How popular is the baby name Carolee in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Find out using the graph below! Plus, check out all the blog posts that mention the name Carolee.

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Popularity of the Baby Name Carolee


Posts that Mention the Name Carolee

Where did the baby name Laryssa come from?

The character Dr. Karen Werner (played by Laryssa Lauret) on the TV series "The Doctors" (1963-1982).
Laryssa Lauret on “The Doctors

The name Laryssa debuted in the U.S. baby name data in 1968, when it was suddenly given to nearly 70 baby girls:

  • 1970: 7 baby girls named Laryssa
  • 1969: 22 baby girls named Laryssa
  • 1968: 67 baby girls named Laryssa [debut]
  • 1967: unlisted
  • 1966: unlisted

It was the name that debuted most impressively that year, and it went on to rank as one of the biggest girl-name debuts of all time.

The less-common variant Lyrissa debuted the same year, and the more-common variants Larissa and Larisa both saw higher around the same time. (Larissa jumped into the top 1,000 for the first time in 1967, in fact.)

What’s the reason?

An actress featured on the popular TV soap opera The Doctors (1963-1982). Laryssa Lauret played character Dr. Karen Werner, who was introduced in 1967 and had a heavy German accent. One writer later described the character as “the resident Teutonic trouble-maker.”

Laryssa Lauret, an American actress of Ukrainian descent, was born Larysa Kukrycka in Warsaw in 1939. She was raised in Austria for a time, then finished her schooling in New York. She shares her name with a martyr, a nymph and various ancient Greek cities. According to this Greek-English Lexicon, the meaning of the name is “citadel.”

The Doctors also influenced the usage of at least two other baby names:

  • Carolee saw a jump in usage in 1968, the year after actress Carolee Campbell originated the role of like-named character Carolee Simpson, R.N.
  • Sindee re-entered the data in 1963, the year actress Sindee Ann Richards appeared on the show for 5 sequential episodes as “Jennie.”

But getting back to Laryssa…do you like the name? How do you prefer to spell it?

Source: “Ukrainian Actress to Appear in TV Show.” Ukrainian Weekly 15 Jan. 1978: 4.

P.S. Sindee was put on the onomastic map in the 1950s by a baby-related news story.

Baby names with CAR: Carter, Scarlett, Oscar

steering wheel

Are you a car-lover looking for baby names that contain the word CAR?

If so, here’s a long list of options to choose from!

Top baby names with CAR

First, a quick rundown of the most popular names with the letter sequence “c-a-r,” according to the current U.S. baby name data.

Top girl names with “c-a-r”Top boy names with “c-a-r”
Scarlett
Caroline
Carmen
Scarlet
Carter
Carolina
Carly
Scarlette
Cara
Carsyn
Carter
Carson
Carlos
Oscar
Ricardo
Carmelo
Carl
Cartier
Giancarlo
Carlo

Now here are the same names again, but this time around I’ve added definitions, variant forms/spellings, and links to popularity graphs.

Cara

The name Cara comes either from the Italian word cara, meaning “beloved” (which is how it’s used in the name Caramia), or the Irish word cara, meaning “friend” (as in the case of Cara Delevingne).

The name is also sometimes spelled Carra, Carah, Carrah, and Caragh.

Carl, Carlo, Carlos, Carly, Carolina, Caroline + Giancarlo

The “carl” element of all seven names above — Carl, Carlo, Carlos, Carly, Carolina, Caroline, and Giancarlo — can be traced back to the Germanic name Karl, which meant “freeman” (i.e., not a serf or slave).

Feminine forms of these names include Carla, Carlota, and Carlotta. Diminutive forms include Carlito and Carlitos.

Variant forms of Caroline include Carolyn, Carolynn, and Carolyne.

The name Carly is also sometimes spelled Carlee, Carley, Carleigh, Carlie, Carli, or Carlei.

Carmelo + Carmen

The name Carmelo was derived from the Marian title “Our Lady of Carmel.” The Biblical place-name Carmel means “garden” in Hebrew.

The name Carmen is a variant form of Carmel that was influenced by the Latin word carmen, meaning “song.”

Other forms of Carmelo include Carmela, Carmello, and Carmella. Carmel itself is also used as a name.

Carter

The name Carter comes from the English surname that originally referred to someone who’s occupation was transporting goods by cart or wagon.

Cartier

The name Cartier — which is closely associated with the French jewelry brand — comes from a French surname that has several possible derivations. In some cases, Cartier is synonymous with Carter (see above). In other cases, it refers to a location.

Carson + Carsyn

The name Carson comes from a Scottish surname of unknown derivation.

Variant spellings of the name include Carsyn, Carsen, Carsin and Carsynn.

Oscar

The origin of the name Oscar isn’t known for certain. If it comes from Old Irish, it’s made up of elements meaning “deer” and “friend.” (The second element, cara, is the same one the gave rise to the name Cara.) If it comes from Old English, on the other hand, it’s comprised of elements meaning “god” and “spear.”

