Meaning and history
Carol is primarily an English short form of Caroline, from the Germanic name Charles and an element meaning "man" or "free man." It can also refer to the English word carol, meaning a song or hymn, and has occasionally been used as a masculine form derived from Carolus. The feminine name peaked in the United States during the mid-twentieth century. Notable bearers include actress Carol Burnett and musician Carole King under a variant spelling.
20062006: 270 births, rank #970
2007: 250 births, rank #1,048
2008: 228 births, rank #1,130
2009: 189 births, rank #1,284
2010: 150 births, rank #1,495
20112011: 191 births, rank #1,250
2012: 168 births, rank #1,384
2013: 133 births, rank #1,616
2014: 150 births, rank #1,487
2015: 118 births, rank #1,770
20162016: 129 births, rank #1,660
2017: 114 births, rank #1,815
2018: 114 births, rank #1,787
2019: 112 births, rank #1,816
2020: 100 births, rank #1,908
20212021: 87 births, rank #2,154
2022: 82 births, rank #2,277
2023: 74 births, rank #2,415
2024: 66 births, rank #2,637
20252025: 82 births, rank #2,239
Carol moved from #758 to #972 for girls between 2005 and 2006. Its highest annual birth count came in 1946, with 34,284 births.