Carolyn
About Carolyn
The phonetic Carolyn spelling, which was very popular from the 1920s to the '60s, has been steadily on the wane while Caroline herself has stayed strong.
Carolyn Keene was the pseudonymous author of the Nancy Drew Books; Carolyn Jones played Morticia Addams on TV's The Addams Family.
Pronounced CARE-oh-lin.
As of October 2026, Carolyn ranked #1222 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #10 in 1942, Nameberry popularity #679.
Editor: Pamela Redmond
Sources: US popularity data is from the Social Security Administration. Meanings and origins are from Nameberry's name references.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #747 | 375 | 209.9 |
| 2015 | #748 | 377 | 211.2 |
| 2016 | #809 | 352 | 198.6 |
| 2017 | #833 | 326 | 188.8 |
| 2018 | #865 | 313 | 184 |
| 2019 | #936 | 282 | 168 |
| 2020 | #947 | 270 | 167 |
| 2021 | #1,129 | 218 | 132.9 |
| 2022 | #1,239 | 194 | 118.3 |
| 2023 | #1,084 | 228 | 142.1 |
| 2024 | #1,163 | 206 | 127.1 |
| 2025 | #1,222 | 185 | 115.1 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Carolyn.
- Kathryn
- Leslie
- Kirsten
- Shannon
- Candace
- Caitlin
- Monica
- Carla
- Caylin
- Kristen
- Hasel
- Sher
- Lynn
- Rebekah
- Julie
- Christine
- Kelly
- Lindsay
- Megan
- Leanna
Carolyn on lists
Famous Carolyns
- Carolyn Jean Spellmann Shoemaker
American astronomer
- Carolyn Gimpel Hart
American mystery novelist
- Carolyn Ashley Kizer
American poet
- Carolyn Doris "C.D." Wright
American poet
- Carolyn Leigh
American lyricist
- Carolyn Ann Franklin
American singer; sister of Aretha Franklin
- Carolyn Jane Maloney
U.S. Congresswoman from New York
- Carolyn McCarthy
U.S. Congresswoman from New York
- Carolyn Jean Cheeks Kilpatrick
U.S. Congresswoman from Michigan
- Carolyn Sue Jones
American actress
- Carolyn Inez McCormick
American actress
- Carolyn Seymour
English actress
- Carolyn Dawn Johnson
Canadian country music singer
- Carolyn Hax
American advice columnist
- Carolyn George
American ballerina
- Carolyn See
American novelist
- Carolyn Keene
pen name used by writers of the Nancy Drew book series
- Carolyn Murphy
American model and host of "Project Runway All Stars"
- Carolyn Cassady
American writer
- Carolyn Hennessy
American Author and Actress
- Carolyn Jeanne Bessette
Kennedy, wife of John F. Kennedy Jr.
- Carolyn London
mother of model/TV personality Tyra Banks
Carolyn in pop culture
- Carolyn Burnham
character in the film "American Beauty"
- Carolyn
character in novelette "The Hot Moms Club" by author Tina Tirrell
- Carolyn Polhemus
character in movie "Presumed Innocent"