Girls' name · peaked in 1942
Carole name popularity since 1925
109,649 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Carole. Half of them were born in 1944 or earlier, so the typical Carole is about 82 years old in 2026. Carole peaked in 1942 as the #35 name for girls, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 109,649
- Named Carole, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #10,258 for girls in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 99.8% girls
- 109,385 girls · 264 boys
- Most popular in
- Massachusetts
- 1.94× its national share
Peak year is the year Carole made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Carole births per year, 1925–2025
1942 was the biggest year for Carole both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1928 and 1933, Carole became 9.8× more common.
- Steepest fall: Between 1944 and 1949, its share of baby girls fell by 66%, from 1 in 212 to 1 in 619.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Carole's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Carole.
Decade by decade
Babies named Carole in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 1,211 | 0 | – |
| 1930s | 26,768 | 96 | #93 |
| 1940s | 50,303 | 161 | #51 |
| 1950s | 16,535 | 0 | #213 |
| 1960s | 10,566 | 7 | #299 |
| 1970s | 2,209 | 0 | #754 |
| 1980s | 941 | 0 | #1,374 |
| 1990s | 522 | 0 | #2,795 |
| 2000s | 210 | 0 | #5,848 |
| 2010s | 95 | 0 | #10,287 |
| 2020–25 | 25 | 0 | #10,258 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
57.8% of babies named Carole from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Silent Generation years (1928–1945). The full split by generation:
Where Carole is most popular
The index compares Carole's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Carole.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts | 1.94× | 4,985 |
| Pennsylvania | 1.89× | 10,347 |
| District of Columbia | 1.81× | 899 |
| Maine | 1.61× | 745 |
| Rhode Island | 1.60× | 611 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Carole's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Carole.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Carole (1942).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data