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I like Carol quite a bit. I guess I never paid much attention to it because I liked Caroline so much more. But Carol's pert, tidy energy is starting to appeal to me.

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I like Carole a lot - something about the awkwardness of the spelling is endearing to me, like someone who really wants to be fancy but isn't quite sure how yet. There's an innocent sophistication to it that warms my heart. I have a weakness for oddly spelled celebrity names from a bygone age, like Carole, Bette, Jayne, stuff like that.

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I would love it Carol made a comeback! That would be adorable. I hope I live to see a legion of babies named stuff like Carol, Helen, Gene and Clark.

I recently went through a Carole phase (inspired by Carole Lombard); I still like it (and prefer it to Carol), but I realized that in certain American accents it sounds grating to me.

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Carolyn's a very kindly name. I certainly prefer it to Madelyn and Adelyn.

One of my closest friends is a Carolyn; her parents wanted something more unusual than Caroline! Which I named my daughter; not because of my friend, or I don't think it was. I just worked my way through a list of girl names until I found one that looked suitable. I really don't enjoy Carol as a name, or even Karel as a male name.

I think Carolyn is nice and similar to other names on trend at the moment

I think Carolyn deserves a comeback, though I understand how it might appear dated compared to Caroline. (And while Madeline and Madeleine being pronounced the same in American English has never made me bat an eye, I can't stand when Caroline is pronounced like Carolyn. The variant spellings exist for a reason.)

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Carol used to sound "old" to me, until I met a real-life Carol who was my age (90s kid / Millennial). The sound is warm and welcoming. I can't stand Carole, though - it looks like it should be pronounced like "parole."