girls' name ★ peaked 2000

Caroline

Meaning Learned borrowing from Latin carolīnus Gender Girl Rank 2025 #96 Trend ↓ Falling 25%

Learned borrowing from Latin carolīnus.

Rank 2025
#96
among girls · ↓4 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
2,646
named Caroline · -3% vs 2024
How common
1 in 607
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2000
5,029 babies
All-time total
250,719
#165 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Caroline popularity over time

250,719 babies have been named Caroline since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
123418801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 3,743 – 3,743 374 – #73
1890s 4,500 5 4,505 451 +20% #94
1900s 4,276 – 4,276 428 -5% #125
1910s 10,591 12 10,603 1,060 +148% #137
1920s 12,694 13 12,707 1,271 +20% #159
1930s 10,844 23 10,867 1,087 -14% #165
1940s 11,625 13 11,638 1,164 +7% #168
1950s 8,985 – 8,985 899 -23% #253
1960s 16,770 21 16,791 1,679 +87% #176
1970s 12,287 34 12,321 1,232 -27% #197
1980s 17,943 90 18,033 1,803 +46% #113
1990s 36,827 45 36,872 3,687 +104% #71
2000s 41,850 47 41,897 4,190 +14% #62
2010s 39,633 6 39,639 3,964 -5% #55
2020s (to 2025) 17,842 – 17,842 2,974 -25% #71

Where Caroline is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 2,517 1.57 #108
2027 2,413 1.50 #114
2028 2,328 1.45 #116
2029 2,257 1.40 #121
2030 2,199 1.37 #131

Where Caroline is most popular

Girls named Caroline per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 1.78 per 1,000. Strongest in District of Columbia, Alabama, and Mississippi.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Caroline born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
District of Columbia 83 7.00 +292%
Alabama 536 5.71 +220%
Mississippi 228 4.87 +173%
Kentucky 399 4.67 +161%
Tennessee 701 4.42 +148%
Louisiana 387 4.42 +148%
Maine 68 4.40 +146%
West Virginia 112 4.27 +139%
South Carolina 372 4.14 +132%
North Carolina 934 4.10 +130%
Arkansas 214 4.05 +127%
Rhode Island 45 3.59 +101%
Virginia 587 3.44 +93%
Georgia 762 3.35 +88%
Delaware 37 3.26 +83%
Missouri 389 3.23 +81%
New Hampshire 58 3.14 +76%
Indiana 432 3.08 +72%
Kansas 170 2.95 +65%
Connecticut 159 2.73 +53%
Montana 36 2.66 +49%
Massachusetts 315 2.61 +46%
Maryland 268 2.53 +42%
Oklahoma 185 2.51 +41%
Nebraska 88 2.45 +37%
Ohio 570 2.40 +35%
Pennsylvania 538 2.28 +28%
Vermont 11 2.27 +27%
Alaska 19 2.21 +24%
Iowa 123 2.11 +18%
Texas 1,566 1.95 +9%
Utah 159 1.91 +7%
Colorado 210 1.88 +5%
Wisconsin 193 1.87 +5%
North Dakota 23 1.75 ≈ national
Florida 719 1.68 -6%
Michigan 306 1.68 -6%
Illinois 384 1.68 -6%
Minnesota 174 1.61 -10%
Idaho 53 1.58 -11%
New York 497 1.26 -30%
Washington 179 1.24 -31%
Oregon 80 1.23 -31%
South Dakota 17 1.19 -33%
New Jersey 209 1.16 -35%
Nevada 48 1.03 -42%
Arizona 140 0.998 -44%
New Mexico 23 0.946 -47%
California 610 0.726 -59%
Hawaii 5 0.436 -76%
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Caroline

Caroline is a top-100 name for girls in the United States, ranked #96 in 2025 with 2,646 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 250,719 American babies have been named Caroline. Its peak came in 2000, when 5,029 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2000s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Caroline stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Caroline?

