Carolynn
Carolynn was given to 45 girls in 2025, #3,408 among girls’ names; 6,453 Americans have been recorded with it since 1917 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 4,990 Americans named Carolynn and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (77% of everyone recorded); the median is 55 years old and half are between 30 and 73.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Carolynn by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
How popular is Carolynn?
#3,408 among girls’ names, 2025
Carolynn fell from #3,358 in 2015 to #3,408 in 2025 among girls’ names, although its share of girls born rose from 26.9 to 28.0 per million.
169 babies in 1942, the peak
Carolynn peaked in 1942, when 169 girls were given it, #568 among girls’ names. The 45 births of 2025 are 27% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 45 | #3,408 | 0.03 |
| 2024 | 40 | #3,772 | 0.02 |
| 2023 | 35 | #4,127 | 0.02 |
| 2022 | 43 | #3,611 | 0.03 |
| 2021 | 35 | #4,111 | 0.02 |
| 2020 | 42 | #3,558 | 0.03 |
| 2019 | 53 | #3,052 | 0.03 |
| 2018 | 37 | #3,936 | 0.02 |
| 2017 | 44 | #3,493 | 0.03 |
| 2016 | 51 | #3,190 | 0.03 |
Every recorded year (107)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 48 | #3,358 | 0.03 |
| 2014 | 39 | #3,857 | 0.02 |
| 2013 | 57 | #2,941 | 0.03 |
| 2012 | 43 | #3,651 | 0.02 |
| 2011 | 33 | #4,381 | 0.02 |
| 2010 | 35 | #4,212 | 0.02 |
| 2009 | 52 | #3,198 | 0.03 |
| 2008 | 40 | #3,949 | 0.02 |
| 2007 | 44 | #3,660 | 0.02 |
| 2006 | 48 | #3,376 | 0.03 |
| 2005 | 37 | #3,885 | 0.02 |
| 2004 | 42 | #3,502 | 0.02 |
| 2003 | 43 | #3,359 | 0.02 |
| 2002 | 43 | #3,247 | 0.02 |
| 2001 | 44 | #3,147 | 0.02 |
| 2000 | 56 | #2,633 | 0.03 |
| 1999 | 25 | #4,464 | 0.01 |
| 1998 | 42 | #3,022 | 0.02 |
| 1997 | 45 | #2,734 | 0.03 |
| 1996 | 50 | #2,512 | 0.03 |
| 1995 | 35 | #3,224 | 0.02 |
| 1994 | 46 | #2,662 | 0.03 |
| 1993 | 51 | #2,453 | 0.03 |
| 1992 | 64 | #2,102 | 0.03 |
| 1991 | 45 | #2,659 | 0.02 |
| 1990 | 51 | #2,402 | 0.03 |
| 1989 | 48 | #2,411 | 0.03 |
| 1988 | 50 | #2,250 | 0.03 |
| 1987 | 45 | #2,333 | 0.03 |
| 1986 | 50 | #2,120 | 0.03 |
| 1985 | 37 | #2,603 | 0.02 |
| 1984 | 60 | #1,789 | 0.04 |
| 1983 | 52 | #1,963 | 0.03 |
| 1982 | 58 | #1,854 | 0.03 |
| 1981 | 64 | #1,755 | 0.04 |
| 1980 | 55 | #1,940 | 0.03 |
| 1979 | 56 | #1,877 | 0.03 |
| 1978 | 49 | #1,967 | 0.03 |
| 1977 | 57 | #1,777 | 0.04 |
| 1976 | 45 | #1,971 | 0.03 |
| 1975 | 46 | #1,938 | 0.03 |
| 1974 | 49 | #1,802 | 0.03 |
| 1973 | 49 | #1,775 | 0.03 |
| 1972 | 52 | #1,699 | 0.03 |
| 1971 | 63 | #1,549 | 0.04 |
| 1970 | 74 | #1,409 | 0.04 |
| 1969 | 71 | #1,357 | 0.04 |
| 1968 | 82 | #1,197 | 0.05 |
| 1967 | 72 | #1,270 | 0.04 |
| 1966 | 55 | #1,494 | 0.03 |
| 1965 | 73 | #1,256 | 0.04 |
| 1964 | 73 | #1,311 | 0.04 |
| 1963 | 83 | #1,201 | 0.04 |
| 1962 | 103 | #1,064 | 0.05 |
| 1961 | 109 | #1,049 | 0.05 |
| 1960 | 71 | #1,300 | 0.04 |
| 1959 | 97 | #1,078 | 0.05 |
| 1958 | 89 | #1,121 | 0.04 |
| 1957 | 102 | #1,037 | 0.05 |
| 1956 | 91 | #1,076 | 0.05 |
| 1955 | 88 | #1,075 | 0.05 |
| 1954 | 108 | #927 | 0.06 |
| 1953 | 91 | #1,008 | 0.05 |
| 1952 | 122 | #825 | 0.07 |
| 1951 | 104 | #882 | 0.06 |
| 1950 | 108 | #850 | 0.06 |
| 1949 | 130 | #752 | 0.08 |
| 1948 | 139 | #709 | 0.08 |
| 1947 | 168 | #638 | 0.09 |
| 1946 | 163 | #622 | 0.10 |
| 1945 | 143 | #603 | 0.11 |
| 1944 | 165 | #569 | 0.12 |
| 1943 | 160 | #594 | 0.11 |
| 1942 | 169 | #568 | 0.13 |
| 1941 | 123 | #640 | 0.10 |
| 1940 | 107 | #669 | 0.09 |
| 1939 | 70 | #827 | 0.06 |
| 1938 | 70 | #848 | 0.06 |
| 1937 | 66 | #850 | 0.06 |
| 1936 | 38 | #1,152 | 0.04 |
