Carolyn

  • [ KER-ə-lin, KAR-ə-lin ]
  • English
Variant of CAROLINE.

CAROLINE   female   French, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch
French feminine form of CAROLUS.
CHARLES   male   English, French
From the Germanic name Karl, which was derived from a Germanic word meaning "man". However, an alternative theory states that it is derived from the common Germanic name element hari meaning "army, warrior".

The popularity of the name in continental Europe was due to the fame of Charles the Great (742-814), commonly known as Charlemagne, a king of the Franks who came to rule over most of Europe. His grandfather Charles Martel had also been a noted leader of the Franks. It was subsequently the name of several Holy Roman Emperors, as well as kings of France, Spain, Portugal, Sweden and Hungary (in various spellings). After Charlemagne, his name was adopted as a word meaning "king" in many Eastern European languages, for example Czech král, Hungarian király, Russian король (korol), and Turkish kral.

The name did not become common in Britain until the 17th century when it was borne by the Stuart king Charles I. It had been introduced into the Stuart royal family by Mary Queen of Scots, who had been raised in France.

Famous bearers of the name include naturalist Charles Darwin (1809-1882) who revolutionized biology with his theory of evolution, novelist Charles Dickens (1812-1870) who wrote such works as 'Great Expectations' and 'A Tale of Two Cities', French statesman Charles de Gaulle (1890-1970), and American cartoonist Charles Schulz (1922-2000), the creator of the 'Peanuts' comic strip.
FULL FORMS
ENGLISH: Carla, Carlene, Charla, Karlene, Sharla
EQUIVALENTS
AFRIKAANS: Charlize
ANCIENT GERMANIC: Carolina
CATALAN: Carla
CROATIAN: Karla, Karolina
CZECH: Karolína
DANISH: Caroline, Charlotte, Karla, Karolina, Karoline
DUTCH: Carla, Carola, Carolien, Caroline, Charlotte
ENGLISH: Carley, Carlie, Carly, Carlyn, Carolina, Caroline, Charleen, Charlene, Charlotte, Karlee, Karly, Karolyn, Sharleen, Sharlene
FINNISH: Karoliina
FRENCH: Carole, Caroline, Charline, Charlotte
GERMAN: Carla, Carola, Carolin, Caroline, Charlotte, Karla, Karola, Karolina, Karoline
HUNGARIAN: Karola, Karolina
IRISH: Séarlait
ITALIAN: Carla, Carlotta, Carola, Carolina
LITHUANIAN: Karolina
MACEDONIAN: Karolina
NORWEGIAN: Caroline, Charlotte, Karla, Karolina, Karoline
POLISH: Karolina
PORTUGUESE: Carla, Carlota, Carolina
SLOVENE: Karolina
SPANISH: Carla, Carlota, Carolina
SWEDISH: Carola, Carolina, Caroline, Charlotta, Charlotte, Karla, Karolina
DIMINUTIVES AND SHORT FORMS
CROATIAN: Lina
CZECH: Kája
DANISH: Ina, Lina, Line, Lotte
DUTCH: Lien, Lotte
ENGLISH: Calleigh, Callie, Cari, Carol, Carrie, Carry, Caryl, Ina, Kallie, Karrie, Lina, Lottie, Tottie, Totty
FINNISH: Iina, Liina, Lotta
FRENCH: Line
GERMAN: Ina, Lotte
HUNGARIAN: Lili
ITALIAN: Lina
LITHUANIAN: Lina
NORWEGIAN: Ina, Lina, Line, Lotte
SWEDISH: Ina, Lina, Lotta, Lotte, Lottie
MASCULINE FORMS
ANCIENT GERMANIC: Carolus, Karl
CATALAN: Carles, Carlos
CROATIAN: Karlo
CZECH: Karel
DANISH: Carl, Karl
DUTCH: Karel
ENGLISH: Carl, Carol, Charles, Charley, Charlie, Chas, Chaz, Chip, Chuck, Karl
FINNISH: Kaarle, Kaarlo, Kalle, Karl
FRENCH: Charles, Charlot
GERMAN: Carl, Karl
HAWAIIAN: Kale
HUNGARIAN: Karcsi, Károly
IRISH: Séarlas
ITALIAN: Carlo
LIMBURGISH: Sjarel
LITHUANIAN: Karolis
NORWEGIAN: Carl, Karl
POLISH: Karol
PORTUGUESE: Carlinhos, Carlito, Carlitos, Carlos
ROMANIAN: Carol
SLOVAK: Karol
SLOVENE: Karel, Karol
SPANISH: Carlito, Carlitos, Carlos
SWEDISH: Carl, Kalle, Karl
WELSH: Siarl
OTHER FORMS
HISTORY: Charlemagne