How Many People Are Named Carole?
An estimated 51,458 people in the United States have the first name Carole. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 74 years old, and Carole peaked in popularity in 1942 with 8,440 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Carole as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Carole paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Carole is overwhelmingly female, 264 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- With an average bearer age of 74, Carole is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1962.
- Carole has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1940s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
51,458
About 1 in 6,661 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Female
99.8% confidence
Average Age
74
years old
Peak Year
1942
8,440 births
Total Registered
110,941
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Carole
Carole is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 110,941 total births registered, 99.8% were female.
Carole as a male name
Ranked #3,399 in 1961
7 male births in 1961
Peak: 1942 (33 births)
Carole as a female name
Ranked #10,463 in 2023
9 female births in 2023
Peak: 1942 (8,407 births)
Carole: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Carole span from the 1900s to the 2020s, covering 13 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1940s, when 50,464 babies were registered. Carole has declined significantly from its peak in the 1940s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Carole by Decade
How has Carole tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
Carole by State
Birth registrations for Carole span all 50 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, Pennsylvania, California. The lowest are in Nevada, Wyoming, New Mexico. On average, about 2,149 Caroles were registered per state.
Carole + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Carole as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Carole
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
Carole: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Carole?
We estimate approximately 51,458 people named Carole are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 6,661 Americans share this first name.
Is Carole a common name?
Carole is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 99.2% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 110,941 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Carole most popular?
Carole reached peak popularity in 1942, when 8,440 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Carole is approximately 74 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Carole a female name?
Carole is predominantly female. 99.8% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Carole Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Carole Smith, Carole Johnson, Carole Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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