Caroline

Spellings & scripts●

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 17 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Caroline is also recorded as 5 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• English given name2.4M records spelled Caroline29 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Brazil, Australia

  Languages: English, German, Danish

  Also written Caroliné, Caroeline, Càrôline, Cäroline, Caröline

• French given name1.2M records spelled Caroline7 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France, United States, Canada, Belgium

  Also written Caro-Line, Caro'Line, Carolïne, Câro-Line

• Indonesian given name18K records spelled Caroline4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Indonesia, Malaysia, United States, Philippines

  Languages: Indonesian, Malay

  Also written 'Caroline, Caroline'

• Finnish given name14K records spelled Caroline5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Finland, United States, United Kingdom, Hungary

  Languages: Finnish, Hungarian, Estonian

  Also written Caroliné, Cårölinė

• Thai given name3.8K records spelled Caroline8 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Thailand, United States, Laos, United Kingdom

  Languages: Thai, Lao

  Also written Karoline, แคโรไลน์, คาโรไลน์, Carolíne, Cârôlinë

82 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Caroline is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In French, Feminine form of Charles, from Germanic karl, 'free man'.

  as a name·Le grand guide des prénoms (Enfant - Education)

• In English, Feminine form of Charles; popular in Ireland.

  as a name·Irish first names

• From the French form of Latin or Italian Carolina, a feminine derivative of Carolus (see Charles). This name was used by certain gentry families from the 17th century onwards, no doubt in honour of the Stuart kings named Charles. Short forms: Caro; Carrie.

  as a name·A concise dictionary of first names

• Feminine derivative of Latin Carolus. See }Charles in main dictionary.

  as a name·A concise dictionary of first names

• In English, Synonym of Carolean (“relating to the time of Kings Charles I and II of England or Charles III of the United Kingdom, or of the kings themselves”).

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Alexandra of Denmarkb. 1844DKnot in their usual nameQueen consort of the United Kingdom from 1901 to 1910
• Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyllb. 1848GBnot in their usual nameViceregal consort of Canada (1848–1939)
• Caroline Aaronb. 1952USAmerican actress
• Caroline Kennedyb. 1957USAmerican author and diplomat (born 1957)
• Victoria Beckhamb. 1974GBnot in their usual nameEnglish businesswoman, fashion designer and singer
• Olivia Colmanb. 1974GBnot in their usual nameBritish actress
• Gisele Bündchenb. 1980BRnot in their usual nameBrazilian fashion model
• Kirsten Dunstb. 1982USnot in their usual nameAmerican actress (born 1982)
• Lindsey Vonnb. 1984USnot in their usual nameAmerican alpine skier (born 1984)
• Caroline Wozniackib. 1990DKDanish tennis player

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 1,521 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Caroline?

We estimate roughly 913 thousand people bear Caroline (counting its spellings and scripts) across 13 countries in our records.

In which country does Caroline have the most bearers?

We estimate about 295 thousand people bear Caroline in Poland, more than in any other country in our records.

Where is Caroline most common?

Caroline is densest in Poland, where the national register counts about 1 in 130 people carrying it.

How common is Caroline compared with other names?

In Brazil, Caroline is the 165th most common given name of 536,280 given names recorded there.

Is Caroline a male or female name?

Caroline is a female name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Caroline mean?

Recorded meaning: Feminine form of Charles; from Germanic *karl* ‘man, virile’.