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Girl · Germanic, through Latin and Italian
Caroline
Say it: KARE-oh-line
Meaning
Feminine form of Carolus (Charles), from Germanic karl 'man, free man'.
Certainscholars agree on this meaning.
Came to England with the German-born Caroline of Ansbach in the 18th century and never left fashion.
Its wave through time
Timeless: in steady use for over a century
In the United States
- 236,167 babies given this name since 1880
- At its height in 1889, about 1 in 363 girls
- 3,345 babies in 2020
Through the ages
Used by
The family of the name
Other spellings: Carolyn, Karoline
| German | Karoline |
|---|---|
| Italian | Carolina |
| Spanish | Carolina |
| Swedish | Karolina |
| Polish | Karolina |
Famous bearers
- Caroline of Ansbach, queen of Great Britain
- Caroline Herschel, astronomer
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- Royal and noble genealogies
- National census records of the 19th and 20th centuries
- 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.