南 means 'south' and is translated, not transliterated, in compound place names (compare
北卡罗莱纳 North Carolina,
南达科他 South Dakota).
卡罗莱纳 (Kǎluóláinà) is the phonetic transliteration of 'Carolina.' Mainland Xinhua style sometimes prefers
南卡罗来纳, replacing
莱 with
来 — both are accepted; CC-CEDICT uses both spellings. The state's role in the 1861 secession that started the U.S. Civil War (
内战) makes it a frequent reference in American history texts.
