Meaning of the nameCaroline
- Female
- French origin
- Germanic origin
- Ca-ro-li-ne
Caroline is a female name of French origin, the feminine form of Carolus, the Latin name of Carlos, linked to a Germanic word for 'man'.
Meaning
“feminine form of Carolus (Carlos), from Germanic Karl, from a word meaning 'man'”
Source: Behind the Name: Caroline · Behind the Name: Charles
- People (2022)
- 195,454
- Rank in Brazil
- #164
- Median age
- 25 years
- 2010 Census
- 213,648
- people
Caroline in the 2022 Census
People with the first name Caroline, by the decade they were born. In the chart, 70 = the 1970s and 20+ = 2020 to 2022. The largest group was born in the 1990s (92,153 people).
194,588 women 866 men
Source: IBGE, 2022 Demographic Census, Nomes no Brasil. The census counts the first name of people alive in 2022; small counts are not published, and the first group covers everyone born before 1940. How to read these data.
Where the name Caroline is most common
States with the highest share of people named Caroline in the population, in the 2022 Census.
- Rio Grande do Sul 0.204%
- Santa Catarina 0.152%
- Paraná 0.134%
- São Paulo 0.133%
- Rio de Janeiro 0.124%
All states
| State | People | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| São Paulo | 58,859 | 0.133% |
| Rio Grande do Sul | 22,207 | 0.204% |
| Rio de Janeiro | 19,969 | 0.124% |
| Paraná | 15,355 | 0.134% |
| Minas Gerais | 14,155 | 0.069% |
| Bahia | 12,122 | 0.086% |
| Santa Catarina | 11,573 | 0.152% |
| Pará | 4,778 | 0.059% |
| Goiás | 4,291 | 0.061% |
| Espírito Santo | 3,100 | 0.081% |
| Pernambuco | 3,084 | 0.034% |
| Ceará | 2,988 | 0.034% |
| Amazonas | 2,859 | 0.073% |
| Mato Grosso | 2,854 | 0.078% |
| Mato Grosso do Sul | 2,809 | 0.102% |
| Maranhão | 2,781 | 0.041% |
| Distrito Federal | 2,658 | 0.094% |
| Alagoas | 1,230 | 0.039% |
| Piauí | 1,182 | 0.036% |
| Sergipe | 1,175 | 0.053% |
| Rondônia | 1,175 | 0.074% |
| Paraíba | 1,171 | 0.030% |
| Rio Grande do Norte | 957 | 0.029% |
| Tocantins | 756 | 0.050% |
| Amapá | 547 | 0.075% |
| Acre | 482 | 0.058% |
| Roraima | 337 | 0.053% |
States with fewer than 15 people with the name are not shown: IBGE does not publish those counts.
About the name Caroline
Behind the Name defines Caroline as the French feminine form of Carolus, the Latin form of the Germanic name Karl, derived from a word meaning 'man' (Proto-Germanic karlaz); the same site records an alternative theory that links Karl to the Germanic element harjaz, 'army'. Wiktionary derives French Caroline from Italian Carolina or from Latin Carolīna, and the Dicionário de Nomes em Uso no Brasil says the name probably comes from Carolina. In the 2022 Census, IBGE recorded 195,454 people named Caroline, with a median age of 25. The name is almost always female, peaked among people born in the 1990s and, proportionally, is most common in Rio Grande do Sul. The same dictionary lists Karoline, Karolyne and Carolyne among the spelling variants.
It is the most common spelling in the group, with a C and the ending -ine, the same as the French and English form.
Other spellings of Caroline
Sources
- Behind the Name: Caroline · behindthename.com · meaning
- Behind the Name: Charles · behindthename.com · meaning
- Wiktionary: Caroline (English and French) · en.wiktionary.org · origin
- Dicionário de Nomes em Uso no Brasil: Caroline · dicionariodenomesdobrasil.com.br · origin
Questions about the name Caroline
What does the name Caroline mean?
Caroline means “feminine form of Carolus (Carlos), from Germanic Karl, from a word meaning 'man'”, according to Behind the Name.
How many people are named Caroline in Brazil?
IBGE's 2022 Census recorded 195,454 people with the first name Caroline, which ranks it number 164 among the country's names. The largest group was born in the 1990s.
Is Caroline a boy's or a girl's name?
Caroline is a female name: in the 2022 Census, 194,588 women and 866 men had this name.
What is the origin of the name Caroline?
Caroline is a name of French and Germanic origin. The sources are listed at the end of the page.
In which Brazilian state is Caroline most common?
Proportionally, in Rio Grande do Sul: 0.204% of the state's population is named Caroline (22,207 people), according to the 2022 Census.
What are the other spellings of Caroline?
Karoline, Karolyne and Carolyne. IBGE counts each spelling separately.
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