Girl · Germanic, through Latin and French
Carolyn
Say it: KAIR-uh-lin
Meaning
A variant of Caroline, the French feminine diminutive of Carolus (Charles), from Germanic karl 'free man'.
Certainscholars agree on this meaning.
An American spelling that peaked in the 1940s.
Its wave through time
A fashion of the 1940s
In the United States
- 557,345 babies given this name since 1880
- At its height in 1942, about 1 in 68 girls
- 265 babies in 2020
Through the ages
Used by
The family of the name
Other spellings: Caroline, Carolin
| French | Caroline |
|---|---|
| Italian | Carolina |
| Spanish | Carolina |
| German | Karoline |
Famous bearers
- Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, US publicist
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.