girl's name

Karolyn

  • Gender Girl
  • Syllables 3
  • Letters 7
  • Popularity Rare
  • Births on record 5,995

Scotland

#578

1983 births

Karolyn is a girl's name with 3 syllables. In 2025 it was given to 18 babies in the United States. It is a rare choice.

  • Peaked in 1946, when 167 babies were given the name.
  • Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
  • Today about 1 in 184,196 babies in the United States is given this name.
  • First appears in US birth records in 1912.
  • 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.

Karolyn over time

Births per decade in the United States, 1910s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.

1,355
'10 '20 '30 '40 '50 '60 '70 '80 '90 '00 '10 '20
Show the numbers
Births named Karolyn by decade in the United States
Decade Births
1910s 47
1920s 111
1930s 472
1940s 1,355
1950s 791
1960s 869
1970s 651
1980s 470
1990s 468
2000s 360
2010s 252
2020s (to 2025) 111

How popular is Karolyn?

In 2025, Karolyn was given to 18 babies in the United States. It is a rare choice.

Where Karolyn is used

Scotland #578 3 in 1983
Ireland #597 3 in 1980
Canada #2,773 5 in 1998
France #3,712 5 in 1995
United States #6,440 18 in 2025

The bar shows how near the top of each country's list the name sits, on a scale where #1 fills the row and #1,000 is a sliver. The figures beside it are the real rank and the babies recorded that year.

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 Karolyn

These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.

Parents who like Karolyn also like

Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Karolyn over the last century — the same taste, a different name.

Sibling names for Karolyn

Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Karolyn — the two things that make a sibling set grate.

Common questions about Karolyn

How popular is the name Karolyn?

In 2025, Karolyn was given to 18 babies in the United States. It is a rare choice.

Is Karolyn a girl's or a boy's name?

Karolyn is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.

How many syllables are in Karolyn?

Karolyn has 3 syllables.

When was Karolyn most popular?

Karolyn peaked in 1946, when 167 babies were given the name. Its usage has held steady over the past decade.

Is Karolyn a good name?

That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Karolyn currently ranks #6,440 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.