The Frankish Empire was ruled by two dynasties. The Merovingian (c. 5th century to 751) dynasty and Carolingian dynasty in (best known for imperial expansion under Charlemagne/Karl dem GroΓen) the Early Middle Ages.
The term "Carolingian empire" refers to when the Carolingian dynasty was ruling the Frankish empire, which commonly gets traced back to Charles Martel as its founder.
The Merovingian dynasty ruled the Frankish empire from the 5th-7th century