How Many People Are Named Carolyn?
An estimated 311,029 people in the United States have the first name Carolyn. While not in the top 50, it remains a well-known name ranking #158 overall. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 66 years old, and Carolyn peaked in popularity in 1947 with 20,787 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Carolyn 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 Carolyn paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Carolyn is overwhelmingly female, 1,620 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- With an average bearer age of 66, Carolyn is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1970.
- Carolyn 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
311,029
About 1 in 1,102 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Common
Predicted Gender
Female
99.7% confidence
Average Age
66
years old
Peak Year
1947
20,787 births
Total Registered
558,213
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Carolyn
Carolyn is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 558,213 total births registered, 99.7% were female.
Carolyn as a male name
Ranked #7,941 in 1995
6 male births in 1995
Peak: 1943 (76 births)
Carolyn as a female name
Ranked #1,163 in 2024
206 female births in 2024
Peak: 1947 (20,741 births)
Carolyn: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Carolyn span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1940s, when 182,378 babies were registered. Carolyn has declined significantly from its peak in the 1940s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Carolyn by Decade
How has Carolyn 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.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 856 | 0 | 856 | |
| 1890s | 1,401 | 0 | 1,401 | |
| 1900s | 2,009 | 0 | 2,009 | |
| 1910s | 8,955 | 15 | 8,940 | |
| 1920s | 22,824 | 48 | 22,776 | |
| 1930s | 69,795 | 270 | 69,525 | |
| 1940s | 182,378 | 523 | 181,855 | |
| 1950s | 124,378 | 311 | 124,067 | |
| 1960s | 75,504 | 237 | 75,267 | |
| 1970s | 27,141 | 93 | 27,048 | |
| 1980s | 18,731 | 101 | 18,630 | |
| 1990s | 12,907 | 22 | 12,885 | |
| 2000s | 6,737 | 0 | 6,737 | |
| 2010s | 3,481 | 0 | 3,481 | |
| 2020s | 1,116 | 0 | 1,116 | |
Carolyn by State
Birth registrations for Carolyn span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Texas, New York, California. The lowest are in Alaska, Nevada, Wyoming. On average, about 10,794 Carolyns were registered per state.
Carolyn + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Carolyn as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Carolyn
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
Carolyn: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Carolyn?
We estimate approximately 311,029 people named Carolyn 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 1,102 Americans share this first name.
Is Carolyn a common name?
Carolyn is classified as "Common" and is more popular than 99.9% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 558,213 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Carolyn most popular?
Carolyn reached peak popularity in 1947, when 20,787 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Carolyn is approximately 66 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Carolyn a female name?
Carolyn is predominantly female. 99.7% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Carolyn Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Carolyn Smith, Carolyn Johnson, Carolyn 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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