I know that it has European roots but it has apparently taken off in the Southeastern United States. I started delving into the social security website and the geographical imbalance was surprising. While nation wide on average it’s been steady in the 50s-90s over many few years, in a lot of Southern States in recent years it’s been in the top 20. Including my state of South Carolina.
I’m also a Northern transplant (from New York City) and the idea of naming her something that is now a common Southern name kind of bothers me…
I would hate for her to go up North for college and be teased for being “Caroline from South Carolina”.
As you guys may remember I’m leaning towards Alice anyway but am still trying to weigh it next to Caroline since my husband likes it better (though he did tell me I can choose!)
Alice has more of an international flair to me which I like and I like that it would be less common around here than Caroline.
Though Caroline may be a safer choice that no one would question.
With Alice I’ll have to be prepared for some comments like “Is that a family name?” “Where’d you come up with that” “You don’t hear that name often”
But I like that it would make her unique in SC!
Hmm. I was born and raised in the [name_u]South[/name_u], and work with kids in the [name_u]South[/name_u] now, so hopefully my perspective can be helpful!
[name_f]Caroline[/name_f] is popular in the [name_u]South[/name_u], yes, but it’s also popular in the [name_u]North[/name_u]. [name_m]Even[/name_m] if naming trends vary from state to state, I think it’s familiar across the country. I don’t know that it screams [name_u]Southern[/name_u]! I also don’t think college kids usually pick on names, especially ones that aren’t particularly unusual. It doesn’t bother me to associate a name with the [name_u]South[/name_u], but if you’re culturally Northern I guess that might be different.
Both [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] and [name_f]Alice[/name_f] fall into the same category for me: understated names that are currently fairly popular for babies. I don’t see [name_f]Alice[/name_f] being seen as a surprising choice for very long. [name_m]Even[/name_m] in [name_u]South[/name_u] [name_f]Carolina[/name_f], I’d imagine that it would be rising in popularity. If you’re looking for rare names, neither of these names are super uncommon, but if you just feel like [name_f]Alice[/name_f] is fresher to you, that’s reason enough to like it!
TLDR; I know [name_u]Southern[/name_u] Alices and Carolines, and I really don’t think choosing [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] would be a problem for the child of a Northern transplant. Either of these names are great choices! Good luck!
it feels less american-southern and more english to me because of my association with caroline bingley from pride and prejudice! i’m not from the usa, so maybe it might come across as southern to someone that is perhaps? but to me, it feels more european.
as for the teasing, to me it seems like a sweet homage to the state she is from. i wouldn’t think anything of someone from sc being named caroline!
good luck with naming! both caroline & alice are lovely names 
[name_f]Alice[/name_f] definitely feels fresher to me!
I know a lot of Carolines in NY and SC from little girls to women in their 70s.
Not sure I know any Alices. Though a friend in my small town named her daughter [name_f]Alice[/name_f] so there will be another little [name_f]Alice[/name_f] in town! I do agree it is on the rise. Which I don’t mind I’d just rather avoid top 20 names.
I don’t think it’s a specifically southern name, like I wouldn’t hear the name and be think that’s so southern. It’s pretty common everywhere I think so there’s no need to worry. It’s not like it’s a trendy new American originated name it’s a very old British name so I don’t think that should put you off.
I’m from NY, and have very strong opinions about [name_u]Southern[/name_u] sounding names 
[name_f]Caroline[/name_f] is not one of those, though. I wouldn’t consider it a [name_u]Southern[/name_u] name, nor would I assume someone named [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] was from the [name_u]South[/name_u]. [name_f]Carolina[/name_f] (said like the states, not with the ‘leen’ pronunciation) does feel [name_u]Southern[/name_u] to me, but not [name_f]Caroline[/name_f]!
I don’t think a [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] would get teased for it, but I do think people may comment on the fact that [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] is from [name_u]South[/name_u] [name_f]Carolina[/name_f]. In that case, I would wonder if she were named after the state, but I wouldn’t think that was a bad thing. I’d probably assume the state was meaningful and important to her parents!
I personally do prefer [name_f]Alice[/name_f]. I think it’s very sweet and gentle, but also has some spunk to it. I love that it’s literary, and it feels a bit more exciting than [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] (to me, I mean!). Although, it definitely doesn’t strike me as a surpising choice. It actually feels fairly well used, and I wouldn’t expect any comments about it being unusual (that may be different by you, of course).
I don’t think theres anything wrong with [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] though, and you should definitely go with whichever you love more!!
Agree with previous posters!
[name_f]Alice[/name_f] [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] would be lovely if you don’t have a middle name yet.
I think there are names that sound very southern.
In the south it does seem more common to use surname names (moms maiden name/grandmas maiden name, etc.) as a first name, double name such as [name_f]Mary[/name_f] ____, [name_f]Emma[/name_f] [name_f]Grace[/name_f], etc.
[name_f]Alice[/name_f] or [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] are both lovely & will fit in nicely anywhere!
Middle names for [name_f]Alice[/name_f] would likely be [name_u]Emerson[/name_u] [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f]
(Emerson is my middle name and [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f] my sister’s name!)
But if we did name her [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] I was going to do [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] [name_f]Alice[/name_f] [name_u]Emerson[/name_u].
I’ve become attached to the name [name_f]Alice[/name_f] over the past few weeks of thinking about it so I definitely want it in there!
If we do [name_f]Alice[/name_f] I would be fine with [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] if we have another girl (but with fertility issues and the fact our 2 frozen embryos from IVF are boys that is very unlikely…)
caroline honestly feels like a very in-between name. i could totally see a caroline from the south, but i also find caroline as a very classic, and chic northern name.
