Karl

Meaning: Free man
Origin: Germanic — German and Scandinavian form of Charles

Boy's name · #1593 in the US (2025) · Timeless

Popularity over time

Karl holds its lane: charted since 1880 and rarely far from where it stands today (#1593 in 2025). About 101,000 boys have carried it along the way. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records.

Across the states

See where Karl is more common.

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 11 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Around the world

Karl is especially popular in Denmark and Estonia.

#2 in Denmark (2025) · #5 in Estonia (2025) · #153 in Austria (2025) · #155 in Sweden (2025) · #179 in Norway (2025) · #411 in Switzerland (2025) · #613 in France (2025) · #829 in Ireland (2025) · #974 in Belgium (2025) · #1,015 in Canada (2025) · #1,466 in England & Wales (2025) · #3,904 in Italy (2024) and 10 more.

Famous Karls

Karl Marx — German philosopher and socialist (1818–1883)
Karl Popper — Austrian–British philosopher of science (1902–1994)
Karl Jaspers — German-Swiss psychiatrist and philosopher (1883–1969)
Karl Ferdinand Braun — German physicist (1850–1918)
Karl Adolph Gjellerup — Danish writer (1857–1919)
Karl Dönitz — German grand admiral (1891–1980)
Karl Urban — New Zealand actor (born 1972)
Karl Lagerfeld — German fashion designer (1933–2019)
Karl Malone — American basketball player and child molester (born 1963)
Karl Malden — American actor (1912–2009)

In stories & tradition

Karl (Old Shatterhand) — Winnetou (novel series)
Karl (Baron Mordo) — Strange Tales (comics)
Karl Ruprect Kroenen — Hellboy supervillain

What Karls become

Among 19,997 notable people named Karl:

Military figures appear 2.82× more often than among typical names — e.g. Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg, Austrian nobleman and field marshal (1771–1820).

Spellings & nicknames

Together with its spelling variant Carl (#1134), Karl would rank around #838 with about 290 births last year — the newborns split about 64/36 between Carl and Karl.

Similar names: Carl · Roderick · Kasey · Jermaine · Daryl · Kurt

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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