Carolyn

Carolyn: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning: “free man”
Origin: English
Say it: KAIR-ə-lin · 3 syllables
Used for: Girls

English feminine form of Carolus/Charles, or a variant of Caroline. The name ultimately comes from Germanic Karl.

English names Classic names International names

How popular is Carolyn?

202462.0 per million US babies

Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Compare with another name

Babies named Carolyn in 2024206

2024 rank#1,161 girls

Peak year1942

Total US babies since 1880558,213

Carolyn is fading: recent use is about 67% of its level ten years before.

Names like Carolyn

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

Carolinefree woman · French
Carriefree man · Germanic
Carliefree man · Germanic
Carolynnfree man · Germanic
Karolynfree man · English
Karriedear; beloved · English
Oliviaolive tree · English
Evelyndesired; little bird · English

Carolyn questions

What does the name Carolyn mean?

Carolyn means "free man". It comes from English. English feminine form of Carolus/Charles, or a variant of Caroline. The name ultimately comes from Germanic Karl.

Is Carolyn a boy or girl name?

Carolyn is mainly a girl's name in US records (100% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Carolyn?

206 US babies were named Carolyn in 2024. Its peak year was 1942.

How do you pronounce Carolyn?

Carolyn is usually pronounced KAIR-ə-lin.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.