Carolyn
Meaning
variant of Caroline, the French feminine of Charles (Germanic karl, 'man')
Carolyn around the world
One shared root links 24 names across 7 languages.
Shared root: from Germanic karl "man", Latinized as Carolus and spread everywhere by Charlemagne's fame
The constellation
16 more branches of this family
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Carolyn peaked in the 1940s.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
165 people · the #29,146 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 1,000,000 · median age 25
Among people named Carolyn living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1990s than in any other decade.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Carolyn
Most people given the name Carolyn in the United States were born between 1940 and 1979. The Carolyn you meet today is most often in her 60s or 70s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Carolyn deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Carolyn truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Carolyn fits with your family’s names and surname.
Does Carolyn fit YOUR family?
nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.
Add Carolyn to your family’s tree →