Girls' name · peaked in 1942
Carolyn name popularity since 1925
535,917 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Carolyn. Half of them were born in 1950 or earlier, so the typical Carolyn is about 76 years old in 2026. Carolyn peaked in 1942 as the #10 name for girls, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 535,917
- Named Carolyn, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #1,222 for girls in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 99.7% girls
- 534,324 girls · 1,593 boys
- Most popular in
- Arkansas
- 2.19× its national share
Peak year is the year Carolyn 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.
Carolyn births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year by count was 1947. Measured as a share of all babies, Carolyn peaked in 1942.
- Fastest rise: Between 1929 and 1934, Carolyn became 2.1× more common.
- Steepest fall: Between 1968 and 1973, its share of baby girls fell by 48%, from 1 in 296 to 1 in 568.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Carolyn's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Carolyn.
Decade by decade
Babies named Carolyn 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 | 13,529 | 36 | – |
| 1930s | 69,525 | 270 | #28 |
| 1940s | 181,858 | 523 | #12 |
| 1950s | 124,067 | 311 | #30 |
| 1960s | 75,266 | 237 | #58 |
| 1970s | 27,046 | 93 | #119 |
| 1980s | 18,628 | 101 | #155 |
| 1990s | 12,884 | 22 | #242 |
| 2000s | 6,737 | 0 | #489 |
| 2010s | 3,482 | 0 | #748 |
| 2020–25 | 1,302 | 0 | #1,222 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
46.1% of babies named Carolyn from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:
Where Carolyn is most popular
The index compares Carolyn'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 Carolyn.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | 2.19× | 12,124 |
| West Virginia | 2.12× | 10,024 |
| District of Columbia | 1.80× | 4,476 |
| Alabama | 1.78× | 16,946 |
| Mississippi | 1.74× | 11,348 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Carolyn 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Carolyn (this page) | 534,324 | 1942 |
| Carolynn | 6,391 | 1942 |
| Karolyn | 5,861 | 1941 |
| Carolin | 1,219 | 1942 |
| Caralyn | 1,148 | 1998 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Carolyn's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Carolyn.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Carolyn (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