Karola
A feminine name of Germanic origin meaning "free woman".
Name Census estimates that about 3 living Americans carry the first name Karola. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Karola today is around 82 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Karola births was 1954 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Karola. 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
- • The typical person named Karola is about 82 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Karolas were born before 1954.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Karola. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
3
~ 1 in 114,251,446 Americans
Peak year
1954
5 babies that year
Average age
82
years old
1954 SSA rank
#6,157
Tracked since 1954
Census
Karola in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 432 people with the first name Karola, which placed it at #22,880 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
#22,880
National first-name rank
People counted
432
432 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
73.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Karola
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Karola is White at 73.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (23.6%) and Black (1.4%). 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 Karola 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 Karola at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White73.6% · 318
- Hispanic or Latino23.6% · 102
- Black or African American1.4% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 4
- Two or more races0.5% · 2
Popularity
Karola: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Karola 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 Karola during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 0 | 5 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Karola
The name Karola has its origins in the Germanic languages, deriving from the Old High German word "karl" or "karal," which means "free man" or "man." It is a feminine form of the male name Karl or Charles.
In the Middle Ages, the name Karola gained popularity across various regions of Europe, particularly in Germany, Austria, and parts of Central Europe. It was often associated with nobility and royalty, as several noble families and members of the aristocracy bore this name.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Karola can be traced back to the 9th century, when Karola of Altdorf, a German noblewoman, lived during the Carolingian dynasty. She was known for her charitable works and patronage of the arts.
Another notable figure in history with the name Karola was Karola of Burgundy (1457-1483), the daughter of Duke Charles the Bold of Burgundy. She played a significant role in the political affairs of her time and was briefly considered as a potential heir to the Burgundian territories.
In the 16th century, Karola von Günderrode (1580-1649), a German noblewoman and philanthropist, made a name for herself through her philanthropic endeavors and support for education initiatives in her region.
Moving forward to the 19th century, Karola Wittgenstein (1819-1885) was an Austrian noblewoman and a prominent figure in the cultural and intellectual circles of her time. She was known for her patronage of the arts and her close association with notable philosophers and writers of the era.
Another influential figure bearing the name Karola was Karola Bloch (1905-1994), a German writer and political activist. She was an outspoken critic of the Nazi regime and played a significant role in the resistance movement during World War II.
While these are just a few examples, the name Karola has a rich history spanning centuries and has been associated with individuals from various walks of life, including nobility, intellectuals, artists, and activists.
People
Karola + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Karola as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Karola: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Karola?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Karola 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 114,251,446 US residents.
Is Karola a common name?
We classify Karola as "Very Rare". It ranks above 4.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Karola most popular?
The single biggest year for Karola was 1954, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Karola is about 82 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Karola in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 432 people with the name Karola, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #22,880 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 Karola 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 Karola?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Karola appears almost entirely female. Of the 432 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Karola?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Karola is White at 73.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (23.6%) and Black (1.4%). 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 Karola most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Karola in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.6% (318 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 Karola in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Karola a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Karola 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 Karola still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Karola 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 Karola 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 Karola?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.