Carol

femaleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Carol: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Carol: Recorded since 1952, it reached #19 in 1957, and it stood at #3,523 in 2023.

5registrars recorded it
111times a registrar ranked it
72years from first to last
#19highest recorded position
25groupings it qualifies for
38names it appears alongside

What stands out in Carol's record

Held a top-100 place for 39 years running. Names by top-100 run
Appears alongside 38 other names across 6 kinds of recorded relationship. All recorded relationships
Shares a published list with another name across 57 years. Longest shared records

Region

Falling

among girls in England and Wales · 1996–2021

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#802
1997	#897
1998	#1480
1999	#1805
2000	#1313
2001	#1617
2002	#1530
2003	#1722
2004	#2278
2005	#2438
2006	#3116
2007	#4294
2008	#3397
2009	#2759
2010	#2843
2011	#2893
2012	#4838
2013	#3160
2015	#4103
2016	#4096
2017	#4763
2018	#4684
2019	#5591
2021	#3519

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

FallingEngland and Wales · Girls

Recorded in official data among girls in Republic of Ireland in 45 of the 47 years from 1964 to 2010.

In 2010: #663 among girls in Republic of Ireland, #2843 among girls in England and Wales.

Official data from 5 national registrars across 5 regions, 1952–2023 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1952
First recorded at #26 among girls in New South Wales, Australia in 1952 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
New South Wales, Australia · Girls
Highest recorded1954–1971
Highest recorded position: #19 among girls in New Zealand, in 1957 (recorded 1954–1971).
New Zealand · Girls
Most recent2023
Most recently recorded at #3523 among boys in England and Wales, in 2023.
England and Wales · Boys

Carol appears in 6 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Republic of Ireland · Girls, with 45 ranked years and 5,111 births registered; the earliest is New South Wales, Australia · Girls, from 1952.

Carol across 6 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

Carol's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
Republic of Ireland · Girls	#36 (1964)	#34 (1968)	#663 (2010)	45 of 47	5,111 (1964–2010)	268 (1979)
England and Wales · Girls	#802 (1996)	#802 (1996)	#3519 (2021)	24 of 26	215 (1996–2021)	28 (1996)
New Zealand · Girls	#22 (1954)	#19 (1957)	#96 (1971)	18 of 18	3,626 (1954–1971)	296 (1956)
New South Wales, Australia · Girls	#26 (1952)	#26 (1952)	#90 (1968)	17 of 17	3,834 (1952–1968)	362 (1952)
England and Wales · Boys	#2707 (2015)	#2493 (2021)	#3523 (2023)	5 of 9	30 (2015–2023)	8 (2021)
Northern Ireland · Girls	#314 (1997)	#314 (1997)	#351 (1998)	2 of 2	7 (1997–1998)	4 (1997)

Where the highest position is not the biggest year

Inside a single year a registrar's ranking is its birth counts put in order, so the top of a list is always the name given to the most babies that year. Across years the two separate, because the number of births and the number of names sharing them both change.

In Republic of Ireland · Girls the name reached its highest position, #34, in 1968, when 203 births were registered with it. More were registered in 1979 — 268 — in a year it ranked #38.

Carol by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Carol in Republic of Ireland · Girls, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1960s	1,176	6 of 10	196
1970sbusiest	2,005	10 of 10	201
1980s	1,496	10 of 10	150
1990s	382	10 of 10	38
2000s	47	8 of 10	6
2010s	5	1 of 10	5

Across Republic of Ireland · Girls, the 1970s were its busiest decade, averaging 201 births a year.

Its sharpest single-year move came between 1978 and 1979, when recorded births rose by 58, from 210 to 268.

See the names Republic of Irelandhas recorded the most births with →

Carol appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

Popularity data

Official popularity data is available for 5 regions, from 1952 to 2023. Highest recorded position: #19 in New Zealand in 1957.

