Carolyn

femaleStatistical record

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

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

Carolyn: Recorded since 1952, it reached #32 in 1960, and it stood at #3,598 in 2023.

5registrars recorded it
115times a registrar ranked it
72years from first to last
#32highest recorded position
27groupings it qualifies for

What stands out in Carolyn's record

Held a top-100 place for 26 years running. Names by top-100 run

Region

Falling

among girls in England and Wales · 1996–2023

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#1646
1997	#2152
1998	#1259
1999	#1018
2000	#1831
2001	#2466
2002	#2868
2003	#3099
2004	#3725
2005	#1934
2006	#4157
2007	#5201
2008	#3397
2009	#2759
2010	#3533
2011	#4764
2013	#4739
2015	#5730
2018	#5666
2020	#5493
2021	#4634
2022	#4645
2023	#3598

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 41 of the 49 years from 1964 to 2012.

In 2011: #937 among girls in Republic of Ireland, #4764 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 #40 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 recorded1952–1976
Highest recorded position: #32 among girls in New South Wales, Australia, in 1964 (recorded 1952–1976).
New South Wales, Australia · Girls
Most recent2023
Most recently recorded at #3598 among girls in England and Wales, in 2023.
England and Wales · Girls

Carolyn appears in 5 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Republic of Ireland · Girls, with 41 ranked years and 498 births registered; the earliest is New South Wales, Australia · Girls, from 1952.

Carolyn across 5 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.

Carolyn'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	#194 (1964)	#178 (1980)	#907 (2012)	41 of 49	498 (1964–2012)	38 (1980)
England and Wales · Girls	#1646 (1996)	#1018 (1999)	#3598 (2023)	23 of 28	150 (1996–2023)	20 (1999)
New South Wales, Australia · Girls	#40 (1952)	#32 (1964)	#90 (1976)	24 of 25	4,413 (1952–1976)	304 (1962)
New Zealand · Girls	#51 (1954)	#32 (1960)	#90 (1977)	24 of 24	3,212 (1954–1977)	225 (1961)
Northern Ireland · Girls	#314 (1997)	#286 (2002)	#372 (2004)	3 of 8	11 (1997–2004)	4 (1997)

Carolyn 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 Carolyn in Republic of Ireland · Girls, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1960s	72	6 of 10	12
1970s	147	10 of 10	15
1980sbusiest	178	10 of 10	18
1990s	78	9 of 10	9
2000s	17	4 of 10	4
2010s	6	2 of 10	3

Across Republic of Ireland · Girls, the 1980s were its busiest decade, averaging 18 births a year.

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

Carolyn 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: #32 in New Zealand in 1960.

