Carrol
Masculine · “fierce in battle”
Carrol is given to both — 6,067 boys and 4,252 girls since 1880. See Carrol as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Carrol is two names sharing a spelling. The Irish surname O Cearbhaill descends from a personal name about fighting; the English word carol is a song, from a French word for a ring dance. The two met in English and have been indistinguishable on paper ever since, which is why this name goes to boys and girls alike.
How old is the name Carrol?
Carrol first appears in US birth records in 1890 — 135 years ago. The typical Carrol alive today was born around 1933, making them about 92 years old. About 1,600 people named Carrol are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Carrol most popular?
Carrol peaked in 1934, reaching #423 nationally. See the whole 1934 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Cearbhall to Carrol
The story of Carrol
The O'Carrolls were a significant Irish family in Ely and Oriel, and the surname reached America in quantity with Irish emigration; one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence carried it. At the same time Carol was becoming an English given name for women, from Caroline and from the song word together. The two converged, and by the middle of the last century Carrol, Carroll and Carol were being given to both children with the spelling signaling a tendency rather than a rule.
Meaningscholars disagree
fierce in battle
The Irish Cearbhall is generally read against a word about hacking or slaughtering — a warrior name of the ordinary early medieval kind — and O Cearbhaill means his descendant. That reading is traditional rather than proven. The English carol comes from Old French carole, a dance in a ring accompanied by song, and only later meant a Christmas hymn. Two unrelated words, one American spelling, and no way to tell which a family meant.
How the name formed
- Cearbhall
- Ó Cearbhaill
- Carroll
- Carrol
Related forms: Cearbhall · Carole
Pronouncing Carrol
KAIR-ul
KAIR-ul, two syllables, stress at the front, the second vowel reduced. Carrol, Carroll and Carol are said identically in American English; the number of r's and l's is entirely a matter of the page.
Nicknames for Carrol
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
- 1890
- Most boys named
- 1929184 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #423reached in 1934
- Change vs 1987
- +33.3%8 in 1989, 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.
Carrol in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Cearbhall in Irish — related form
- Carole in French — related form
Carrols among us
people named Carrol 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
Carrol 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
- It has a documented Irish family behind it as well as an English word.
- It works for either child, and has done throughout its American history.
- Two syllables, easy in any accent, with no ambiguity in the sound.
- Carroll with two l's and Carol with one r are both standard, so the spelling gets dictated every time.
- The name reads as a woman's name in most American rooms, whichever spelling is used.
- It is strongly associated with an earlier American period and has not returned.
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Carrol
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Carrols are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,600 people named Carrol are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Carrol in 2025?
- Carrol is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Carrol with classmates?
- Carrol 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 Carrol? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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