Carroll
An Irish surname most often derived from Ó Cearbhaill, a clan name whose older meaning is debated but is commonly linked to a personal name.
The #215 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 2,299 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Carroll is generally taken from the Irish surname Ó Cearbhaill, later Anglicized in several forms including Carroll and MacCarroll. Older sources often connect the Gaelic personal name Cearbhall with an uncertain sense, sometimes glossed in broad terms rather than with a secure literal meaning. A smaller strand of English usage also treated Carroll as a modification of the Latin name Carolus, or as influenced by place-names and other spellings in Britain.
History
In Ireland, Carroll is one of the better-known anglicized Gaelic surnames and appears in several distinct family lines. The name spread widely through English-speaking countries, especially during and after Irish migration in the 19th century. English surname dictionaries also recorded some non-Irish Carrolls, but the Irish origin is by far the best-known and most common.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some older surname books treat Carroll as a possible English form of Carolus, but modern genealogical use usually assumes an Irish origin unless the family line shows otherwise.
From the historical record
“and Lincoln. CARROLL. 1. Possibly from the ro- mantic rock so called in co. Sutherland. 2. A modification of Carolus, Charles. CARRUTHERS. A hamlet in the pa- rish of Middlebie, co. Dumfries. CARSE. A Scot, topographical expres- sion, probal.ily meaning a low alluvial tract near a river, as the Carse of Gowrie, of…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom