Last updated: March 2026

Character Name

Carrie

Meaning — A diminutive of Caroline or Carolyn, which are feminine forms of Karl/Carl, from the Old Germanic karlaz meaning "free man." Carrie has functioned as an independent name since the 19th century. The name is also sometimes used as a short form of Carolyn and of Carol. Its most famous literary association is with Stephen King's debut novel.·Germanic origin·Female·KAIR-ee

Carrie Carrie is a name with a striking dual literary legacy — the dreaming social climber of Dreiser's naturalist masterpiece and the wronged outcast of King's horror classic. Both Carries are outsiders striving against the limits placed on them, which gives the name a consistent undercurrent of suppressed ambition and vulnerability. Characters named Carrie often operate in narratives about class, belonging, and what happens when society's outcasts reach their breaking point.

Best genres for Carrie

Literary FictionContemporary FictionHorrorYoung Adult

Famous characters named Carrie

Carrie White

Carrie Stephen King

A shy, religiously repressed teenager with telekinetic powers whose humiliation at the school prom triggers a catastrophic act of revenge.

Sister Carrie

Sister Carrie Theodore Dreiser

A young woman from rural Illinois who moves to Chicago and later New York in pursuit of glamour and security, becoming an actress through ambition and chance.


Variations & nicknames

CarrieCariKariKerryKerrie

Pairs well with

Carrie HollowayCarrie SuttonCarrie FlynnCarrie ParrishCarrie WhitmoreCarrie Caldwell

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Related names


More Germanic names

Gertrude

A Germanic feminine name composed of "ger" meaning "spear" and "þrúðr" meaning "strength" — thus "spear-strength" or "the strength of the spear". The name was borne by Saint Gertrude of Nivelles (626–659), the patron of travellers and gardeners, and Saint Gertrude the Great (1256–c.1302), the mystical theologian. Its literary association is dominated by Gertrude, Queen of Denmark in Shakespeare's Hamlet.

Helmut

A Germanic masculine name composed of "helm" meaning "helmet" (protection, defence) and "mut" meaning "spirit", "courage", or "mind" — thus "courageous in battle" or "protected spirit". The name was common in German-speaking lands from the medieval period and became one of the defining masculine names of 20th-century Germany.

Erna

A Germanic and Scandinavian feminine name, a short form of names beginning with the Old High German element "arn" meaning "eagle" — such as Ernesta or Ernaline — or alternatively a feminine form of Ernst (from "earnest, serious"). The name was especially common in Germany and Scandinavia in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Ima

Of German origin, derived from the Old High German element ermen, meaning "universal" or "whole." It is considered a short form of names beginning with Irm- or Erm-, such as Irmgard and Ermengard. The name has also been used independently in English-speaking countries since the 19th century, with Texas philanthropist Ima Hogg (1882–1975) being a notable bearer.

Ramon

The Spanish and Catalan form of Raymond, from the Old Germanic Raginmund, composed of ragin ("counsel, advice") and mund ("protector"), meaning "wise protector" or "counsellor guardian." The name entered the Iberian Peninsula via the Visigoths and Frankish influence and has been a traditional masculine name in Spain, Catalonia, and Latin America for centuries.

Friedrich

A Germanic masculine name composed of "frid" meaning "peace" and "ric" meaning "ruler" or "power" — thus "peaceful ruler" or "ruler of peace". The name was borne by Holy Roman Emperors, Prussian kings (including Frederick the Great), and some of the most influential German thinkers: Friedrich Nietzsche, Friedrich Schiller, Friedrich Hölderlin, Friedrich Engels.


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