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Caroline as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Caroline

The baby name Caroline is a Female name , 3 syllables long and is pronounced /ˈkærəlaɪn/ (CAR-ə-line),/ˈkærəlɪn/ (CAR-ə-lin),French: /kaʁɔlin/ (ka-ro-LEEN).

Gender: Female
Syllables: 3.0
Pronunciation: /ˈkærəlaɪn/ (CAR-ə-line),/ˈkærəlɪn/ (CAR-ə-lin),French: /kaʁɔlin/ (ka-ro-LEEN)

What is the meaning of the name Caroline ?

The baby name Caroline is a Female name , 3 syllables long and is pronounced /ˈkærəlaɪn/ (CAR-ə-line),/ˈkærəlɪn/ (CAR-ə-lin),French: /kaʁɔlin/ (ka-ro-LEEN).

Caroline is in Origin.

Caroline is the French-formed feminine of Carolus (Latinized Charles), ultimately from the Germanic Karl meaning “free man,” often interpreted today as “free person” or “strong and independent.” Through French and Latin court culture it spread widely, yielding a polished, classic tone in English while retaining Continental elegance. The name carries the same root as Charles, Carl, and Charlotte, anchoring it in a deep pan-European tradition.

In Britain the name rose with 18th–19th‑century royal bearers such as Queen Caroline of Ansbach and Caroline of Brunswick, then settled into steady transatlantic use; in the United States it remains a perennial rather than a fad. International variants include Carolina (Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Swedish), Karoline (German, Danish, Norwegian), Karolina (Polish, Czech, Slovak, Scandinavian), and Carolyn/Carolyne in English. Diminutives and short forms include Carrie, Caro, Lina, and Callie.

Caroline has the following similar or variant Names

Famous people with the name Caroline

Caroline Kennedy Politician · Born 1957 · United States Caroline Kennedy is best known as the daughter of President John F. Kennedy and as a prominent American diplomat, author, and attorney. She served as the U.S. ambassador to Japan from 2013 to 2017 and ambassador to Australia from 2022 to 2024. Caroline of Brunswick Politician · Born 1768 Caroline of Brunswick is best known as the estranged wife of King George IV and as Queen of the United Kingdom and Hanover from 1820 until her death in 1821. Born Caroline Amelia Elizabeth in 1768, she was Princess of Wales from 1795 to 1820 and became a highly controversial public figure during her husband's reign. C. C. Catch Musician · Born 1964 · Germany C. C. Catch is a German pop singer best known for her 1980s Euro disco hits. Born Caroline Catherine Müller on 31 July 1964, she became famous for songs like "Cause You Are Young," "Heaven and Hell," and "Soul Survivor."
Caroline of Baden Royal · Born 1776 · Grand Duchy of Baden Caroline of Baden is best known as the first Queen consort of Bavaria. Born Friederike Karoline Wilhelmine von Baden, she became Electress of Bavaria and later queen through her marriage to Maximilian I Joseph, serving in that role during the early 19th century. Caroline Aaron Actor · Born 1952 · United States Caroline Aaron is an American actress best known for playing Shirley Maisel on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. She has also appeared in films by Mike Nichols, Nora Ephron, and Woody Allen, including Heartburn and Crimes and Misdemeanors. Caroline Munro Actor · Born 1949 · United Kingdom Caroline Munro is an English actress, model, and singer best known for her cult roles in 1970s and 1980s horror and science fiction films. She became especially popular through Hammer productions and movies like Dracula A.D. 1972 and Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter.

Celebrity babies named Caroline

Name Last Name(s) Mother Mother famous for Fame Level Father Father famous for Fame Level
Caroline Kennedy Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis model
Caroline Euwe Max Euwe professional boxer
Caroline Aberash Parker Mary-Louise Parker television actor

Caroline – Popularity by country

Based on birth registration data from national statistics agencies.

