Entry № 0474 · English, French origin

Carolyn Carolyn — Meaning, Origin & Baby Name Popularity

/ KAR-oh-lin /
Gender
Girl
Origin
English, French
Meaning
"Free woman (Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy; Carolyn Bertozzi, Nobel)"
Syllables
3
Rank · US 2025
№ 800
First recorded
Modern (English)

A name that means "free woman (carolyn bessette-kennedy; carolyn bertozzi, nobel)".

Carolyn is a 20th-century American variant of Caroline — from Carolus / Charles, Old Germanic karl (free man). **A top-30 US baby name from 1939 to 1962**. **Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy (1966-1999)** — American Calvin Klein publicist; **wife of John F. Kennedy Jr.; her wedding-day Narciso Rodriguez slip dress became the most copied bridal gown of the 1990s**. **Died in the plane crash off Martha's Vineyard with her husband and sister, July 16, 1999**. **Carolyn Bertozzi (born 1966)** — American chemist; **2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for bioorthogonal chemistry, the second-ever American woman to win the Chemistry Nobel**. **Carolyn Hax** — Washington Post advice columnist since 1997. **Carolyn Maloney** — US Congresswoman from New York for 30 years.

Subject of countless 1999 retrospectives.

Free woman. Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy's Narciso wedding dress; Carolyn Bertozzi's 2022 Chemistry Nobel.

The name in its native script.

Carolyn
Transliteration
Carolyn
Pronunciation
/ ˈkær.ə.lɪn /
Root
Grammatical form

Where Carolyn stands.

Current rank · 2025
№ 800 in the U.S.
All-time peak
№ 19 in 1939
Babies named Carolyn · last year
340 in the U.S.
First entered SSA top-1000
1909
Rank, 1995–2025 Lower = more popular
№25 №75 №150 №250 1995 2005 2015 2020 2025 PEAK · #19 NOW · #800

Carolyns before her.

Real people
Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy
American publicist; wife of JFK Jr.
1966 – 1999
Carolyn Bertozzi
American Nobel chemist.
born 1966
Carolyn Hax
American advice columnist.
born 1966
In fiction
Carolyn
American Beauty.
1999

Names connected to Carolyn.

The number behind Carolyn.

6

The Nurturer

Carolyn reduces to six — the number of free woman.

Why families chose this name.

"Bessette's free. Seven letters. Carolyn."
Catherine · Mother of one · Greenwich