Caroline (given name)


Caroline is a feminine given name, originally a French feminine form of the masculine name Charles. It has been in common use in the Anglosphere since the 1600s. The name was first used among upper class English families in honor of Charles I of England and his son Charles II of England. Common nicknames and variations include Callie, Cara, Carol, Carole, Carolina, Carolyn, Carly, Carrie, and Caz.

Usage

Caroline was well-used in France throughout the 20th century and the early 21st century. It was among the top 100 names for French girls between 1900 and 1907 and again from 1958 to 2002. It has since declined in use in French-speaking countries. In Belgium, Caroline was also among the top 100 names for girls in the 1990s and early 2000s.
In Scotland, Caroline was among the top 100 names for Scottish girls between 1935 and 1993, and was most popular from the 1950s to the 1970s. In England and Wales, the name was among the 100 most popular names for girls in the early 20th century and again between 1944 and 1984. It was most popular between 1964 and 1974, when it was among the top 20 names for British girls. It was also among the top 100 names for girls in Ireland between 1964 and 1997, and was a top 10 name for Irish girls between 1973 and 1980.
In New Zealand, the name was among the 100 most popular names for girls between 1957 and 1985. It was similarly popular in Australia, where it was a top 100 name for girls from the late 1950s through the early 1980s.
Caroline has been among the 1,000 most popular given names for girls in the United States since 1880. Its greatest popularity was between 1880 and 1893, when it was among the 100 most popular names for American girls. It then declined in use, but rose again in popularity beginning in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The increase in usage during this timeframe coincided with the 1957 birth of Princess Caroline of Monaco, daughter of the American film star Grace Kelly, and the 1957 birth of Caroline Kennedy, who was much photographed from 1961 to 1963 during the presidential administration of her father, American president John F. Kennedy. The name has been among the 100 most popular names for American girls since 1994. In Canada, the name was among the 100 most popular names for girls during the 1960s and again in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In French-speaking Quebec, Canada, Caroline was among the 100 most popular names for French-Canadian girls between 1980 and 2000, and was a top 10 name between 1980 and 1986.
In Norway, Caroline was among the top 100 names for girls from the early 1980s through 2010. In Denmark, Caroline was among the 50 most popular names for girls between the early 1990s and 2018, and was a top 10 name between 1997 and 2010. It was among the top 100 names for girls in Sweden in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
In Brazil, Caroline was among the top 100 names between 1980 and 2000.

Academics and science

Activism

Aristocracy

Empresses consort

Queens consort

Princesses

Other aristocrats

Arts

Law and politics

Sports

Others

Fictional characters

  • Caroline, in the 1994 American black-comedy movie The Ref
  • Caroline Abbott, American Girl character
  • Caroline Alessi, former character on the Australian soap opera Neighbours
  • Caroline Beaufort, the mother of scientist Victor Frankenstein in Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein
  • Caroline Bingley, from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice
  • Caroline Brady, on the American soap opera Days of our Lives
  • Carrie Brady Reed or Caroline Anna Brady-Reed, character on the American soap opera Days of our Lives
  • Cara Castillo or Carolyn Castllio, character on the American soap opera All My Children
  • Carly Benson Corinthos-Jacks or Caroline Leigh Benson Corinthos-Jacks, character on the American soap opera General Hospital
  • Caroline Cross character on the Syfy and USA Network TV series Chucky'
  • Caroline Farrell, the original identity of main character Echo on the TV series Dollhouse
  • Caroline Forbes, one of the protagonists on the TV series The Vampire Diaries
  • Coraline Jones, the protagonist of the novel Coraline
  • Caroline Lindstrom, in 2001 American independent comedy-drama movie Little Secrets
  • Caroline Anne "Carol" Seaver, a character in the American television sitcom Growing Pains
  • Caroline Spencer, current character on the American CBS soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful
  • Caroline Spencer Forrester, former character on the American CBS soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful
  • Caroline Weldon, a character in the American sitcom ''Living Dolls''