Country Gender Year Rank Born of
Ireland Girls 2025 #1 874
LU 0 #7 72 2,830
FJ Girls 0 #9 1 583
KR Girls 0 #15 1 572
BF Girls 0 #17 1 315
BW 0 #18 2 960
HT Girls 0 #22 2 950
MT 0 #27 17 1,767
BN 0 #29 4 2,297
NA 0 #29 5 2,537
BI Girls 0 #33 1 726
MV Girls 0 #34 2 2,021
ID 0 #35 5 2,238
MT Girls 0 #36 156 3,773
EE 0 #37 1 1,051
CM 0 #38 18 2,592
LU Girls 0 #39 211 4,850
BW Girls 0 #40 128 4,216
ZA Girls 0 #47 7,158 25,928
MO 0 #51 2 2,706
CM Girls 0 #53 1,543 11,671
PR 0 #53 3 1,497
CY 0 #55 6 1,632
DK Girls 0 #56 821 7,429
NA Girls 0 #60 224 7,146
BR 0 #65 526 5,969
CN 0 #68 18 3,857
ID Girls 0 #71 28 3,319
IN 0 #71 1 2,963
JP 0 #75 3 4,057
AO 0 #77 1 2,729
PH 0 #79 18 5,607
BG 0 #82 1 1,799
BR Girls 0 #82 6,151 12,708
QA 0 #86 15 7,011
TW 0 #86 15 4,523
DK 0 #87 151 5,198
LT 0 #88 1 949
JM 0 #90 4 3,714
United States Girls 2024 #92 2,720 8,487
BN Girls 0 #94 13 5,459
OM 0 #95 22 6,215
KW 0 #102 15 5,216
CY Girls 0 #105 17 3,755
NL Girls 0 #111 3,641 5,933
NL 0 #113 374 2,481
HU 0 #115 1 1,675
MU 0 #115 22 3,613
PA 0 #117 14 3,797
EC 0 #118 4 2,502
Norway Girls 2025 #120 7 453
AE 0 #124 54 10,220
NG Girls 0 #126 2,761 15,093
Switzerland Girls 2024 #129 7 1,786
Austria Girls 0 #129 591 1,885
GR 0 #132 4 3,911
CN Girls 0 #133 315 8,829
PR Girls 0 #134 28 3,171
ID Boys 0 #135 1 4,130
RS Girls 0 #135 3 1,651
Austria 0 #136 81 850
EE Girls 0 #136 7 1,888
BN Boys 0 #137 3 6,332
JO 0 #139 2 2,158
CR 0 #144 15 5,526
BW Boys 0 #151 4 4,685
SG 0 #154 121 11,010
ZA 0 #158 324 14,421
Germany Girls 0 #167 2,172 4,949
Sweden Girls 2022 #173 7 1,568
GH Girls 0 #176 188 6,973
UY 0 #176 7 2,477
MT Boys 0 #178 2 4,064
CZ 0 #180 7 3,154
Belgium Girls 2012 #185 25 406
TW Girls 0 #187 93 8,139
RU 0 #188 7 3,641
AR 0 #191 3 2,915
QA Girls 0 #191 127 15,378
PS 0 #194 25 5,692
LT Girls 0 #196 5 1,904
MU Girls 0 #196 160 8,539
JP Girls 0 #198 48 6,592
AO Girls 0 #199 11 4,575
SG Girls 0 #204 543 18,916
PL 0 #205 8 2,600
PT 0 #210 37 4,161
SI Boys 0 #211 1 3,402
NG 0 #213 52 5,926
Germany 0 #214 276 2,542
GR Girls 0 #215 28 6,293
GH 0 #216 28 5,396
JM Girls 0 #218 42 7,507
MO Girls 0 #218 34 7,056
LU Boys 0 #219 2 4,970
HU Girls 0 #221 5 3,308
IR 0 #224 8 4,221
AL Girls 0 #225 3 4,141
BG Girls 0 #229 3 3,559
EC Girls 0 #229 11 3,650
Canada Girls 2024 #230 56 2,795
MY 0 #232 103 12,352
IL 0 #236 39 6,291
PH Girls 0 #239 154 13,098
OM Girls 0 #245 153 15,987
AO Boys 0 #249 1 5,568
NA Boys 0 #249 5 6,830
PE 0 #275 36 6,350
SA 0 #277 19 10,560
AE Girls 0 #278 293 20,968
Finland 0 #278 30 830
JO Girls 0 #280 46 7,570
PL Girls 0 #281 74 5,096
HK 0 #284 65 8,483
EG 0 #286 123 6,387
HR Girls 0 #286 9 3,687
CZ Girls 0 #290 53 5,378
PA Girls 0 #292 198 9,861
KZ Boys 0 #296 1 6,578
MY Girls 0 #296 1,205 24,821
PT Girls 0 #303 160 7,952
CZ Boys 0 #305 1 6,530
Finland Girls 0 #310 83 1,368
KZ Girls 0 #310 11 5,862
LB 0 #313 453 13,263
CL 0 #325 88 6,867
CL Girls 0 #330 882 14,098
CN Boys 0 #330 2 9,639
DK Boys 0 #332 1 7,401
GT 0 #333 6 5,948
KW Girls 0 #334 183 19,177
HK Girls 0 #339 323 16,104
SD Girls 0 #350 9 7,678
France Girls 2021 #353 53 3,185
GH Boys 0 #355 7 8,138
MU Boys 0 #367 3 8,477
Spain 0 #368 85 2,326
BO 0 #370 12 6,868
EG Girls 0 #390 929 14,742
MX 0 #394 20 8,339
YE 0 #395 4 8,639
RU Girls 0 #399 100 11,913
BD Girls 0 #405 2 8,413
PH Boys 0 #408 1 11,440
UY Girls 0 #422 89 6,731
CO 0 #424 57 7,768
CR Girls 0 #439 94 11,342
PS Girls 0 #439 85 10,981
Finland Girls 2026 #463 393 3,895
GT Girls 0 #464 42 7,500
IL Girls 0 #474 145 11,648
CM Boys 0 #477 74 12,054
IR Girls 0 #477 54 8,334
PE Girls 0 #484 622 14,861
IQ Girls 0 #488 17 11,303
BH 0 #493 61 17,937
PA Boys 0 #505 1 9,305
BO Girls 0 #508 104 9,488
CR Boys 0 #508 3 10,188
IT 0 #512 208 4,183
LY 0 #523 13 12,703
RU Boys 0 #524 3 12,621
AR Girls 0 #551 49 8,289
HK Boys 0 #554 4 12,905
PS Boys 0 #558 4 10,655
Spain Girls 0 #564 480 5,561
CO Girls 0 #593 629 16,140
IN Girls 0 #593 39 13,121
SY 0 #605 125 11,684
BO Boys 0 #618 5 9,244
IL Boys 0 #624 2 10,983
IT Girls 0 #647 1,208 9,415
CL Boys 0 #656 10 13,390
SA Girls 0 #661 276 25,931
TN 0 #688 142 13,765
QA Boys 0 #696 12 18,093
IQ Boys 0 #697 1 13,071
BR Boys 0 #703 49 12,213
SG Boys 0 #737 3 17,960
KW Boys 0 #749 21 18,755
OM Boys 0 #854 28 17,948
MA 0 #862 268 20,986
MX Girls 0 #863 337 17,781
United States Boys 2014 #886 6 7,361
NG Boys 0 #910 42 16,906
EG Boys 0 #918 8 15,035
PE Boys 0 #921 6 14,506
NL Boys 0 #941 11 5,873
DZ 0 #958 219 20,130
CO Boys 0 #973 9 15,656
ZA Boys 0 #1,013 166 25,619
MX Boys 0 #1,030 4 16,355
IN Boys 0 #1,035 5 16,750
MY Boys 0 #1,100 12 25,439
AE Boys 0 #1,143 1 22,615
TR 0 #1,150 62 19,440
SA Boys 0 #1,600 15 28,008