Carol's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2023	England and Wales	male	#3523	5	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	male	#3048	6	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	female	#3519	6	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	male	#2493	8	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	female	#5591	3	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	female	#4684	4	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	female	#4763	4	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	female	#4096	5	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	male	#4023	4	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	female	#4103	5	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	male	#2707	7	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	female	#3160	7	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	female	#4838	4	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	female	#2893	8	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	female	#2843	8	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	female	#2759	8	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	female	#3397	6	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	female	#4294	4	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	female	#3116	6	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	female	#2438	8	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	female	#2278	8	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	female	#1722	11	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	female	#1530	12	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	female	#1617	11	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	female	#1313	14	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	female	#1805	9	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	female	#1480	12	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	female	#897	24	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	female	#802	28	High	Verified
1968	New South Wales, Australia	female	#90	97	Insufficient	Not yet available
1967	New South Wales, Australia	female	#95	82	Insufficient	Not yet available
1966	New South Wales, Australia	female	#61	137	Insufficient	Not yet available
1965	New South Wales, Australia	female	#55	160	Insufficient	Not yet available
1964	New South Wales, Australia	female	#50	177	Insufficient	Not yet available
1963	New South Wales, Australia	female	#56	172	Insufficient	Not yet available
1962	New South Wales, Australia	female	#49	217	Insufficient	Not yet available
1961	New South Wales, Australia	female	#38	291	Insufficient	Not yet available
1960	New South Wales, Australia	female	#39	259	Insufficient	Not yet available
1959	New South Wales, Australia	female	#43	233	Insufficient	Not yet available
1958	New South Wales, Australia	female	#43	233	Insufficient	Not yet available
1957	New South Wales, Australia	female	#34	273	Insufficient	Not yet available
1956	New South Wales, Australia	female	#33	293	Insufficient	Not yet available
1955	New South Wales, Australia	female	#34	279	Insufficient	Not yet available
1954	New South Wales, Australia	female	#34	276	Insufficient	Not yet available
1953	New South Wales, Australia	female	#34	293	Insufficient	Not yet available
1952	New South Wales, Australia	female	#26	362	Insufficient	Not yet available
1971	New Zealand	female	#96	70	High	Verified
1970	New Zealand	female	#73	92	High	Verified
1969	New Zealand	female	#81	82	High	Verified
1968	New Zealand	female	#55	124	High	Verified
1967	New Zealand	female	#49	132	High	Verified
1966	New Zealand	female	#46	149	High	Verified
1965	New Zealand	female	#37	181	High	Verified
1964	New Zealand	female	#42	170	High	Verified
1963	New Zealand	female	#38	205	High	Verified
1962	New Zealand	female	#26	238	High	Verified
1961	New Zealand	female	#21	293	High	Verified
1960	New Zealand	female	#21	281	High	Verified
1959	New Zealand	female	#27	241	High	Verified
1958	New Zealand	female	#21	275	High	Verified
1957	New Zealand	female	#19	292	High	Verified
1956	New Zealand	female	#20	296	High	Verified
1955	New Zealand	female	#20	258	High	Verified
1954	New Zealand	female	#22	247	High	Verified
1998	Northern Ireland	female	#351	3	High	Verified
1997	Northern Ireland	female	#314	4	High	Verified
2010	Republic of Ireland	female	#663	5	High	Verified
2007	Republic of Ireland	female	#505	7	High	Verified
2006	Republic of Ireland	female	#635	4	High	Verified
2005	Republic of Ireland	female	#523	5	High	Verified
2004	Republic of Ireland	female	#576	4	High	Verified
2003	Republic of Ireland	female	#333	9	High	Verified
2002	Republic of Ireland	female	#620	3	High	Verified
2001	Republic of Ireland	female	#369	7	High	Verified
2000	Republic of Ireland	female	#324	8	High	Verified
1999	Republic of Ireland	female	#254	11	High	Verified
1998	Republic of Ireland	female	#229	12	High	Verified
1997	Republic of Ireland	female	#123	42	High	Verified
1996	Republic of Ireland	female	#155	32	High	Verified
1995	Republic of Ireland	female	#146	31	High	Verified
1994	Republic of Ireland	female	#138	36	High	Verified
1993	Republic of Ireland	female	#110	51	High	Verified
1992	Republic of Ireland	female	#108	53	High	Verified
1991	Republic of Ireland	female	#124	43	High	Verified
1990	Republic of Ireland	female	#95	71	High	Verified
1989	Republic of Ireland	female	#87	78	High	Verified
1988	Republic of Ireland	female	#76	96	High	Verified
1987	Republic of Ireland	female	#71	109	High	Verified
1986	Republic of Ireland	female	#71	119	High	Verified
1985	Republic of Ireland	female	#59	135	High	Verified
1984	Republic of Ireland	female	#43	184	High	Verified
1983	Republic of Ireland	female	#52	168	High	Verified
1982	Republic of Ireland	female	#48	195	High	Verified
1981	Republic of Ireland	female	#52	183	High	Verified
1980	Republic of Ireland	female	#45	229	High	Verified
1979	Republic of Ireland	female	#38	268	High	Verified
1978	Republic of Ireland	female	#45	210	High	Verified
1977	Republic of Ireland	female	#49	184	High	Verified
1976	Republic of Ireland	female	#49	182	High	Verified
1975	Republic of Ireland	female	#47	185	High	Verified
1974	Republic of Ireland	female	#49	178	High	Verified
1973	Republic of Ireland	female	#54	166	High	Verified
1972	Republic of Ireland	female	#41	204	High	Verified
1971	Republic of Ireland	female	#35	225	High	Verified
1970	Republic of Ireland	female	#37	203	High	Verified
1969	Republic of Ireland	female	#35	205	High	Verified
1968	Republic of Ireland	female	#34	203	High	Verified
1967	Republic of Ireland	female	#41	169	High	Verified
1966	Republic of Ireland	female	#38	197	High	Verified
1965	Republic of Ireland	female	#37	217	High	Verified
1964	Republic of Ireland	female	#36	185	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
New South Wales, Australia hub — collected by NSW Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages
New Zealand hub — collected by NZ Department of Internal Affairs
Northern Ireland hub — collected by NISRA
Republic of Ireland hub — collected by CSO Ireland

