Carroll
Masculine · “fierce in battle”
Carroll is given to both — 35,431 boys and 5,916 girls since 1880. See Carroll as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Carroll with two l's is the Irish spelling. O Cearbhaill is the family name, anglicized as O'Carroll and then Carroll, and it belongs to a sept that held land in the Irish midlands for centuries. One of its American descendants signed the Declaration of Independence and was the last of the signers to die.
How old is the name Carroll?
Carroll was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Carroll alive today was born around 1938, making them about 87 years old. About 11,500 people named Carroll are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Carroll most popular?
Carroll peaked in 1934, reaching #164 nationally. See the whole 1934 chart.
Where it comes from
From Cearbhall to Carroll
The story of Carroll
Charles Carroll of Carrollton was the only Catholic to sign the Declaration of Independence, at a time when Catholics in Maryland could not vote or hold office, and he added his estate to his signature so that the British would know exactly which Carroll they were dealing with. He outlived every other signer. The name was in wide American use for a century afterward and went to girls as well as boys, which the single-l spelling and the English word carol both encouraged. This is the spelling that keeps the Irish family visible.
Meaningscholars disagree
fierce in battle
The Irish personal name Cearbhall is generally read against a word about hacking or slaughtering, which was the ordinary sort of thing an early medieval warrior name meant. The reading is traditional rather than demonstrated. What is documented is the family: the O'Carrolls of Ely were a substantial Irish sept with a recorded lineage, and the surname records descent from an ancestor rather than describing anyone alive.
How the name formed
- Cearbhall
- Ó Cearbhaill
- Carroll
Related forms: Ó Cearbhaill · Cearbhall
Pronouncing Carroll
KAIR-ul
KAIR-ul, two syllables, stress at the front, the second vowel reduced. Carroll, Carrol and Carol are said identically in American English; the doubled letters are entirely a matter of the page.
Nicknames for Carroll
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
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 1938827 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #164reached in 1934
- Change vs 2018
- 0.0%8 in 2023, from 8
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.
Carroll in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Ó Cearbhaill in Irish — same name
- Cearbhall in Irish — related form
Carrolls among us
people named Carroll 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
Carroll has already lived its whole cycle: it rose, had its era, and has stepped off the charts. The fashion question is behind it — what lies ahead is the waiting room where revivals begin, once a name's first generation has grown distant enough for it to sound fresh again.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- The doubled l keeps the Irish family name visible, which the shorter spellings do not.
- There is a documented Irish sept and a significant American bearer behind it.
- It works for either child, and has done throughout its American history.
- Most children with this spelling are boys, but a real minority are girls; either may be taken for the other.
- Carol, Carrol and Carroll are all in use and said the same, so the spelling is dictated every time.
- The name is strongly associated with an earlier American period and has not returned.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Carroll
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Carrolls are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 11,500 people named Carroll are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Carroll in 2025?
- Carroll is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Carroll with classmates?
- Carroll 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 Carroll? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Carroll and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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