Given name
Karoline
“a joyous song; a small, strong woman”
In German use, Karoline is a variant of Caroline. In Latin use, Caroline carries the interpretation “a joyous song; a small, strong woman.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
In English use, Karoline carries the interpretation “a joyous song; a small, strong woman.” In German use, Karoline is a variant of Caroline. In Latin use, Caroline carries the interpretation “a joyous song; a small, strong woman.”
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
How it developed
Karoline is used as a form of Caroline.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1915. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Karoline through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 3,862
- 0 boys · 3,862 girls
- Most popular year
- 2017
- 139 babies
- 2025
- 119
- #1,718 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −15%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 119 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 1,718 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 15.0% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 139 in 2017. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (20). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 3,592 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Karoline’s family of names
In Norwegian usage, Karoline has a short form in Ine. Karoline shares a linguistic root with Caroline. In Norwegian Bokmål usage, Karoline has a conventional equivalent in the Portuguese form Carolina.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Karoline has relatives in 8 languages. Lines run from its English roots to each of them.
Englishwhere Karoline comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 17
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 14
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Karoline
- Lotte LenyaAustrian singer and actress (1898-1981)
- Karoline LeavittAmerican writer and political aide (born 1997)
- Karoline HerfurthGerman actressborn 1984
- Karoline von GünderrodeGerman poet1780–1806
- Karoline Dyhre BreivangNorwegian handball playerborn 1980
- Karoline KrügerNorwegian musicianborn 1970
- Karoline Offigstad KnottenNorwegian biathlete (born 1995)
- Karoline SchuchGerman actressborn 1981
- Karoline Bjerkeli GrøvdalNorwegian distance runnerborn 1990
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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