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 5 registrars between 1952 and 2023, ranked in 70 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #19, first reached in 1957.

It held a top-100 place in 39 years, 39 of them consecutive.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 362 births, registered in New South Wales, Australia in 1952.

1 registrar publishes it in more than one category list, holding a place in each for at least five years — an observation about those lists rather than about the name.

Its record falls into 3 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 1 year.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1954, and 45 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Carmen · #69, 70y
Carmine · #2357, 12y
Carole · #162, 35y
Carolina · #302, 57y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 5 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Alison · #18, 74y
Kathleen · #18, 74y
Barry · #17, 74y
Keith · #17, 74y

Also first recorded in the 1950s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1950 and 1959.

Bradley · #19, 70y
Marilyn · #19, 49y
Noel · #19, 74y
Suzanne · #19, 73y

Comparisons involving Carol

Existing comparison pages where Carol and another name were ranked in the same published list, in the same years, on the same scale. Each has its own evidence; none of them says the names are alike.

Longest shared records

Names ranked alongside Carol in the same published list across at least 25 years.

Sarah vs Carol
In 1964 they stood at #46 and #36 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, 10 places apart; by 2010 they were #5 and #663.
Sarah · Carol · 45 shared years, 1964–2010 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2010 Republic of Ireland ranking
Anna vs Carol
In 1964 they stood at #34 and #36 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, 2 places apart; by 2010 they were #13 and #663.
Anna · Carol · 45 shared years, 1964–2010 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2010 Republic of Ireland ranking
Carol vs Julia
In 1964 they stood at #36 and #42 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, 6 places apart; by 2010 they were #663 and #35.
Carol · Julia · 45 shared years, 1964–2010 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2010 Republic of Ireland ranking

Order changes

Pairs where Carol and another name exchanged position in a published list, taken as the final meaningful change.