Caroline is popular in 92 countries — most recent births per country:

France
Norway
Ireland
Scotland, United Kingdom
Canada

Did we miss something about this name? Let us know!

People also ask about Caroline

Caroline is predominantly a girl's name.
Caroline is a 3 syllable name, pronounced /ˈkærəlaɪn/ (CAR-ə-line),/ˈkærəlɪn/ (CAR-ə-lin),French: /kaʁɔlin/ (ka-ro-LEEN).
Common nicknames and spelling variations include Carolyn, Carolina, Caroline (alternate pronunciations), Carolyne, Karoline and Karolina.
Across languages, Caroline has these equivalents: Charles (male), Karl (male), Carolus (Latin, male), Carolina (Spanish/Italian/Portuguese), Karolina (Polish/Slavic/Scandinavian), and 3 more.
Yes, very popular — Caroline ranked #1 in Ireland in 2025, and appears in official birth registries across 10 countries.
Caroline ranks highest in Ireland (#1 in 2025).
Caroline's popularity is holding steady. It moved from #1 in 2015 to #1 in 2025 in Ireland.
Yes — 13 notable people named Caroline are in our database, including Caroline Kennedy (Politician), Caroline of Brunswick (Politician), C. C. Catch (Musician).
Yes — at least 3 celebrity couples have chosen Caroline for their child, including Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.