| 1935 | 55 | #938 | 0.05 |
| 1934 | 37 | #1,171 | 0.04 |
| 1933 | 35 | #1,204 | 0.03 |
| 1932 | 23 | #1,602 | 0.02 |
| 1931 | 18 | #1,883 | 0.02 |
| 1930 | 23 | #1,668 | 0.02 |
| 1929 | 22 | #1,716 | 0.02 |
| 1928 | 17 | #2,103 | 0.01 |
| 1927 | 9 | #3,320 | 0.01 |
| 1925 | 7 | #4,087 | 0.01 |
| 1924 | 13 | #2,685 | 0.01 |
| 1923 | 15 | #2,380 | 0.01 |
| 1922 | 7 | #4,069 | 0.01 |
| 1921 | 6 | #4,559 | under 0.01 |
| 1919 | 8 | #3,511 | 0.01 |
| 1918 | 5 | #4,926 | under 0.01 |
| 1917 | 8 | #3,390 | 0.01 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Carolynn a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Carolynn has been recorded only for girls: SSA lists no boys with the name in 107 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Carolynn: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Carolynn, and how old are they?
4,990 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 77% of the 6,453 Americans ever recorded as Carolynn. The median Carolynn alive today is 55 years old; half are between 30 and 73.
The 2020 Census counted 5,178 people named Carolynn (5,173 women and girls, 5 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 5,176 born in the U.S. The Census count matches that prediction to within 1%.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 554 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 1,550 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 877 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 783 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 665 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 566 |
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 Carolynn born?
The states with the most babies named Carolynn are California, New York and Michigan, with 51% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 627 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| New York | 301 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Michigan | 285 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Texas | 247 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Illinois | 226 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Pennsylvania | 174 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Ohio | 111 | not ranked | 0.3× |
| New Jersey | 103 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Wisconsin | 52 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| Indiana | 48 | not ranked | 0.3× |
Where Carolynn is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Carolynn is most over-represented in Michigan: since 1917 it was given 1.1 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 Carolynn with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
How common is the spelling Carolynn?
Carolynn is a less common spelling of Carolyn: SSA has recorded 6,453 Carolynn and 558,397 Carolyn since 1880.
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 584,060 babies since 1880, Carolynn is the second most given (1.1% of them). In 2025 it was given to 45 of their 276 babies (16%), again the second 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 Carolynn
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 Carolynn and names like it
- Compare Carolynn and CarolynBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1940sCarolynn peaked in 1942.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Carolynn since 1910.
- The top names of 1942The year the most babies were named Carolynn.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Carolynn alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with CMost given first.