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The history of use is different. Those other three are modern creations from nature related words + Lynn; Carolyn is a variant spelling that reflects a regional pronunciation. Carol and Carolyn were both very popular in the 1940s (something like 3% of American girls were named those in the 40s, which makes it very associated with that era - for a comparison, if you add Sophia, Sofia, Sophie together nowadays it's still only about 1.3%), and they have fallen off the chart relatively recently; people liked it enough to keep using it for a while but seem bored with it. Meanwhile, use of Caroline and Carolina has been going up in the US since the 60s, similar names Carrie, Carly, Carla, Cara, Katelyn rose then fell, and Madelyn took off in the 90s, along with other Mad* names. Evelyn didn't really start rising again before Ava did. Maybe Carolyn will be more popular by the time people get bored with Madelyn, or maybe people will prefer Rosalyn or Gwendolyn.

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Marilyn hasn't comeback either; I guess that's more from association with Monroe rather than overuse, although Mary was super popular back then and is not anymore.

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Current earworm: "Sálvame" - Ms. Jaylin Brown
https://youtu.be/3W7hibx8iRs?si=-HJR2Lxz7YxLbjmS

This message was edited 4/28/2025, 10:55 PM