Carol
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from the Germanic languages, popular in the middle of the 20th century. Shortened from Caroline. Associated by folk etymology with the English noun carol.
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Carol (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Few babies have been given the name since 1998; it belongs mostly to older generations. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1998 | – |
| 1999 | – |
| 2000 | – |
| 2001 | – |
| 2002 | – |
| 2003 | – |
| 2004 | – |
| 2005 | – |
| 2006 | – |
| 2007 | – |
| 2008 | 2 |
| 2009 | 2 |
| 2010 | – |
| 2011 | – |
| 2012 | – |
| 2013 | – |
| 2014 | – |
| 2015 | – |
| 2016 | 2 |
| 2017 | – |
| 2018 | – |
| 2019 | – |
| 2020 | – |
| 2021 | – |
| 2022 | – |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls | Men and boys |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 263 | 38 |
| 2000 | 270 | 36 |
| 2001 | 269 | 36 |
| 2002 | 271 | 36 |
| 2003 | 271 | 35 |
| 2004 | 275 | 34 |
| 2005 | 274 | 34 |
| 2006 | 277 | 34 |
| 2007 | 277 | 35 |
| 2008 | 282 | 36 |
| 2009 | 279 | 36 |
| 2010 | 281 | 36 |
| 2011 | 289 | 36 |
| 2012 | 288 | 34 |
| 2013 | 299 | 34 |
| 2014 | 304 | 34 |
| 2015 | 309 | 31 |
| 2016 | 315 | 32 |
| 2017 | 321 | 32 |
| 2018 | 333 | 31 |
| 2019 | 342 | 29 |
| 2020 | 345 | 27 |
Carol in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Carol.Hi! My name is Carol.
- Har du träffat Carol? Hon började jobba här i måndags.Have you met Carol? She started working here on Monday.
- Carol har bott i Uppsala i tre år.Carol has lived in Uppsala for three years.
- Carols mamma är lärare.Carol's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Carols mamma is Carol's mum.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Carol
How do you pronounce Carol in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Carol in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Carol mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from the Germanic languages, popular in the middle of the 20th century. Shortened from Caroline. Associated by folk etymology with the English noun carol.
How popular is Carol in Sweden?
Fewer than two babies of either sex were named Carol in 2022. In 2020, 372 people in Sweden had Carol as the first name they go by.
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.