Caryl
A feminine name of unknown origin, potentially derived from Carol.
Name Census estimates that about 2,929 living Americans carry the first name Caryl. It is a predominantly female name (94.9% of registrations). The average person named Caryl today is around 71 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Caryl births was 1947 (200 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Caryl. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Caryl with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Caryl is about 71 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Caryls were born before 1965.
People living today
2.9K
~ 1 in 117,021 Americans
Peak year
1947
200 babies that year
Average age
71
years old
1994 SSA rank
#8,993
Tracked since 1896
Census
Caryl in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,577 people with the first name Caryl, which placed it at #4,185 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#4,185
National first-name rank
People counted
4.6K
4,577 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
89.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Caryl
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Caryl is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Black (4.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Caryl described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Caryl at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.4% · 4,092
- Black or African American4.4% · 200
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.6% · 121
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 88
- Two or more races1.4% · 63
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 13
Gender
Gender distribution for Caryl
Caryl leans heavily female at 94.9% of total registrations, but 344 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Caryl as a male name
- Ranked #8,993 in 1994
- 5 male births in 1994
- Peak: 1928 (16 births)
Caryl as a female name
- Ranked #12,097 in 1996
- 6 female births in 1996
- Peak: 1947 (190 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Caryl leans strongly female. 4,395 people counted with this name were female (95.9%), compared with 186 male bearers (4.1%).
Popularity
Caryl: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Caryl from the 1890s through to the 1990s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 1,539 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1940s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Caryl by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Caryl during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Caryls live
The SSA's state-level files cover 26 states and territories. New York, Illinois, California recorded the most babies named Caryl, while Tennessee, Oregon, North Dakota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 149 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Caryl
The given name Caryl is believed to have originated from the ancient Greek name Karyllos, derived from the Greek word "karyon," meaning "nut" or "kernel." This suggests that the name may have been initially associated with concepts of fertility, growth, or nourishment.
The name's earliest recorded use dates back to ancient Greece, where it was borne by various individuals, although records of their specific identities are scarce. In the Middle Ages, the name Caryl gained some popularity among European nobility and aristocracy, particularly in regions influenced by Greek culture and language.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name Caryl was Caryl Whittington, a 13th-century English merchant and philanthropist who served as Lord Mayor of London in the years 1397 and 1406. He is remembered for his contributions to the city's infrastructure and for establishing the prestigious Whittington College.
Another notable figure with the name Caryl was Caryl Flanders (1886-1968), a British actress and playwright who gained recognition for her work on the London stage in the early 20th century. Her plays, such as "The Bride of Christ" and "The Voyage Home," explored themes of social commentary and human relationships.
In the realm of literature, Caryl Churchill (born 1938) is a renowned British playwright and academic. Her works, including "Top Girls," "Cloud Nine," and "Serious Money," have garnered critical acclaim for their exploration of gender roles, societal issues, and political themes. Churchill is considered one of the most influential playwrights of the late 20th century.
In the field of music, Caryl Brahms (1901-1982) was a British lyricist and writer best known for her collaborations with composer Ned Sherrin. Their works, including the musical "Salad Days," were popular in the mid-20th century and contributed to the post-war revival of British theater.
Another notable bearer of the name was Caryl Chessman (1921-1960), an American convicted criminal whose case sparked a national debate on capital punishment. His autobiographical works, particularly "Cell 2455, Death Row," brought attention to the ethical and legal aspects of the death penalty in the United States.
While the name Caryl has remained relatively uncommon throughout history, its unique origins and associations with various notable figures have contributed to its enduring presence and significance in various cultures and societies.
People
Caryl + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Caryl as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Caryl: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Caryl?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,929 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Caryl going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 117,021 US residents.
Is Caryl a common name?
We classify Caryl as "Rare". It ranks above 95.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6,691 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Caryl most popular?
The single biggest year for Caryl was 1947, when 200 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Caryl is about 71 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Caryl in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,577 people with the name Caryl, or 1.52 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,185 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Caryl in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Caryl?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Caryl leans strongly female. 4,395 people counted with this name were female (95.9%), compared with 186 male bearers (4.1%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Caryl?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Caryl is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Black (4.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Caryl most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Caryl in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.4% (4,092 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Caryl in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Caryl a female name?
Yes, 94.9% of people registered as Caryl in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Caryl still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Caryl in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Caryl can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people share the name Caryl?
Want to know how many people have the name Caryl? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.