Carolyn'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	female	#3598	6	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	female	#4645	4	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	female	#4634	4	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	female	#5493	3	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	female	#5666	3	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	female	#5730	3	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	female	#4739	4	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	female	#4764	4	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	female	#3533	6	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	#5201	3	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	female	#4157	4	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	female	#1934	11	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	female	#3725	4	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	female	#3099	5	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	female	#2868	5	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	female	#2466	6	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	female	#1831	9	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	female	#1018	20	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	female	#1259	15	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	female	#2152	7	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	female	#1646	10	High	Verified
1976	New South Wales, Australia	female	#90	80	Insufficient	Not yet available
1974	New South Wales, Australia	female	#81	100	Insufficient	Not yet available
1973	New South Wales, Australia	female	#84	93	Insufficient	Not yet available
1972	New South Wales, Australia	female	#80	121	Insufficient	Not yet available
1971	New South Wales, Australia	female	#79	129	Insufficient	Not yet available
1970	New South Wales, Australia	female	#53	182	Insufficient	Not yet available
1969	New South Wales, Australia	female	#51	184	Insufficient	Not yet available
1968	New South Wales, Australia	female	#40	209	Insufficient	Not yet available
1967	New South Wales, Australia	female	#45	180	Insufficient	Not yet available
1966	New South Wales, Australia	female	#49	176	Insufficient	Not yet available
1965	New South Wales, Australia	female	#44	206	Insufficient	Not yet available
1964	New South Wales, Australia	female	#32	280	Insufficient	Not yet available
1963	New South Wales, Australia	female	#43	252	Insufficient	Not yet available
1962	New South Wales, Australia	female	#34	304	Insufficient	Not yet available
1961	New South Wales, Australia	female	#45	258	Insufficient	Not yet available
1960	New South Wales, Australia	female	#44	219	Insufficient	Not yet available
1959	New South Wales, Australia	female	#49	200	Insufficient	Not yet available
1958	New South Wales, Australia	female	#58	155	Insufficient	Not yet available
1957	New South Wales, Australia	female	#48	195	Insufficient	Not yet available
1956	New South Wales, Australia	female	#69	128	Insufficient	Not yet available
1955	New South Wales, Australia	female	#66	126	Insufficient	Not yet available
1954	New South Wales, Australia	female	#46	191	Insufficient	Not yet available
1953	New South Wales, Australia	female	#48	199	Insufficient	Not yet available
1952	New South Wales, Australia	female	#40	246	Insufficient	Not yet available
1977	New Zealand	female	#90	61	High	Verified
1976	New Zealand	female	#90	61	High	Verified
1975	New Zealand	female	#100	55	High	Verified
1974	New Zealand	female	#71	87	High	Verified
1973	New Zealand	female	#78	81	High	Verified
1972	New Zealand	female	#83	76	High	Verified
1971	New Zealand	female	#59	109	High	Verified
1970	New Zealand	female	#53	126	High	Verified
1969	New Zealand	female	#43	149	High	Verified
1968	New Zealand	female	#63	108	High	Verified
1967	New Zealand	female	#55	124	High	Verified
1966	New Zealand	female	#47	145	High	Verified
1965	New Zealand	female	#39	179	High	Verified
1964	New Zealand	female	#43	169	High	Verified
1963	New Zealand	female	#42	178	High	Verified
1962	New Zealand	female	#35	214	High	Verified
1961	New Zealand	female	#33	225	High	Verified
1960	New Zealand	female	#32	216	High	Verified
1959	New Zealand	female	#33	203	High	Verified
1958	New Zealand	female	#39	174	High	Verified
1957	New Zealand	female	#46	143	High	Verified
1956	New Zealand	female	#72	83	High	Verified
1955	New Zealand	female	#56	117	High	Verified
1954	New Zealand	female	#51	129	High	Verified
2004	Northern Ireland	female	#372	3	High	Verified
2002	Northern Ireland	female	#286	4	High	Verified
1997	Northern Ireland	female	#314	4	High	Verified
2012	Republic of Ireland	female	#907	3	High	Verified
2011	Republic of Ireland	female	#937	3	High	Verified
2009	Republic of Ireland	female	#893	3	High	Verified
2002	Republic of Ireland	female	#620	3	High	Verified
2001	Republic of Ireland	female	#606	3	High	Verified
2000	Republic of Ireland	female	#324	8	High	Verified
1999	Republic of Ireland	female	#279	9	High	Verified
1997	Republic of Ireland	female	#576	3	High	Verified
1996	Republic of Ireland	female	#295	10	High	Verified
1995	Republic of Ireland	female	#310	9	High	Verified
1994	Republic of Ireland	female	#282	11	High	Verified
1993	Republic of Ireland	female	#266	13	High	Verified
1992	Republic of Ireland	female	#304	10	High	Verified
1991	Republic of Ireland	female	#515	3	High	Verified
1990	Republic of Ireland	female	#303	10	High	Verified
1989	Republic of Ireland	female	#272	12	High	Verified
1988	Republic of Ireland	female	#304	10	High	Verified
1987	Republic of Ireland	female	#362	7	High	Verified
1986	Republic of Ireland	female	#211	20	High	Verified
1985	Republic of Ireland	female	#235	17	High	Verified
1984	Republic of Ireland	female	#252	15	High	Verified
1983	Republic of Ireland	female	#232	19	High	Verified
1982	Republic of Ireland	female	#259	17	High	Verified
1981	Republic of Ireland	female	#222	23	High	Verified
1980	Republic of Ireland	female	#178	38	High	Verified
1979	Republic of Ireland	female	#213	24	High	Verified
1978	Republic of Ireland	female	#230	20	High	Verified
1977	Republic of Ireland	female	#269	13	High	Verified
1976	Republic of Ireland	female	#263	13	High	Verified
1975	Republic of Ireland	female	#232	17	High	Verified
1974	Republic of Ireland	female	#285	11	High	Verified
1973	Republic of Ireland	female	#292	11	High	Verified
1972	Republic of Ireland	female	#248	14	High	Verified
1971	Republic of Ireland	female	#243	14	High	Verified
1970	Republic of Ireland	female	#272	10	High	Verified
1969	Republic of Ireland	female	#237	13	High	Verified
1968	Republic of Ireland	female	#216	15	High	Verified
1967	Republic of Ireland	female	#238	10	High	Verified
1966	Republic of Ireland	female	#288	6	High	Verified
1965	Republic of Ireland	female	#209	13	High	Verified
1964	Republic of Ireland	female	#194	15	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 68 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #32, first reached in 1960.

