Karole
A feminine given name of French origin meaning "free woman."
Name Census estimates that about 613 living Americans carry the first name Karole. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Karole today is around 65 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Karole births was 1945 (35 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Karole. 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 Karole is about 65 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Karoles were born before 1971.
People living today
613
~ 1 in 559,142 Americans
Peak year
1945
35 babies that year
Average age
65
years old
2006 SSA rank
#18,578
Tracked since 1932
Census
Karole in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 864 people with the first name Karole, which placed it at #13,832 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
#13,832
National first-name rank
People counted
864
864 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
82.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Karole
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Karole is White at 82.4%. The next largest groups are Black (9.1%) and Hispanic (3.8%). 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 Karole 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 Karole at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.4% · 712
- Black or African American9.1% · 79
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 33
- Two or more races3.0% · 26
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 6
Popularity
Karole: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Karole from the 1930s through to the 2000s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 275 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1940s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Karole 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 Karole during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Karoles live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. California, Illinois, New York recorded the most babies named Karole, while Texas, Pennsylvania, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 10 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Karole
The name Karole is a feminine form of the male name Karol, which originated from the Germanic name Karl, derived from the Old English word "carl" meaning "free man" or "husband." It is a variation of the name Charles, which came from the German name "Karl" and the French name "Charles."
The name Karole gained popularity during the Middle Ages across various European regions, particularly in France and Germany. It was often associated with royalty and nobility, as several European monarchs and nobles bore this name.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Karole can be found in the 9th century, when Karole of Anjou, the daughter of King Charles the Bald of West Francia, was born in 846 AD. She later became a nun and was known for her piety and religious devotion.
In the 12th century, Karole of Saxony, also known as Karole the Rich, was a German noblewoman and heiress who inherited vast lands and wealth. She played a significant role in the political affairs of her time and was a patron of the arts and architecture.
During the Renaissance period, Karole of Navarre (1468-1504) was a prominent figure. She was the Princess of Navarre and a renowned writer and poet, known for her literary works and intellectual pursuits.
In the 16th century, Karole of France (1516-1524) was a French princess and the youngest daughter of King Francis I of France. Despite her short life, she was celebrated for her beauty and intelligence.
Another notable figure was Karole Vasa (1833-1907), a Swedish princess and the daughter of King Oscar I of Sweden and Norway. She was known for her philanthropic efforts and her support for various charitable causes.
While the name Karole has its roots in European history, it has been adopted and used in various cultures and regions around the world. Over time, it has evolved into different spellings and variations, such as Carole, Carolle, and Karola, reflecting the diversity of cultural influences and linguistic adaptations.
People
Karole + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Karole 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
Karole: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Karole?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 613 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Karole 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 559,142 US residents.
Is Karole a common name?
We classify Karole as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 947 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Karole most popular?
The single biggest year for Karole was 1945, when 35 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Karole is about 65 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Karole in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 864 people with the name Karole, or 0.29 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #13,832 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 Karole 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 Karole?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Karole appears almost entirely female. Of the 861 people counted with this name, 99.7% 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 Karole?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Karole is White at 82.4%. The next largest groups are Black (9.1%) and Hispanic (3.8%). 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 Karole most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Karole in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.4% (712 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 Karole in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Karole a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Karole 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 Karole still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Karole 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 Karole 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 share the name Karole?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.