Carolene
Feminine
Carolene respells a French feminine of Charles. Its first syllables are shared with a pigment, and that pigment is the reason for one of the better-known stories about vegetable breeding.
How old is the name Carolene?
Carolene first appears in US birth records in 1917 — 108 years ago. The typical Carolene alive today was born around 1946, making them about 79 years old. About 400 people named Carolene are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Carolene most popular?
Carolene peaked in 1938, reaching #1316 nationally. See the whole 1938 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Carolene
Carrots were purple, white, yellow and red long before they were orange, and the modern orange carrot was developed in the Netherlands in the seventeenth century. The most repeated explanation is patriotic, that Dutch growers bred them in the color of the House of Orange, and historians regard that as decoration on a simpler story: the orange varieties were sweeter and stored better, so they won. The pigment responsible is carotene, which is named after the carrot and which the body converts into vitamin A, which is the small kernel of truth inside the wartime propaganda about carrots and night vision.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Caroline is the French feminine of Charles and its history is documented. This spelling is not documented and no reason for the altered ending has been recorded.
Pronouncing Carolene
KARE-uh-leen
Three syllables with the stress in front. The ending is said as a plain een.
Nicknames for Carolene
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1917
- Most girls named
- 193831 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1316reached in 1938
- Change vs 1973
- −16.7%5 in 1976, from 6
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Carolenes among us
people named Carolene are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Carolene sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Carol comes off the front as a short form and is a complete name on its own.
- The sound is entirely familiar, so it is never a puzzle to say.
- Three syllables with a strong front stress carry well across a room.
- Caroline and Carolyn are both far commoner, so this spelling will be corrected regularly.
- The ending cannot be heard, so the spelling has to be given aloud every time.
- It reads as a name of an older American generation, which is either the appeal or the obstacle.
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Carolene
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Carolenes are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 400 people named Carolene are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Carolene in 2025?
- Carolene is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Carolene with classmates?
- Carolene will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More C names
The most-given names starting with C, all years combined.
Carol#2239 · Cynthia#1013 · Catherine#313 · Christine#1272 · Carolyn#1222 · Christina#770 · Charlotte#2 · Cheryl#4352
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Carolene? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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