Nameling

Carol

Gender
Mostly boys
Origin
Germanic
UK rank, 2025
#2,202 for boys
US rank, 2025
#2,239 for girls

Carol is a name of Germanic origin. In 2025 it ranked 2,202nd for boys in the UK (11 babies) and 2,239th for girls in the US (82 babies).

What does Carol mean?

Germanic

A female given name from the Germanic languages, popular in the middle of the 20th century.

From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Is Carol a girl's or a boy's name?

In recent years, Carol has been given to girls and boys, mostly boys. In 2025, it was given to 11 boys in the UK and 82 girls in the US.

How popular is Carol in the UK?

Rank in 2025
#2,202among boys
Babies in 2025
11about 1 in 27,000 boys
Five-year trend
Rising fastup 533% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1%chance among 15 boys

In 2025, 11 boys in the UK were named Carol, making it the 2,202nd most popular name for boys.

2025 had the most boys named Carol of any year since it first appeared, in 2015.

In 2025, 16 boys in the UK were given Carol or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #1,452, up from #2,202 for this spelling alone.

In 2021, 47% of the babies named Carol in the UK were girls.

Among boys in 2025, it was 2,130th in England and Wales.

2015Busiest: 11 in 20252025
Carol in the UK, year by year
YearBoysRank
202511#2,202
20240–
20235#3,712
20226#3,219
20218#2,619
20200–
20190–
20180–
20170–
20164#4,214
20157#2,855

How popular is Carol in the US?

Rank in 2025
#2,239among girls
Babies in 2025
82about 1 in 20,000 girls
Five-year trend
Fallingdown 32% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1%chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 82 girls in the US were named Carol, making it the 2,239th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,908th. Its busiest year was 1946, with 34,284 girls.

Half of all the girls named Carol in the US since 1880 were born between 1942 and 1957, the years shaded on the chart below.

In 2025, 127 girls in the US were given Carol or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #1,428, up from #2,239 for this spelling alone.

1880Busiest: 34,284 in 19462025
Carol in the US, year by year
YearGirlsRank
202582#2,239
202466#2,637
202374#2,415
202282#2,277
202187#2,154
2020100#1,908
2019112#1,816
2018114#1,787
2017114#1,815
2016129#1,660
2015118#1,770
2014150#1,487
2013133#1,616
2012168#1,384
2011191#1,250
2010150#1,495
2009189#1,284
2008228#1,130
2007250#1,048
2006270#970
2005351#758
2004289#850
2003276#869
2002274#843
2001278#831
2000322#718
1999302#740
1998351#657
1997374#606
1996412#565
1995460#525
1994501#495
1993506#494
1992612#413
1991672#384
1990762#349
1989752#338
1988741#334
1987763#317
1986770#310
1985841#292
1984906#268
1983942#251
1982944#263
19811,044#238
19801,105#232
19791,163#225
19781,264#204
19771,348#198
19761,492#171
19751,784#150
19742,038#139
19732,457#121
19723,010#109
19713,857#92
19705,064#71
19696,138#56
19687,078#49
19677,491#47
19668,259#48
196510,097#42
196412,125#36
196312,492#33
196214,523#28
196116,667#24
196017,463#23
195918,140#22
195819,683#20
195721,898#18
195621,408#16
195522,046#15
195422,247#15
195322,290#16
195224,000#12
195124,781#11
195026,163#9
194926,780#8
194828,977#8
194733,543#6
194634,284#5
194530,389#5
194430,456#5
194331,686#5
194230,272#5
194124,187#4
194021,759#6
193920,166#6
193819,421#6
193717,336#6
193614,520#10
193511,735#11
193410,273#14
19338,220#20
19326,570#32
19314,892#46
19304,598#54
19294,279#63
19283,349#77
19272,643#106
19262,427#113
19252,286#119
19242,094#132
19231,864#139
19221,522#158
19211,374#166
19201,140#182
1919932#200
19181,011#196
1917798#215
1916789#215
1915596#243
1914437#251
1913332#254
1912324#247
1911181#291
1910185#285
1909142#302
1908146#294
1907112#329
190697#339
190591#351
190498#330
190367#388
190280#357
190161#378
190070#397
189965#361
189863#390
189742#453
189636#487
189548#404
189431#516
189330#500
189229#503
189124#524
189026#508
188930#439
188820#558
188715#586
188613#633
188511#658
18848#793
18830–
18826#813
188110#539
18807#679

Names like Carol

Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.

Rupert Freddie Albert Frederick Otis Chester Louie Archie Alfred Wilfred Leonard Arthur

Other spellings of Carol

Karol

Names related to Carol

Carla Carlo Carly Carl Carlie Carley Carlee Carli Carola

More Germanic names

Amelia Liam Henry Charlotte William Charlie Emma Ella Harry Millie Albie Matilda Miles Alice Myles Charles

Every Germanic name

Sources

Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.

To cite this page: Nameling, “Carol: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/carol, updated 20 October 2026.