Caroll
Masculine · “Free man”
Caroll is given to both — 776 boys and 1,302 girls since 1880. See Caroll as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Caroll is two names wearing one spelling. Written with a single l it is a woman's name cut from Caroline; written with two it is an Irish surname with a completely separate history. This version has the two l's and is recorded for children of both sexes, which is what happens when a spelling can be reached from either direction.
How old is the name Caroll?
Caroll first appears in US birth records in 1912 — 113 years ago. The typical Caroll alive today was born around 1940, making them about 85 years old. About 300 people named Caroll are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Caroll most popular?
Caroll peaked in 1939, reaching #1297 nationally. See the whole 1939 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Cearbhall to Caroll
The story of Caroll
The Irish name gave the United States one of its more particular signatures. Charles Carroll, the only Catholic to sign the Declaration of Independence, was also the richest man in the colonies, and he signed himself Charles Carroll of Carrollton so that there would be no doubt which Charles Carroll had committed treason. There were several in his family, and adding the estate was a way of putting his own neck on the line rather than a relative's. The woman's name came the other way, out of Caroline and Carolyn, and peaked in the middle of the last century when short clipped names for women were in fashion. Nothing in the written form separates the two, and the record does not try.
Meaningscholars disagree
Free man, or fierce in battle
It depends which of the two names a particular child was given. If the name is the short form of Caroline, it descends from Charles and a Germanic word for a free man. If it is the Irish surname, it is O Cearbhaill, from a word usually read as fierce or valorous in battle, and it has no connection to Charles at all. The doubled l points to the Irish side, but American families used both spellings for both names.
How the name formed
- Cearbhall
- Carroll
- Caroll
Related forms: Cearbhall · Caroline
Pronouncing Caroll
KA-rul
Two syllables with the stress at the front. The doubled l changes nothing audible; Carol, Carroll and Caroll are said identically, and only the page can tell them apart.
Nicknames for Caroll
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
- 1912
- Most boys named
- 193926 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1297reached in 1939
- Change vs 1976
- +20.0%6 in 1979, from 5
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.
Caroll in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Cearbhall in Irish — related form
- Caroline in French — related form
Carolls among us
people named Caroll 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
Caroll 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
- Short, easy to say, and built from two very familiar names, so it is never misheard.
- It works for a child of either sex without anyone having made a point of it.
- Carrie and Caro are two established short forms in different registers.
- Three spellings of one sound are in circulation, so this one has to be spelled out every time it is written down.
- The record carries it for boys and girls both, which means forms will guess and rosters will assume.
- The single-l spelling is far commoner as a woman's name, so this version reads as the surname to most people.
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What they receive
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Caroll
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Carolls are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 300 people named Caroll are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Caroll in 2025?
- Caroll is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Caroll with classmates?
- Caroll will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More C names
The most-given names starting with C, all years combined.
Charles#48 · Christopher#68 · Carl#1132 · Christian#96 · Caleb#58 · Cameron#76 · Carlos#150 · Clarence#1499
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Caroll? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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