boy's name
Carl
KARL
- Origin Germanic
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 1
- Letters 4
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 521,738
Northern Ireland
#453
2015 births
Carl is a boy's name from the Germanic word for a free man, the same root as Charles. Its meaning names a social class rather than a virtue — a free peasant, specifically not a nobleman.
- Carl is a name of Germanic origin.
- Peaked in 1956, when 8,345 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 17,729 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Carl over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 5,261 |
| 1890s | 8,138 |
| 1900s | 9,951 |
| 1910s | 48,767 |
| 1920s | 70,346 |
| 1930s | 67,170 |
| 1940s | 73,055 |
| 1950s | 79,064 |
| 1960s | 61,186 |
| 1970s | 31,757 |
| 1980s | 25,781 |
| 1990s | 14,730 |
| 2000s | 7,198 |
| 2010s | 4,225 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 1,388 |
What Carl means
Carl means a free man. The Germanic word named a specific social rank — a free man of the ordinary class, distinguished from both slaves and nobles — rather than describing liberty in the abstract.
Where Carl comes from
Carl is the German and Scandinavian form of the Germanic karl, a free man of the common class. The same word went two opposite ways: upward through Charlemagne, Carolus Magnus, whose name became a word for king in several Slavic languages, and downward into the English churl, which by the fourteenth century meant a boor. Carl reached America chiefly with German and Scandinavian emigration in the nineteenth century, which is why it has a distinct curve from Charles despite the shared root. Carl Linnaeus, who gave every living thing a two-part Latin name, is its most consequential bearer.
Carl in use
Carl peaked in the United States in 1956, when 8,345 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 738th in France on 55 births, 1134th in the United States on 187 and 1830th in England and Wales, across 521,738 lifetime births in four of the seven markets we track. Ranking higher in France than in the United States is unexpected for a name whose American volume arrived with German and Scandinavian emigration.
How popular is Carl?
In 2025, Carl was given to 187 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Carl is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Carl
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Carl also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Carl over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Carl in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Carl
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Carl — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Carl
What does the name Carl mean?
A free man — specifically a free peasant, not a nobleman.
Is Carl the same name as Charles?
They share the same Germanic root. Carl is the German and Scandinavian form, Charles the French.
Is Carl related to churl?
Yes, from the same word — which became an insult in English while rising to mean king elsewhere.
How popular is Carl?
1134th in the United States and 738th in France.
Is Carl a girl's or a boy's name?
Carl is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Carl?
Carl has 1 syllable.
Is Carl a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Carl currently ranks #738 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.