It held a top-100 place in 26 years, 26 of them consecutive.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 304 births, registered in New South Wales, Australia in 1962.

Its record falls into 4 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 2 years.

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.

Carolina · #302, 57y
Caroline · #3, 69y
Carragh · #207, 13y
Carrie · #170, 49y

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.

Gavin · #32, 72y
Annette · #31, 72y
Debbie · #31, 66y
Joan · #31, 73y

Also first recorded in the 1950s

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

Clara · #32, 63y
Erlend · #32, 75y
Gavin · #32, 72y
Penelope · #32, 54y

Carolyn was ranked #32 in New South Wales, Australia · Girls in 1964. 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.

Carolyn 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 Carolyn without appearing here.

Carolyn moved ahead of

Lene Compare
In 2007 they stood at #5201 and #5201 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2008 that had become #3397 and #5545.
Belinda Compare
In 2022 they stood at #4634 and #4634 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2023 that had become #3598 and #5687.
Kristin Compare
In 2022 they stood at #5493 and #5493 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2023 that had become #3598 and #5687.
Lorraine Compare
In 2022 they stood at #4645 and #4645 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2023 that had become #3598 and #5687.

Moved ahead of Carolyn

Ezra Compare
In 2014 they stood at #4739 and #5742 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2015 that had become #5730 and #1279.
Hayden Compare
In 2006 they stood at #1934 and #3970 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2007 that had become #5201 and #1741.
Fiadh Compare
In 2014 they stood at #4739 and #5742 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2015 that had become #5730 and #2705.
Tove Compare
In 2017 they stood at #3397 and #5545 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2018 that had become #5666 and #2674.

Moved the opposite way to Carolyn

Aisling Compare
Between 1964 and 2012 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Carolyn went from #194 to #907 while Aisling went from #154 to #42.
Alexandra Compare
Between 1964 and 2012 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Carolyn went from #194 to #907 while Alexandra went from #222 to #105.
Charlotte Compare
Between 1964 and 2012 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Carolyn went from #194 to #907 while Charlotte went from #171 to #63.
Ciara Compare
Between 1964 and 2012 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Carolyn went from #194 to #907 while Ciara went from #146 to #32.

Moved the same way as Carolyn

Alma Compare
Between 1964 and 2012 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Carolyn went from #194 to #907 and Alma from #327 to #677.
Audrey Compare
Between 1964 and 2012 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Carolyn went from #194 to #907 and Audrey from #85 to #768.
Eileen Compare
Between 1964 and 2012 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Carolyn went from #194 to #907 and Eileen from #17 to #677.
Evelyn Compare
Between 1964 and 2012 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Carolyn went from #194 to #907 and Evelyn from #83 to #141.

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: #32 in New Zealand in 1960. Source data last verified 2026-07-22.

Carolyn

Carolyn at a glance

What stands out in Carolyn's record

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Carolyn across 5 official records

Carolyn by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Carolyn 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

Names published alongside Carolyn

Carolyn and the names beside it

Carolyn moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Carolyn

Moved the opposite way to Carolyn

Moved the same way as Carolyn

Carolyn at a glance

What stands out in Carolyn's record

Carolyn across 5 official records

Carolyn by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Carolyn appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1950s

Names published alongside Carolyn

Carolyn and the names beside it

Carolyn moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Carolyn

Moved the opposite way to Carolyn

Moved the same way as Carolyn