Girls' name · peaked in 2004
Carolina name popularity since 1925
45,824 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Carolina. Half of them were born in 1999 or earlier, so the typical Carolina is about 27 years old in 2026. Carolina peaked in 2004 as the #254 name for girls, and it ranked #405 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 45,824
- Named Carolina, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #405
- for girls in 2025 (769 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.7% girls
- 45,692 girls · 132 boys
- Most popular in
- Texas
- 3.27× its national share
Peak year is the year Carolina 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.
Carolina births per year, 1925–2025
2004 was the biggest year for Carolina both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1959 and 1964, Carolina became 2.4× more common, from 1 in 20,000 baby girls to 1 in 8,350.
- Steepest fall: Between 2004 and 2009, its share of baby girls fell by 35%, from 1 in 1,450 to 1 in 2,220.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Carolina's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Carolina.
Decade by decade
Babies named Carolina 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 | 688 | 6 | – |
| 1930s | 1,069 | 6 | #675 |
| 1940s | 1,102 | 11 | #697 |
| 1950s | 1,103 | 0 | #984 |
| 1960s | 1,787 | 0 | #705 |
| 1970s | 2,593 | 7 | #634 |
| 1980s | 4,756 | 65 | #504 |
| 1990s | 9,848 | 37 | #279 |
| 2000s | 11,073 | 0 | #291 |
| 2010s | 7,499 | 0 | #432 |
| 2020–25 | 4,174 | 0 | #405 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
35.9% of babies named Carolina from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Gen Z years (1997–2012). The full split by generation:
Where Carolina is most popular
The index compares Carolina'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 Carolina.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Texas | 3.27× | 10,893 |
| California | 2.64× | 11,874 |
| Arizona | 2.49× | 1,368 |
| Florida | 2.35× | 3,596 |
| New Mexico | 1.84× | 432 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Carolina and were given to at least 1,000 girls from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Girls | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Carolina (this page) | 45,692 | 2004 |
| Karolina | 4,661 | 2024 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Carolina's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Carolina.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Carolina (2004).
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