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BabyNames
Girl name#21 of girl names

Carol

Pronounced K AA1 R OW1 L (ARPABET)

  • 2 syllables
  • Peaked 1946
  • 145 years in use
  • 9 spellings
Compare

How popular is Carol?

Carol is a girls' name, and has been in the record since the data starts in 1880. It has been given to 949,930 children — the 21st most common girls' name on record.

It is falling away, down 54% on the previous decade. Its best single year was 1946, when 39,560 children were given it.

Nine other spellings are counted in that total — Carole, Karol, Carroll and six more — because they are pronounced identically.

012,50025,00037,50050,00018901920195019802010
194639,560

Spelling variants

These spellings sound identical to Carol and are counted together with it, which is why the totals here are higher than a single-spelling count.

  • Carole
  • Karol
  • Carroll
  • Carrol
  • Caroll
  • Karole
  • Carolle
  • Carrel
  • Karoll

Nicknames

Common short forms: Carrie.

Characteristics

  • 2 syllables
Phonetic detail
Pronunciations:
K AA1 R OW1 L · K AE1 R AH0 L · K AH1 R OW1 L · K EH1 R AH0 L · K EH1 R AO0 L · S IY1 EY1 R OW1 L
Stress pattern:
11 · 10 · 11 · 10 · 10 · 111
Syllables:
2

Stress digits mark unstressed (0), primary (1) and secondary (2) syllables.

Names like Carol

Same first letter and syllable count, peaking around the same time.

Sibling names for Carol

Names from the same era with a matching rhythm but a different initial.

Frequently asked questions

How popular is the name Carol?
Carol ranks 21st among girls' names in US records, with 949,930 births since 1880. Over the past decade it accounts for 1,601.
Is Carol a unisex name?
No. Carol is recorded almost entirely as a girls' name; births to the other gender are too few to register as a share.
When was Carol most popular?
1946, when 39,560 children were given the name. It has been in use for 145 years and is still recorded as of 2024.
What are common nicknames for Carol?
Carrie. These are recorded as separate names in their own right, so each has its own page and its own popularity curve.
How else is Carol spelled?
Carole, Karol, Carroll, Carrol, Caroll, Karole, Carolle, Carrel, Karoll. All of these sound the same and are counted together in the totals on this page.