Head to head · Girls' names
Carolina vs Raven
#405 vs #404 in 2025 · both holding its place on the charts
Raven is a whisker ahead (#404 vs #405 in 2025) and both are holding its place on the charts. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name will.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Raven leads 4 measures of 6; Carolina leads 2.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Carolina #504, Raven — — Carolina higher
- 1890s: Carolina #602, Raven — — Carolina higher
- 1900s: Carolina #568, Raven — — Carolina higher
- 1910s: Carolina #655, Raven — — Carolina higher
- 1920s: Carolina #625, Raven — — Carolina higher
- 1930s: Carolina #652, Raven — — Carolina higher
- 1940s: Carolina #751, Raven #4003 — Carolina higher
- 1950s: Carolina #928, Raven #4855 — Carolina higher
- 1960s: Carolina #762, Raven #3847 — Carolina higher
- 1970s: Carolina #651, Raven #2711 — Carolina higher
- 1980s: Carolina #462, Raven #521 — Carolina higher
- 1990s: Carolina #290, Raven #167 — Raven higher
- 2000s: Carolina #298, Raven #371 — Carolina higher
- 2010s: Carolina #421, Raven #501 — Carolina higher
- 2020s: Carolina #449, Raven #397 — Raven higher
Carolina stood higher in 13 of 15 decades; Raven took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Carolina | Raven |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #504 | — |
| 1890s | #602 | — |
| 1900s | #568 | — |
| 1910s | #655 | — |
| 1920s | #625 | — |
| 1930s | #652 | — |
| 1940s | #751 | #4003 |
| 1950s | #928 | #4855 |
| 1960s | #762 | #3847 |
| 1970s | #651 | #2711 |
| 1980s | #462 | #521 |
| 1990s | #290 | #167 |
| 2000s | #298 | #371 |
| 2010s | #421 | #501 |
| 2020s | #449 | #397 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Carolina
free person (from Germanic karl, via Charles)
Carolina is the Latinate feminine of Carolus — Charles — whose root is the Germanic karl, a free man. The American states carry the same name for a documented reason: they were chartered in honor of King Charles, rendered in Latin as Carolus.
karl (Germanic, 'free man') → Carolus (Latin form of Charles) → Carolina
How it traveled
The name walked out of the Germanic karl, was Latinized as Carolus for kings and charters, and grew feminine branches across Europe — Carolina in Italian, Spanish and Portuguese, Karolina to the north and east. English colonists fixed the same Latin form onto the Atlantic coast in honor of their kings Charles, which is why the name and the states are spelled identically.
Raven
raven (the bird)
From Old English hræfn, going back to a Proto-Germanic word thought to imitate the bird's call; German Rabe and Old Norse hrafn are the same word.
Proto-Germanic *hrabnaz → Old English hræfn → Middle English raven → Raven
How it traveled
Raven is a word name: English speakers have called the bird a raven for well over a thousand years, and the spelling has barely shifted. Long before it was a given name in America, the raven element was doing work inside Germanic names — the -hram in Bertram, the -fram in Wolfram — and Old Norse used Hrafn on its own as a man's name, which Icelandic still carries alongside the feminine Hrefna.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Carolina
kair-uh-LY-nah
English speakers say it like the states — kair-uh-LY-nah. In Spanish, Italian and Portuguese it is kah-ro-LEE-nah. Many families use both, one at home and one at school, and the name holds up under either.
- Caro — The usual short in Spanish-speaking families, and increasingly in English ones.
- Lina — Taken from the ending; a complete given name in its own right across Europe.
- Carrie — The classic English-language short, most common among older generations.
Raven
RAY-vun
Two syllables, stress on the first, exactly like the bird. No competing pronunciation in English.
- Rae — The most portable short form, and a standalone given name in its own right.
- Rav — Informal, mostly spoken rather than written.
- Ravie — Affectionate family use, rarely used outside the household.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Carolina if you want…
- a name on the way upup 45 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itCarolina runs 4 syllables, Raven 2
- a long American recordCarolina was already in use when US records began in 1880
Choose Raven if you want…
- a name holding steadyRaven is holding its place on the charts
- a name with fewer syllablesRaven is 2 syllables to Carolina's 4
- a newer arrivalRaven entered the US charts in 1941
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Carolina
Strengths
- Fully at home in English, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese — no translation needed.
- Three working short forms — Caro, Lina, Carrie — covering every register.
- In continuous American use since record-keeping began.
To consider
- Two pronunciations means she will spend a lifetime steering people to the one you chose.
- Autocorrect and fast readers routinely turn it into Caroline.
- The state association is permanent; 'Sweet Caroline' serenades and geography jokes come with it.
Raven
Strengths
- Spelled the way the ordinary English word is spelled, so it survives dictation over the phone without correction.
- Read correctly on sight by anyone who speaks English; there is no second pronunciation to fend off.
- Yields Rae, a short form that already stands on its own as a name.
To consider
- In Western literature the raven is a bird of omen — Poe's 1845 poem is the reference most English speakers reach for first. In Haida and Tlingit storytelling the same bird is a creator and trickster. Both associations travel with the name.
- US records list Raven overwhelmingly as a girl's name. It is given to boys too, but rarely enough that a boy named Raven will spend some time explaining it.
- Raven is also a familiar character name in comics and animation, which means a stretch of years where the reference gets mentioned. That fades as the shows do.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Carolina and Raven in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Carolina and Raven?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Four-syllable names that carry
- Eight-letter names with presence
- Portuguese names in the American record
- Map names: states and countries as first names
- all guides
Where Carolina and Raven each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Carolina or Raven — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Carolina or Raven?
- Raven, in 2025: Raven ranked #404 with 771 babies; Carolina ranked #405 with 769 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Carolina or Raven?
- Carolina. Over the last five years Carolina moved up 45 places; Raven moved up 13 places.
- Which is the older name, Carolina or Raven?
- Carolina was already in use when US records began in 1880; Raven entered the US charts in 1941. On the American record, Carolina is the older name.
- How many people are named Carolina and Raven?
- About 43,000 people named Carolina are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 44,500 people named Raven are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Carolinas or Ravens in the classroom?
- Carolina will almost certainly be the only one in school. Raven will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Carolina, Raven and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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