Amanda vs Carol
In Republic of Ireland · Girls, Amanda moved into the top 50 at #17 in 1985 as Carol fell out of it to #59, having been #43 the year before.
Amanda · Carol · 45 shared years, 1964–2010 · One took the other's place near the top
See the 1985 Republic of Ireland ranking
Alison vs Carol
In New South Wales, Australia · Girls, Alison moved into the top 50 at #27 in 1965 as Carol fell out of it to #55, having been #50 the year before.
Alison · Carol · 17 shared years, 1952–1968 · One took the other's place near the top
See the 1965 New South Wales, Australia ranking
Megan vs Carol
In New Zealand · Girls, Megan moved into the top 50 at #27 in 1968 as Carol fell out of it to #55, having been #49 the year before.
Megan · Carol · 10 shared years, 1962–1971 · One took the other's place near the top
See the 1968 New Zealand ranking

Compared inside New Zealand lists

Pairs involving Carol measured in New Zealand's own published lists — the registrar that recorded Carol at its highest position.

Karen vs Carol
Both reached their highest recorded position in New Zealand · Girls within 2 years — Karen #1 in 1957, Carol #19 in 1957.
Karen · Carol · 18 shared years, 1954–1971 · Peaked in the same years
See the 1957 New Zealand ranking

New Zealand overview→

Carol was ranked #19 in New Zealand · Girls in 1957. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Carol and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Carol without appearing here.

Carol moved ahead of

Kirsten Compare
In 2020 they stood at #5591 and #5591 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2021 that had become #3519 and #5581.
Levi Compare
In 2020 they stood at #5591 and #2286 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2021 that had become #3519 and #5581.
Tracy Compare
In 2020 they stood at #5591 and #3151 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2021 that had become #3519 and #5581.
Tyler Compare
In 2020 they stood at #5591 and #4001 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2021 that had become #3519 and #5581.

Moved ahead of Carol

Ezra Compare
In 2014 they stood at #3160 and #5742 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2015 that had become #4103 and #1279.
Hayden Compare
In 2006 they stood at #2438 and #3970 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2007 that had become #4294 and #1741.
Cameron Compare
In 2014 they stood at #3160 and #4050 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2015 that had become #4103 and #1783.
Dylan Compare
In 2006 they stood at #3116 and #3548 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2007 that had become #4294 and #2085.

Moved the opposite way to Carol

Aisling Compare
Between 1964 and 2010 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Carol went from #36 to #663 while Aisling went from #154 to #41.
Alexandra Compare
Between 1964 and 2010 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Carol went from #36 to #663 while Alexandra went from #222 to #89.
Charlotte Compare
Between 1964 and 2010 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Carol went from #36 to #663 while Charlotte went from #171 to #69.
Ciara Compare
Between 1964 and 2010 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Carol went from #36 to #663 while Ciara went from #146 to #17.

Moved the same way as Carol

Alma Compare
Between 1964 and 2010 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Carol went from #36 to #663 and Alma from #327 to #663.
Deirdre Compare
Between 1964 and 2010 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Carol went from #36 to #663 and Deirdre from #14 to #663.
Eileen Compare
Between 1964 and 2010 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Carol went from #36 to #663 and Eileen from #17 to #395.
Evelyn Compare
Between 1964 and 2010 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Carol went from #36 to #663 and Evelyn from #83 to #184.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Official popularity data is available for 5 regions, from 1952 to 2023. Highest recorded position: #19 in New Zealand in 1957. Source data last verified 2026-07-22.

Carol

Carol at a glance

What stands out in Carol's record

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Carol across 6 official records

Where the highest position is not the biggest year

Carol by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Carol appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1950s

Comparisons involving Carol

Longest shared records

Order changes

Compared inside New Zealand lists

Names published alongside Carol

Carol and the names beside it

Carol moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Carol

Moved the opposite way to Carol

Moved the same way as Carol

Carol at a glance

What stands out in Carol's record

Carol across 6 official records

Where the highest position is not the biggest year

Carol by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Carol appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1950s

Comparisons involving Carol

Longest shared records

Order changes

Compared inside New Zealand lists

Names published alongside Carol

Carol and the names beside it

Carol moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Carol

Moved the opposite way to Carol

Moved the same way as Carol