Name
Caroline
Meaning
Caroline is a feminine name of Germanic via French origin meaning “free woman”.
Caroline is the French feminine of Charles, inheriting its root meaning of a free person, and arrived in English courts with two Georgian queens. Sweet Caroline supplies its anthem, the Kennedys its American gloss, and its three-century run shows no sign of ending.
A US top-100 girls' name almost continuously since the 1990s.
Popularity in the United States
Girls
Ranked #96 in 2025 · peak #55 in 2017
Data: US Social Security Administration, top-1000 ranks.
At a glance
- Origin
- Germanic via French
- Gender
- Feminine
- Pronounced
- /KAR-oh-line/
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Questions
Caroline is a feminine name of Germanic via French origin meaning “free woman”. Caroline is the French feminine of Charles, inheriting its root meaning of a free person, and arrived in English courts with two Georgian queens.
Caroline is traditionally a feminine (girl) name. It is a US top-100 girls' name almost continuously since the 1990s.
The name Caroline comes from Germanic via French. Caroline is the French feminine of Charles, inheriting its root meaning of a free person, and arrived in English courts with two Georgian queens. Sweet Caroline supplies its anthem, the Kennedys its American gloss, and its three-century run shows no sign of ending.
Caroline is pronounced KAR-oh-line.
More names that mean freedom
Names that share this meaning.