Caralynn
A feminine name of English origin meaning "dear little one".
Name Census estimates that about 316 living Americans carry the first name Caralynn. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Caralynn today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Caralynn births was 2013 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Caralynn. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
316
~ 1 in 1,084,666 Americans
Peak year
2013
23 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2024 SSA rank
#15,685
Tracked since 1963
Popularity
Caralynn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Caralynn from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 136 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Caralynn by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Caralynn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Caralynn
The name Caralynn is a relatively modern name that has its origins in a blend of two older names, Carol and Lynn. The first part, Carol, is derived from the French name Caroline, which itself is a feminine form of the name Carolus, meaning "free man" in Germanic languages.
The name Carol gained popularity during the Middle Ages and was often associated with Christmas carols or songs celebrating the birth of Christ. The second part of the name, Lynn, is believed to have its roots in the Celtic word "linn," meaning a waterfall or a pool.
While the name Caralynn itself does not have a long historical record, its component parts have been around for centuries. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Carol can be found in the 9th century, when a Frankish noblewoman named Carola was mentioned in historical documents.
In terms of famous individuals bearing the name Caralynn, the list is relatively short due to its modern origins. However, here are five notable people throughout history who have carried variations of the name:
1. Carola Neher (1900-1942), a German actress and singer who was a prominent figure in the Weimar Republic's cabaret scene.
2. Carol Heiss (born 1940), an American figure skater who won the Olympic gold medal in 1960 and was a five-time World Champion.
3. Carol Burnett (born 1933), an iconic American comedian, actress, and singer, best known for her long-running television variety show, "The Carol Burnett Show."
4. Carol Moseley Braun (born 1947), an American politician who was the first African American woman elected to the United States Senate, serving from 1993 to 1999.
5. Carol Shields (1935-2003), a Canadian author and academic, best known for her novel "The Stone Diaries," which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1995.
While the name Caralynn may not have a long and storied history, its components reflect a blend of linguistic and cultural influences, with roots in Germanic, French, and Celtic traditions. As a relatively new name, it has the potential to forge its own unique identity and legacy in the years to come.
People
Caralynn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Caralynn as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Caralynn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Caralynn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 316 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Caralynn going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,084,666 US residents.
Is Caralynn a common name?
We classify Caralynn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 326 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Caralynn most popular?
The single biggest year for Caralynn was 2013, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Caralynn is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Caralynn a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Caralynn in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.