Caroly
A feminine name derived from the Late Latin "Carolus", meaning "free man".
Name Census estimates that about 85 living Americans carry the first name Caroly. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Caroly today is around 61 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Caroly births was 1961 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Caroly. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Caroly. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
85
~ 1 in 4,032,404 Americans
Peak year
1961
9 babies that year
Average age
61
years old
1988 SSA rank
#12,091
Tracked since 1936
Census
Caroly in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 497 people with the first name Caroly, which placed it at #20,692 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#20,692
National first-name rank
People counted
497
497 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
65.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Caroly
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Caroly is White at 65.0%. The next largest groups are Black (17.7%) and Hispanic (13.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Caroly described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Caroly at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White65.0% · 323
- Black or African American17.7% · 88
- Hispanic or Latino13.3% · 66
- Two or more races1.8% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 4
Popularity
Caroly: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Caroly from the 1930s through to the 1980s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 43 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Caroly 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 Caroly 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 Caroly
The name Caroly has its roots in the Latin word "carolus," which means "man" or "freeman." It emerged during the Middle Ages in various parts of Europe, particularly in regions where Latin was widely spoken or influenced the local languages.
The earliest recorded use of the name Caroly can be traced back to the 9th century, when it appeared in some medieval manuscripts and records. It was often used as a variant of the more common name "Charles," which also derived from the same Latin word.
One of the most notable historical figures bearing the name Caroly was Caroly the Great, also known as Charlemagne (742-814 AD). He was the King of the Franks and later crowned as the first Holy Roman Emperor. His reign marked a significant period in European history, and he is credited with the revival of learning and culture in the region.
Another prominent figure with the name Caroly was Caroly V (1500-1558), who ruled as the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain. He played a crucial role in the spread of the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation movements across Europe.
In the realm of literature, Caroly Dickens (1812-1870), the renowned English writer, is undoubtedly one of the most famous individuals with this name. His novels, such as "A Tale of Two Cities" and "Great Expectations," have become literary classics and have had a lasting impact on the world of literature.
Moving to the world of science, Caroly Darwin (1809-1882), the English naturalist and geologist, made groundbreaking contributions to the theory of evolution through his work, "On the Origin of Species." His ideas revolutionized the understanding of life on Earth and continue to shape scientific thought to this day.
In the field of music, Caroly Gounod (1818-1893), a French composer, is remembered for his operas, including the famous "Faust." His compositions blended traditional and contemporary styles, leaving a significant mark on the operatic tradition.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have borne the name Caroly throughout history, each leaving an indelible mark in their respective fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of human civilization.
People
Caroly + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Caroly 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
Caroly: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Caroly?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 85 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Caroly 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 4,032,404 US residents.
Is Caroly a common name?
We classify Caroly as "Very Rare". It ranks above 62.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 112 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Caroly most popular?
The single biggest year for Caroly was 1961, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Caroly is about 61 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Caroly in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 497 people with the name Caroly, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,692 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Caroly in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Caroly?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Caroly appears almost entirely female. Of the 491 people counted with this name, 99.2% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Caroly?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Caroly is White at 65.0%. The next largest groups are Black (17.7%) and Hispanic (13.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Caroly most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Caroly in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.0% (323 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Caroly in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Caroly a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Caroly 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.
Is Caroly still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Caroly in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Caroly can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people are named Caroly?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.