The median living Caroline is about 26 years old; half are between 13 and 42. An estimated 198 thousand people named Caroline are alive in the United States today.

median 26 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Caroline year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 2,646 #96 – –
2024 2,730 #92 – –
2023 2,868 #83 – –
2022 3,030 #77 – –
2021 3,204 #80 – –
2020 3,364 #71 – –
2019 3,920 #61 – –
2018 4,167 #56 – –
2017 4,294 #55 – –
2016 4,437 #56 – –
2015 4,333 #62 – –
2014 4,348 #59 6 #10,939
2013 3,983 #63 – –
2012 3,421 #80 – –
2011 3,370 #87 – –
2010 3,360 #88 – –
2009 3,624 #87 – –
2008 3,545 #94 12 #6,818
2007 3,409 #99 – –
2006 3,791 #89 – –
2005 3,974 #83 7 #9,274
2004 4,379 #74 13 #5,860
2003 4,585 #68 – –
2002 4,657 #67 – –
2001 4,864 #62 8 #7,633
2000 5,022 #65 7 #8,317
1995 3,799 #92 – –
1990 2,819 #116 14 #4,000
1985 1,751 #164 5 #6,671
1980 1,313 #200 5 #6,382
1975 1,232 #198 – –
1970 1,371 #229 – –
1965 1,815 #187 5 #3,989
1960 1,210 #254 5 #4,114
1955 742 #315 – –
1950 879 #257 – –
1945 1,013 #197 – –
1940 1,161 #172 8 #2,696
1935 1,048 #178 – –
1930 1,160 #172 5 #4,078
1925 1,193 #185 – –
1920 1,436 #159 – –
1915 1,402 #137 – –
1910 553 #146 – –
1905 407 #146 – –
1900 455 #135 – –
1895 484 #105 – –
1890 455 #94 – –
1885 399 #78 – –
1880 306 #75 – –

Famous people named Caroline

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Caroline Kennedy Caroline Kennedy American author and diplomat (born 1957) Contemporary
  2. 2 Caroline Flack Caroline Flack English radio and television presenter (1979–2020) Contemporary
  3. 3 Caroline Rhea Caroline Rhea Canadian actress and comedian (born 1964) Contemporary
  4. 4 Caroline Wozniacki Caroline Wozniacki Danish tennis player (born 1990) Contemporary
  5. 5 Caroline Sunshine Caroline Sunshine American political aide and former actress (born 1995) Contemporary
  6. 6 Caroline of Brunswick Caroline of Brunswick Queen of the United Kingdom and Hanover from 1820 to 1821 1768–1821 · 18th century
  7. 7 Caroline Goodall Caroline Goodall English-Australian actress (born 1959) Contemporary
  8. 8 Caroline Munro Caroline Munro English actress and model (born 1949) Contemporary
  9. 9 Caroline, Princess of Hanover Caroline, Princess of Hanover Princess of Monaco (born 1957) Contemporary
  10. 10 Caroline Cossey English model and actress (born 1954) Contemporary
  11. 11 Caroline Matilda of Great Britain Caroline Matilda of Great Britain Queen of Denmark and Norway from 1766 to 1772 1751–1775 · 18th century
  12. 12 Caroline Aaron Caroline Aaron American actress (born 1952) Contemporary
  13. 13 Caroline Dhavernas Caroline Dhavernas Canadian actress b. 1978 · Contemporary
  14. 14 Caroline of Ansbach Caroline of Ansbach Queen of Great Britain and Ireland from 1727 to 1737 1683–1737 · 17th century
  15. 15 Caroline Lucas Caroline Lucas British politician (born 1960) Contemporary
  16. 16 Caroline Garcia Caroline Garcia French tennis player (born 1993) Contemporary
  17. 17 Caroline Bonaparte Caroline Bonaparte Princess Murat 1782–1839 · 18th century
  18. 18 Caroline Graham Hansen Caroline Graham Hansen Norwegian footballer (born 1995) Contemporary
  19. 19 Caroline Williams American actress b. 1957 · Contemporary
  20. 20 Caroline Herschel Caroline Herschel German-British astronomer (1750–1848) 18th century

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Caroline, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Caroline?

The median living Caroline is about 26 years old. Half of all living Carolines are between 13 and 42 years old.

How many people named Caroline are alive today?

An estimated 198 thousand people named Caroline are alive in the United States, based on 250,719 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Caroline mean?

Learned borrowing from Latin carolīnus.

How popular is the name Caroline in 2025?

Caroline ranked #96 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 2,646 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Caroline?

250,719 babies have been named Caroline in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Caroline most popular?

Caroline peaked in 2000, when 5,029 newborns received the name.

Is Caroline a boy or girl name?

Caroline is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Caroline rising or falling?

Caroline is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Caroline become more popular?

Caroline is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 2,199 girls named Caroline in 2030, which would rank around #131. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Caroline?

Well-known people named Caroline include Caroline Kennedy (politician), Caroline Flack (presenter), Caroline Rhea (actor).

Names like Caroline

Names that sound and feel close to Caroline: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Caroline with similar names → More names starting with C →