Ricardo

The name Ricardo is made up of Germanic elements meaning “ruler” and “hardy.”

A variant form of the name is Riccardo. Feminine forms include Ricarda and Riccarda.

Scarlett, Scarlet + Scarlette

The name Scarlett comes from the English surname that originally referred to someone who was employed as the maker or seller of a bright (often red-colored) woolen cloth called scarlet.

It was put on the map by fictional character Scarlett O’Hara in the late 1930s.

The name is also sometimes spelled Scarlet (like the color itself), Scarlette, Scarlotte, or Scarlytt. Modern Hispanic variants include Scarleth, Escarlet, Escarlett, and Escarleth.

(Before we leave this section, I just wanted to note — for all my fellow lefties out there — that both Cara and Carter are typed entirely with the left hand on a standard QWERTY keyboard.)

More names with CAR

So, what other names have CAR in them? Here are some less-common choices. (Most of these come directly from the SSA’s baby name data.)

  • Aboubacar
  • Alcario
  • Alucard
  • Amilcar
  • Boubacar
  • Hamilcar
  • Carabella
  • Caradoc
  • Caraline, Caralina
  • Caralyn, Caralynn
  • Carbon
  • Cardale
  • Cardarius
  • Cardea
  • Cardel, Cardell
  • Cardelia
  • Cardella
  • Carden, Cardin, Cardon, Cardyn
  • Carder
  • Cardero
  • Cardi
  • Cardinal
  • Careem
  • Careen, Carreen
  • Carel, Carell, Carrel, Carrell
  • Careli
  • Caren, Carin, Caron, Caryn
  • Carena
  • Caressa, Caresa, Carressa
  • Caresse, Caress
  • Caretha
  • Caretta
  • Carice
  • Caricia
  • Caridad
  • Carilee
  • Carina, Careena
  • Carine, Carinne, Carrine
  • Cario
  • Carisma
  • Carissa, Carisa, Caryssa, Carrisa, Carrissa
  • Carita
  • Carlasia
  • Carlene, Carleen, Carlean
  • Carletha, Carlethia
  • Carlia, Carlea, Carleah, Carliya, Carliyah
  • Carlier
  • Carlin, Carlon
  • Carlina, Carlena, Carleena
  • Carline
  • Carlis, Carliss
  • Carlisa
  • Carlissa
  • Carlisle, Carlyle
  • Carlson
  • Carlton, Carleton
  • Carlynn, Carlyn
  • Carma
  • Carmani
  • Carmelia
  • Carmesha, Carmeshia
  • Carmi, Carmie
  • Carmilla
  • Carmin
  • Carmina
  • Carmine
  • Carmisha
  • Carmo
  • Carnation
  • Carnel, Carnell
  • Carnelia
  • Carnella
  • Carnetta
  • Carney, Carnie
  • Carnesha, Carneshia
  • Carnisha
  • Carnita
  • Carol, Carole, Carrol, Carroll, Caryl
  • Carola
  • Carolann, Carolanne
  • Carold
  • Caroldean, Caroldine
  • Carolee, Caralee
  • Caroleen, Carolene
  • Caroleena
  • Carolen, Carolena
  • Caroletta, Carolette
  • Carolin
  • Carolus
  • Carpenter
  • Carper
  • Carr
  • Carranza
  • Carrera
  • Carrick
  • Carriana, Carrianna, Carianna, Cariana
  • Carrie, Carri, Carey, Cary, Carie, Cari
  • Carrieann, Carrieanne, Carriann, Carrianne, Cariann, Carianne
  • Carrigan
  • Carrington
  • Carshena
  • Carsten, Carston
  • Cartavious
  • Cartez
  • Cartha
  • Carthel
  • Carti
  • Cartina
  • Cartisha
  • Cartrell
  • Caruso
  • Carvel, Carvell
  • Carver
  • Carvin
  • Carwyn, Carwin
  • Carys, Caris, Carris
  • Carzell
  • Encarna
  • Encarnación
  • Dacari
  • Decari
  • Giscard
  • Icarus
  • Jacari, Jhacari
  • Jocari
  • Licarayén
  • Lucario
  • Macarena
  • Macari
  • Macaria
  • Macario
  • Macarius
  • McArthur, MacArthur
  • McCartney
  • Policarpia
  • Policarpio
  • Tocara, Tocarra, Toccara, Toccarra
  • Zacarias
  • Zacariah, Zacaria
  • Zacari, Zacary
  • Zaccaria

Some of these names could be considered variants of the more popular CAR names, though it’s hard to tell. For instance, Caralynn — is it a form of Caroline? Is it Cara + Lynn? (Maybe a bit of both?) Others are non-traditional spellings of more common names, such as Karim, Karen, and Cornelia.

Which CAR name do you like most? Let me know in the comments!

Sources:

Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay

[Latest update: Aug. 2022]