girl's name
Carole
KAIR-ul
- Origin French
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Rare
- Births on record 217,666
Ireland
#474
1995 births
Carole is a girl's name meaning free man, the French spelling of Carol. It holds 217,504 recorded births and now ranks 6136th in France and 10350th in the United States — one of the completest fades we hold.
- Carole is a name of French origin.
- Peaked in 1942, when 8,440 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 368,460 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1901.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Carole over time
Births per decade in the United States, 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 | 18 |
| 1910s | 492 |
| 1920s | 2,004 |
| 1930s | 26,864 |
| 1940s | 50,464 |
| 1950s | 16,535 |
| 1960s | 10,573 |
| 1970s | 2,209 |
| 1980s | 941 |
| 1990s | 522 |
| 2000s | 210 |
| 2010s | 95 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 25 |
What Carole means
Carole means free man, carried from Charles. The Germanic word named a free peasant specifically, a man belonging to no lord, rather than freedom in the abstract.
Where Carole comes from
Carole is the French spelling of Carol, and both trace to Charles, from the Germanic karl — a free man of the common class. The same word rose into Charlemagne, Carolus Magnus, and sank into the English churl, meaning a boor, which is an unusually wide split for one root. A separate carole existed in Old French as a ring dance accompanied by singing, which narrowed over centuries into the Christmas carol, and the two words have converged on the name so thoroughly that most sources give the song meaning first.
Carole in use
Carole peaked in the United States in 1942, when 8,440 babies were registered, and our data marks it stable rather than falling — though the level is now extremely low. It charts in two of the seven markets we track, at 6136th in France on 5 births and 10350th in the United States on 9, across 217,666 lifetime births. The unaccented Carol, written up separately, holds rather more volume and has faded almost as completely.
How popular is Carole?
In 2025, Carole was given to 9 babies in the United States. It is a rare choice.
Where Carole is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Carole
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Carole also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Carole over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Carole 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 Carole
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Carole — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Carole
What does the name Carole mean?
Free man, carried from Charles through the Germanic karl.
Is Carole the same as Carol?
Carole is the French spelling of the same name; both have faded almost completely.
Is Carole related to Christmas carols?
A separate Old French carole meant a ring dance with singing, and the two words converged on the name.
How popular is Carole?
6136th in France and 10350th in the United States.
Is Carole a girl's or a boy's name?
Carole is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Carole?
Carole has 2 syllables.
Is Carole a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Carole currently ranks #6,136 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.