Girl · Germanic (via Latin, Italian and French) · International

Caroline

Say it KAR-uh-line

Meaning today: Free woman, strong
Original meaning: "feminine of Carolus (Charles), from a Germanic word for 'man, husband'" Bosworth-Toller, entry 6049
Say it: KAR-uh-line
Other spellings: Carolyn, Carolina

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Caroline

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Caroline meaning

Caroline is an international girl's name of Germanic origin (via Latin, Italian and French).

Feminine of Carolus (Charles), from a Germanic word for 'man, husband'

Also used to mean: free woman, strong

Caroline is the feminine of Charles. Etymonline traces it through French to the Italian Carolina, a feminine form of the Medieval Latin Carolus, which goes back to a Germanic word for "man" or "husband". In Old English the same word was ceorl, which Bosworth-Toller's dictionary defines as a man or husband and as a free man of the common people, the origin of churl. Name lists give Caroline as "free woman", which fits that sense. Famous bearers include the astronomer Caroline Herschel, who discovered several comets, and Queen Caroline, wife of King George II of Britain.

Source: Bosworth-Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (1898), entry 6049 · entry ceorl · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026

References: Online Etymology Dictionary, Caroline · Bosworth-Toller, ceorl · Wikipedia, Caroline Herschel