Find out how popular the last name Carolina is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Carolina.

Carolina, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Carolina surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Carolina in America

Carolina is the 22733rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Carolina surname appeared 1,127 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Carolina.

We can also compare 2010 data for Carolina to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Carolina

The surname Carolina originated in Italy during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Italian word "carolingio," which means "Carolingian" or "pertaining to the Carolingian dynasty." The Carolingian dynasty was a prominent Frankish noble family that ruled much of Western Europe from the 8th to the 10th centuries.

The name Carolina likely referred to someone who lived in or came from an area that was once under the rule of the Carolingian dynasty. It may have been initially used as a descriptive surname, indicating a person's origins or associations with the Carolingian realm.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Carolina can be found in the Codice Diplomatico Longobardo, a collection of historical documents from the Lombard period in Italy, dating back to the 8th and 9th centuries. This suggests that the name was already in use during the time of the Carolingian Empire.

In the 11th century, the surname Carolina appeared in the Cartulario di S. Pietro di Sesto, a cartulary (a medieval manuscript recording charters and other legal documents) from the Benedictine monastery of San Pietro di Sesto near Pisa, Italy.

One notable individual with the surname Carolina was Giovanni Carolina, a 13th-century Italian jurist and statesman from Bologna. He served as a judge and diplomat for the city-state of Bologna and was involved in various legal and political affairs during his lifetime (c. 1210-1280).

Another historical figure was Pietro Carolina, a 14th-century Italian painter from Siena. He was active in the first half of the 14th century and is known for his works in the Sienese Gothic style, such as the frescoes in the Basilica of San Francesco in Siena.

In the 15th century, Antonio Carolina was a prominent Italian banker and merchant from Florence. He was involved in international trade and finance during the Renaissance period and was a member of the influential Carolina family of bankers and merchants.

During the 16th century, Francesco Carolina was an Italian mathematician and astronomer from Naples. He contributed to the development of algebra and was one of the first to use the modern symbols for addition and subtraction in algebraic equations (1516-1597).

In the 17th century, Giulio Carolina was an Italian composer and organist from Rome. He was active in the early Baroque period and composed various sacred and secular works, including motets, madrigals, and organ pieces (c. 1590-1665).

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Carolina

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Carolina.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Carolina was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Carolina has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Carolina was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Carolina, please contact us.

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