Karoline
Feminine · “free man”
Karoline is the German and Scandinavian of Caroline, and behind the whole family is karl — a free man, the ordinary Germanic word for one who was neither noble nor slave.
How old is the name Karoline?
Karoline first appears in US birth records in 1915 — 110 years ago. The typical Karoline alive today was born around 2008, making them about 17 years old. About 3,700 people named Karoline are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Karoline most popular?
Karoline peaked in 2017, reaching #1572 nationally. Today it ranks #1710, 138 places below that high. See the whole 2017 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From karl to Karoline
The story of Karoline
Carolus was how Charlemagne's name was written, and feminines followed — Carolina, Caroline, Karoline. Caroline of Ansbach was George II's queen and, by contemporary account, the more capable of the two. German, Danish and Norwegian use Karoline. Emigration brought it to America, where it is in current use.
Meaning
free man
Through Caroline and Carolus, the Latin of Charles, from the Germanic karl, 'free man'. The English 'churl' is the same word with a different history. The -ine ending is a Latinate feminine addition. The element is ordinary and the meaning undisputed.
How the name formed
- karl
- Carolus
- Caroline
- Karoline
Related forms: Karoline · Karoline · Caroline · Karolína
Pronouncing Karoline
kah-roh-LEE-neh
Four syllables, stress on the third. English Caroline is KAR-uh-lyn with three.
Nicknames for Karoline
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
- 1915
- Most girls named
- 2017139 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1572reached in 2017
- Change vs 2023
- +43.4%119 in 2025, from 83
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.
Karoline in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Karoline in German — same name
- Karoline in Danish — same name
- Caroline in English — spelling variant
- Karolína in Czech — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, Florida, California.
Karolines among us
people named Karoline are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 13,506 born in 2025 was named Karoline
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Karoline
- #1710
- Karoline on the 2025 chart
- #104
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Karoline went to 119 girls in 2025, but Caroline is the same name said out loud. Together the 4 spellings went to 2,780, which makes it the 104th most-given girls’ name of the year — 1,606 places above the chart.
- Caroline2,646
- Karoline119
and 2 rarer spellings.
About 1 girl in 578 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 13,506 for Karoline itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Sherelle test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Karoline's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Sherelle climbed just as high around 1986, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Sherelle's path sketches the road Karoline is walking now.
Karoline is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Karoline is headed
Karoline should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Karoline beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Karoline in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The free-man meaning is concrete and records a real medieval social category.
- Karo and Lina are two short forms, both with real use.
- It is standard in German, Danish and Norwegian without change.
- Caroline is the form English speakers will assume, and it is said differently.
- The final syllable is sounded in German and silent in English.
- Four syllables make it long for everyday use.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Karoline to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Karoline? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Karoline
Feminine · #1710 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Karolines are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 3,700 people named Karoline are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Karoline?
- Karoline is one of 2 recorded spellings. Caroline is the more common one — 2,646 births in 2025 against 119 for Karoline.
- How popular is the name Karoline in 2025?
- Karoline ranks #1710 among US girl names in 2025, with 119 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Karoline?
- About 1 in every 13,506 US girls born in 2025 was named Karoline — 119 in all.
- Will my child share the name Karoline with classmates?
- Karoline will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Karoline
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Isa#1710 · Marwa#1710 · Diya#1710 · Azara#1710 · Evaluna#1710 · Aleyah#1710 · Aulani#1710 · Azura#1710
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Karoline? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Karoline and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle