How rare is the name Carolynn?

5,178 people in the United States have the first name Carolynn, about 1 in 58,330. It ranks #3,812 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

CAROLYNN

#3,812

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
5,178
About
1 in 58,330
This common or more
83.1%
Who bears it

Of the 5,178 people named Carolynn, 81.8% reported their origin as White, 6.1% as Black and 5.3% as Hispanic or Latino. Virtually all are female (99.9%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Carolynn peaked in 1942, when 169 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
19172025
Peak year
1942
Births that year
169
In 2025*
45 ▼73%
Recorded as
almost entirely female

At least 6,453 babies have been given the name since 1917. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Carolynn by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1940s, when it ranked #1,130. The largest share of babies named Carolynn, 31.6%, were born during the baby boom (1946–1964).

1910s#8,11821
1920s#5,48196
1930s#1,967435
1940s#1,1301,467
1950s#1,6781,000
1960s#2,037792
1970s#2,823540
1980s#3,338519
1990s#4,549454
2000s#5,767449
2010s#6,168440
2020s#6,558240
Greatest Generation 1901–271.2%
Silent Generation 1928–4520.8%
Baby boom 1946–6431.6%
Generation X 1965–8014.7%
Millennials 1981–9612.5%
Generation Z 1997–1210.4%
2013 and later8.8%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Carolynn is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Carolynn has been most common in Michigan (3.1×), California (2.6×), and Illinois (1.9×), and least common in Indiana (0.84×).

2,395 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Either side of Carolynn

#3,810 Venessa · 5,189#3,811 Linsey · 5,184#3,813 Nikola · 5,177#3,814 Rishi · 5,176

Spelled almost the same

8 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Carolynn, most common first.

#121 Carolyn · 384,056#279 Caroline · 199,035#736 Carolina · 69,296#3,029 Carolann · 7,341#4,774 Carlyn · 3,797#5,729 Carolyne · 2,927#6,606 Carolin · 2,410#9,408 Carolanne · 1,477

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