Girl · Germanic, through Latin
Carol
Say it: KAIR-ul
Meaning
An English short form of Caroline (feminine of Carolus, Charles), later associated with the word carol 'joyful song'.
Likelythe main view, with some doubt.
Earlier a rare male name (Latin Carolus), it became a popular girls' name in the US in the 1930s and 1940s.
Its wave through time
A fashion of the 1940s
In the United States
- 825,174 babies given this name since 1880
- At its height in 1945, about 1 in 43 girls
- 100 babies in 2020
Through the ages
Used by
The family of the name
Other spellings: Carole, Caryl
| German | Carola |
|---|---|
| Italian | Carola |
Famous bearers
- Carol Burnett, US comedian
- Carole King, US singer-songwriter
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.