It’d probaby be fine. I hear it pronounced Carol-lyn sometimes where I live (NC). I love [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] pronounced Care-o-line but I have the same problem as you do when it comes to the name, then. I don’t hear a bunch of Caroline’s pronouced Care-o-leen in the south, I think that’s the more northern pronounciation. [name_f]Hope[/name_f] this helps.
[name_f]Caroline[/name_f] does not feel southern to me at all.
So I’m in the minority I love Caroline because to me she has a southern Belle flair and I have all these romantic connotations with the south. I absolutely love country music, sooooo many films based around the south and this stereotypical image of this laid back country image of the southern states. However just like people stereotype London (my home) I’m most likely stereotyping the southern states and really homing in on the idea of a southern Belle being named Caroline ‘Carrie’ so I feel like my opinion on her being too Southern isn’t accurate. I do feel that Caroline (pronounce ca-row-line I’m terrible at breaking names down phonetically) has a southern flair however not overly so. I think Caroline is very universal and as a Brit who has only ever been to New York once I know several British Caroline’s of all different ages so she is a versatile choice that I think wouldn’t face any issues if she went to New York or even London for university. Honestly I really like Caroline I think she’s lovely and I think Caroline Alice Emerson is sweet.
Both [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] and [name_f]Alice[/name_f] were on my list !! I think I would definitely hesitate to name my daughter [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] if I lived in the Carolinas but I think it’s a sweet nod to you if you lived in a Northern state now
It’s funny how names have such different connotations! [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] feels very classic to me but here in the UK i feel like it would be the boldet choice next to [name_f]Alice[/name_f]! Either way, I think [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] is versatile and not tied to one place:)
First, I think “tease” would be a strong word, especially for someone who would be college aged. I actually moved from the Midwest and went to college in South Carolina, where I had friends with very southern accents and we would have fun mimicking how we say words or what we called certain things. It was all completely in good fun though. Second, this holdup you have is based on a very specific scenario. I think it’s very easy to say Caroline with an over-the-too southern accent, so I could absolutely picture the scenario, but she’d first have to decide to go to a school up north, would have to decide to be Caroline and not have picked or developed a nickname throughout her life, and it would only be a problem if she is for some reason self conscious about being from the south, which there wouldn’t be a reason for her to be.
I knew a lot of girls named Caroline in college—and I mean like it felt like every white homegrown sorority girl’s name. I also knew a lot of girls named Caroline when I lived in the north though. I personally much prefer the name Alice because I think it’s fresher but don’t let this one holdup about Caroline in a northern school stop you.
Also, since Alice ranks in the top 100 and has for a few years now, I don’t think people would give her a hard time about her name either.
You may be right.
I feel kind of guilty that I don’t love it more since I know my husband and mother in law prefer it.
But when we were considering [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] [name_f]Alice[/name_f] I kept thinking maybe I’ll use both names (but my husband - despite being [name_u]Southern[/name_u] - doesn’t like double first names!) or hoping she may want to go by [name_f]Alice[/name_f] (like if there was another [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] in her class). So it was clear I was being pulled towards [name_f]Alice[/name_f]!
I know a baby [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] from [name_u]North[/name_u] [name_f]Carolina[/name_f]. I don’t think it’s an excessively [name_u]Southern[/name_u] name but it does have a preppy vibe. [name_f]Alice[/name_f] [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] gets my vote!
[name_f]My[/name_f] first association with [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] is Ma from [name_m]Little[/name_m] House on the [name_u]Prairie[/name_u], so not southern. However, when I left the [name_u]North[/name_u] and went to college in south carolina, I was struck by how many more Carolines there were and Carries too and I definitely concluded that people in the Carolinas like this name even more than the rest of us. So yes, if I met a [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] from [name_u]South[/name_u] [name_f]Carolina[/name_f] I would see an association, but I wouldnt expect any unpleasant teasing about it. I do prefer [name_f]Alice[/name_f]. Everybody is familiar with itfrom [name_f]Alice[/name_f] in Wonderland enough to pronounce and spell it and I see it as very classic but I still have never met one, so it feels fresh.
I’m from the South and now live in the Northeast for college. I’ve known a handful of Carolines in both places - and when I was in high school I babysat two different baby/toddler Alices.
Caroline, to me, has a contrasting image - I could see her as a sweet Southern belle, or I could see her as a preppy New Englander. Grace Kelly named her daughter - a princess - Caroline.
I think with both Caroline and Alice, their popularities lessen the opportunity for teasing. Many/most people will know a Caroline and an Alice, and so they’ll associate it more with the present and the people they know versus some stereotypical Southern Caroline or Grandma Alice.
[name_f]My[/name_f] name is [name_f]Caroline[/name_f], I’m in my 20s and from Australia. Growing up I’d never met another [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] my age. The only [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] I know is about 80 years old. I always get compliments from older people about my name. I used to not like it because it was so uncommon but now I love it. It suits me so well in my opinion. As I am not from [name_u]America[/name_u] I can’t weigh in about if it feels southern but I’m sure no one will tease your daughter if you name her [name_f]Caroline[/name_f]. To me it feels very international and not tied to a certain place at all.
I’m surprised that you think [name_f]Alice[/name_f] is a bold choice. I don’t think that’s true at all. To me, and I’m sure to most people, [name_f]Alice[/name_f] is quite a traditional name that everyone knows. It isn’t very common but it is well known. I think [name_f]Alice[/name_f] in Wonderland helps to make it feel so classic. But I think [name_f]Alice[/name_f] is a beautiful name.
I don’t see anything wrong with either of your choices. Good luck!