girl's name
Carine
ka-REEN
- Origin French
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 6
- Popularity Rare
- Births on record 46,893
Scotland
#641
1985 births
Carine set the largest peak in this group — 4,230 French births in 1973 — and now charts in one market on five, which is about as complete a collapse as our records show.
- Carine is a name of French origin.
- Peaked in France in 1973, when 4,230 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade in France.
- Today about 1 in 117,911 babies in France is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1905.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Carine over time
Births per decade in France, 1900s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1900s | 5 |
| 1940s | 50 |
| 1950s | 465 |
| 1960s | 4,195 |
| 1970s | 28,210 |
| 1980s | 10,910 |
| 1990s | 1,760 |
| 2000s | 385 |
| 2010s | 70 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 20 |
What Carine means
Carine means beloved or dear, from the Latin carus. A second line runs through Catherine, whose own root has never been established, so the two accounts do not agree.
Where Carine comes from
Carine is French, with two possible sources. The Latin carus, dear, gives Cara and the Italian cara, and would make the name a straightforward term of affection. Alternatively it shortens Catherine, whose Greek original Aikaterine has no secure derivation and whose pure gloss was attached later. Karina and Kari, elsewhere on this site, sit on the same fork, and nothing in the spelling settles which route a given bearer descends from.
Carine in use
Carine peaked in France in 1973, when 4,230 babies were registered — the largest single-year figure in this group — and is falling in our data. It charts in exactly one of the six markets we track, at 6697th in France on 5 births, across 46,893 lifetime births. That is a fall from 4,230 to 5 in fifty-two years, and our records hold almost no births for it outside France.
How popular is Carine?
In 2025, Carine was given to 5 babies in France. It is a rare choice.
Where Carine is used
French counts are rounded to the nearest five and nothing below five is published, so these figures show the shape of the name's use rather than an exact tally. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Carine
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Carine also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Carine over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Carine in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Carine
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Carine — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Carine
What does the name Carine mean?
Beloved, from the Latin carus — or nothing settled, if it comes through Catherine.
Which route is right?
Nothing in the spelling settles it. Karina and Kari sit on the same fork.
Is Carine still used?
Barely. It fell from 4,230 French births in 1973 to five.
Is it used outside France?
Almost never. Our records hold only a handful elsewhere.
How popular is the name Carine?
In 2025, Carine was given to 5 babies in France. It is a rare choice.
Is Carine a girl's or a boy's name?
Carine is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Carine?
Carine has 3 syllables.
When was Carine most popular?
Carine peaked in 1973, when 4,230 babies were given the name. It has been falling over the past decade.
Is Carine a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Carine currently ranks #6,697 in France. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.