ninan.org

Carolyn

Girls' name · Mid-century

Living in the US
~375,300 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#1,222 among girls
Births in 2025
185 558,397 since 1880
Typical age
71 years, median

Carolyn popularity over time

Carolyn rank by birth year, 1880–2025Carolyn ranked #163 in 1880 and #1,222 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #10, in 1942.#10#100#1,000#1,222best #10 in 194218901920195019802010
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1880–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

1947 is the peak year for Carolyn, with 20,788 births. The name is already in use in 1880, where the data begins. Across the record, 44 years put Carolyn in the top 100.

As of 2025 the name sits at #1,222, with 185 births that year. The ten-year change is -51%. Year on year the rank dropped by 62.

Babies named Carolyn per yearPeaks at 20,788 births in 1947.20,788 in 1947018901920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Carolyn?

About 375,300 people named Carolyn are alive in the United States today. SSA has recorded 558,397 births under the name since 1880.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Carolyn?

Median age among living Carolyns: 71. The 1940s produced the largest surviving cohort. By the site’s era rules that makes Carolyn a mid-century name.

Your Carolyn

Ages of living people named CarolynHalf of living Carolyns are older than 71 and half younger.median 71020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Carolyn is most common

The name is concentrated in Pennsylvania, at 2.1× the national rate. South Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin follow.

Where Carolyn is used more than average5 states use the name Carolyn more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: not over-representedWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: not over-representedMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: 1.8× the national rateWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: not over-representedNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: 1.9× the national rateOHPennsylvania: 2.1× the national ratePANew Jersey: not over-representedNJConnecticut: not over-representedCTRhode Island: not over-representedRICalifornia: not over-representedCAUtah: not over-representedUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: not over-representedKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: not over-representedMDDelaware: not over-representedDEMassachusetts: not over-representedMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: 1.6× the national rateTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: 1.9× the national rateSCDistrict of Columbia: not over-representedDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: not over-representedLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: not over-representedTXFlorida: not over-representedFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Carolyn is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
Pennsylvania 163 2.1×
South Carolina 56 1.9×
Ohio 145 1.9×
Wisconsin 61 1.8×
Tennessee 80 1.6×

Where the name Carolyn comes from

A variant of Caroline with -lyn.

Etymology summarised from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wiktionary entry.

Notable people named Carolyn

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Carolyn Bertozzi American chemist 1966 67
Carolyn S. Shoemaker American astronomer, researcher and university teacher 1929–2021 48
Carolyn Porco American planetary scientist 1953 40
Carolyn Jones American actress 1930–1983 38
Carolyn Bessette Kennedy American publicist and socialite 1966–1999 28
Carolyn Schuler American swimmer 1943–2024 25
Carolyn Waldo Canadian synchronized swimmer 1964 22
Carolyn Maloney U.S. Representative from New York 1946 21
Photo credits (6)

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Names similar to Carolyn

Matched by sound and spelling inside this dataset, then ordered by total recorded births. This is not a claim about shared etymology.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/carolyn.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).