How popular is the baby name Carol in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Carol.

The graph will take a few moments to load. (Don't worry, it shouldn't take 9 months!) If it's taking too long, try reloading the page.


Popularity of the baby name Carol


Posts that mention the name Carol

New Jersey family with 12 children (all girls!)

kinderfest

In 1957, Mrs. William Beston of Morristown, New Jersey, had gave birth to her twelfth daughter.

What are the odds of having 12 daughters and no sons? If the probability of having a girl is 1/2, then the probably of having a dozen girls in a row is 1/4096, or about .0244% — less than three-hundredths of a percent. Pretty slim, in other words.

What were the names of the Beston girls?

  1. (died in infancy)
  2. Patricia, 12
  3. Eileen, 11
  4. Regina, 9
  5. Carol, 8
  6. Joann, 7
  7. Gertrude, 6
  8. Delores, 5
  9. Betty Lou, 4
  10. Catherine, 3
  11. Levinia, 13 months
  12. Madonna Grace, newborn

Of the 11 names above, which is your favorite?

If you had a dozen daughters, what would their names be?

Sources:

  • “It’s a Big Day for Bestons–Twelfth Daughter Joins Family.” Spokane Daily Chronicle 16 Sep. 1957: 20.
  • “Woman Gives Birth To 12th Daughter; Has No Sons.” Port Angeles Evening News 12 Sept. 1957: 4.

Image: Ein Kinderfest (1868) by Ludwig Knaus

New Jersey family with 18 children

kinderfest

In 1951, Joseph and Clara Carey of New Jersey welcomed their 18th child. The parents and all but three of the children posed for a newspaper photo that year. According to the caption, the 15 kids in the photo were named…

  • Carol, 17
  • Joseph, 15
  • Crawford, 13
  • William, 12
  • Margaret, 11
  • Raymond, 10
  • Geraldine, 9
  • Dorothy Ann, 8
  • Doris Joan, 7
  • Emily, 6
  • Dale, 5
  • Vernon, 4
  • Barbara, 3
  • Johnny, 2
  • Bruce, baby

What do you think the other three were named? (I have no idea about the genders.)

Which of the 15 names above is your favorite?

Source: “Mother Carey Has 18 Children Born in 18 Years.” Robesonian 16 Jan. 1951: 1.

Image: Ein Kinderfest (1868) by Ludwig Knaus

Technology-inspired baby names like “Like”

Facebook "Like"

A few months ago, PCWorld published a list of 10 tech-inspired baby names better than Like.

I thought I’d compile a similar list, but go in the opposite direction. So below are eight real-life, headline-grabbing, tech-inspired names just like Like.

Starting, of course, with Like:

Like

An Israeli baby girl was named Like after the Facebook “Like Button” in 2011. (Go like baby Like, if you like!)

Facebook

A Egyptian baby girl was named Facebook after the social networking site Facebook in 2011.

Google

A Swedish baby boy was named Google after the search engine Google in 2005.

[I’ve never blogged about this one before, surprisingly. Oliver Google Kai was born on September 12, 2005, in Kalmar, Sweden, to Dr. Walid Elias Kai (who is Lebanese) and his wife Carol (who is Swedish). Google’s response: “We wish him long life and good health, and hope his schoolmates aren’t too hard on him.”]

Vista

A Canadian baby girl was named Vista after the Windows Vista operating system in 2007.

2.0

An American baby boy was named Jon Blake Cusack 2.0 — like the second version of a piece of software — in 2004.

Annanova

A Dutch baby girl was named Annanova after virtual newscaster Ananova in 2000.

Iuma

A handful of babies from various countries were named Iuma as part of the Internet Underground Music Archive (IUMA) baby naming contest in 2000.

Linux

The name Linux debuted in the U.S. baby name data in the early 2010s.

Image: Adapted from Facebook like thumb

Where did the baby name Sivi come from in 1967?

Sivi Aberg (with the Joker) in an episode of the TV series "Batman" (Nov. 1967)
Sivi Aberg in “Batman“

The rare name Sivi first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 1967. It stuck around for several more years before disappearing again.

  • 1971: unlisted
  • 1970: 7 baby girls named Sivi
  • 1969: 5 baby girls named Sivi
  • 1968: 8 baby girls named Sivi
  • 1967: 27 baby girls named Sivi [debut]
  • 1966: unlisted

What put it there?

Curvaceous actress Sivi Aberg.

She was born Siv Märta Åberg in Sweden in 1944. After representing her home country at the 1964 Miss Universe pageant (and placing 3rd runner-up), she moved to America to give acting a try.

In early 1967, under the name Sivi Aberg, she won the title of “Hollywood Star of Tomorrow” on a pageant-like American TV special. (Previous winners of the annual contest included Raquel Welch, Sally Field, Carol Lynley and Kim Novak.)

Also during the second half of the 1960s, she appeared on various American TV shows, such as Batman, I Spy, Hogan’s Heroes, Mannix, and Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In.

Sivi’s birth name, Siv, is a form of Sif — the name of the wife of Thor in Norse mythology. Sif’s name was derived from the Old Norse word sifjar, a plural noun meaning “relatives.”

What are your thoughts on the name Sivi?

P.S. Jinx, Gwili, and Donivee are three more forgotten Hollywood actresses who left their mark on the U.S. baby name charts.

Sources:

Image: Screenshot of Batman