1960 | 9,403 | #43 | 4.7 |
| 1959 | 9,727 | #42 | 4.8 |
| 1958 | 10,814 | #37 | 5.4 |
| 1957 | 11,575 | #33 | 5.7 |
| 1956 | 10,634 | #33 | 5.3 |
| 1955 | 11,179 | #30 | 5.7 |
| 1954 | 12,153 | #27 | 6.3 |
| 1953 | 12,919 | #25 | 6.9 |
| 1952 | 14,272 | #24 | 7.7 |
| 1951 | 15,206 | #22 | 8.4 |
| 1950 | 15,588 | #20 | 9.1 |
| 1949 | 17,404 | #17 | 10.2 |
| 1948 | 18,623 | #14 | 11.0 |
| 1947 | 20,742 | #15 | 11.7 |
| 1946 | 19,902 | #12 | 12.7 |
| 1945 | 17,244 | #12 | 13.2 |
| 1944 | 18,670 | #11 | 14.1 |
| 1943 | 20,365 | #11 | 14.6 |
| 1942 | 19,978 | #10 | 14.8 |
| 1941 | 16,273 | #11 | 13.5 |
| 1940 | 12,657 | #15 | 11.1 |
| 1939 | 11,290 | #14 | 10.3 |
| 1938 | 10,586 | #15 | 9.6 |
| 1937 | 8,941 | #20 | 8.4 |
| 1936 | 7,906 | #23 | 7.6 |
| 1935 | 6,967 | #28 | 6.6 |
| 1934 | 6,472 | #33 | 6.2 |
| 1933 | 5,043 | #40 | 5.0 |
| 1932 | 4,587 | #46 | 4.3 |
| 1931 | 4,008 | #60 | 3.8 |
| 1930 | 3,725 | #72 | 3.3 |
| 1929 | 3,272 | #77 | 2.9 |
| 1928 | 2,847 | #91 | 2.5 |
| 1927 | 2,806 | #99 | 2.4 |
| 1926 | 2,415 | #114 | 2.0 |
| 1925 | 2,189 | #127 | 1.8 |
| 1924 | 2,222 | #127 | 1.8 |
| 1923 | 2,010 | #132 | 1.7 |
| 1922 | 1,706 | #144 | 1.4 |
| 1921 | 1,753 | #146 | 1.4 |
| 1920 | 1,556 | #150 | 1.3 |
| 1919 | 1,330 | #165 | 1.2 |
| 1918 | 1,329 | #167 | 1.1 |
| 1917 | 1,223 | #164 | 1.1 |
| 1916 | 1,216 | #163 | 1.2 |
| 1915 | 1,096 | #168 | 1.1 |
| 1914 | 835 | #169 | 1.1 |
| 1913 | 676 | #170 | 1.1 |
| 1912 | 517 | #189 | 0.93 |
| 1911 | 387 | #185 | 0.93 |
| 1910 | 331 | #199 | 0.83 |
| 1909 | 299 | #194 | 0.86 |
| 1908 | 280 | #200 | 0.84 |
| 1907 | 184 | #254 | 0.58 |
| 1906 | 184 | #235 | 0.62 |
| 1905 | 210 | #213 | 0.72 |
| 1904 | 183 | #227 | 0.66 |
| 1903 | 157 | #241 | 0.60 |
| 1902 | 179 | #224 | 0.68 |
| 1901 | 148 | #237 | 0.62 |
| 1900 | 185 | #231 | 0.62 |
| 1899 | 141 | #231 | 0.61 |
| 1898 | 169 | #225 | 0.65 |
| 1897 | 145 | #227 | 0.62 |
| 1896 | 149 | #227 | 0.63 |
| 1895 | 148 | #227 | 0.63 |
| 1894 | 147 | #219 | 0.66 |
| 1893 | 146 | #211 | 0.69 |
| 1892 | 122 | #239 | 0.57 |
| 1891 | 110 | #230 | 0.59 |
| 1890 | 124 | #217 | 0.65 |
| 1889 | 133 | #199 | 0.75 |
| 1888 | 123 | #203 | 0.69 |
| 1887 | 97 | #208 | 0.66 |
| 1886 | 82 | #222 | 0.57 |
| 1885 | 86 | #209 | 0.65 |
| 1884 | 75 | #218 | 0.58 |
| 1883 | 58 | #234 | 0.52 |
| 1882 | 62 | #217 | 0.57 |
| 1881 | 60 | #195 | 0.65 |
| 1880 | 80 | #163 | 0.88 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Carolyn a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Carolyn has been given almost only to girls: 1,620 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Carolyn: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Carolyn, and how old are they?
352,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 63% of the 558,397 Americans ever recorded as Carolyn. The median Carolyn alive today is 71 years old; half are between 60 and 79.
The 2020 Census counted 384,056 people named Carolyn (383,725 women and girls, 331 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 403,695 born in the U.S. The Census count is 5% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 71,500 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 186,000 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 53,800 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 25,900 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 10,700 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 3,650 |
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 Carolyn born?
The states with the most babies named Carolyn are Texas, New York and California, with 18% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 34,497 | #1,730 | 1.0× |
| New York | 33,072 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| California | 32,329 | #1,981 | 0.8× |
| Ohio | 27,888 | #717 | 1.0× |
| North Carolina | 26,083 | #1,307 | 1.5× |
| Illinois | 26,026 | #1,446 | 0.9× |
| Pennsylvania | 25,138 | #1,036 | 0.7× |
| Georgia | 20,465 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Tennessee | 19,987 | #1,007 | 1.5× |
| Michigan | 18,634 | #1,251 | 0.8× |
Where Carolyn is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Carolyn is most over-represented in Arkansas: since 1910 it was given 1.6 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 Carolyn 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 586,080 babies since 1880, Carolyn is the most given (95% of them). In 2025 it was given to 185 of their 293 babies (63%), 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 Carolyn
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 Carolyn and names like it
- Compare Carolyn and CarolynnBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1940sCarolyn peaked in 1947.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Carolyn since 1910.
- The top names of 1947The year the most babies were named Carolyn.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Carolyn alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with CMost given first.