Carl

Carl: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning: “free man”
Origin: Germanic
Say it: KAHRL · 1 syllable
Used for: Boys

German and Scandinavian form of Karl, from Germanic karl 'man, free man'. A long-used classic across northern Europe.

German names Scandinavian names English names Names meaning strength Classic names International names

How popular is Carl?

202465.0 per million US babies

Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Compare with another name

Babies named Carl in 2024215

2024 rank#1,032 boys

Peak year1915

Total US babies since 1880507,825

Carl is fading: recent use is about 59% of its level ten years before.

Names like Carl

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

Carlosfree man · Germanic
Karlafree woman · Germanic
Carlafree woman · Germanic
Karlfree man · Germanic
Karliefree man · Germanic
Carliefree man · Germanic
Karlyfree man · Germanic
Carlenefree woman · English

Carl questions

What does the name Carl mean?

Carl means "free man". It comes from Germanic. German and Scandinavian form of Karl, from Germanic karl 'man, free man'. A long-used classic across northern Europe.

Is Carl a boy or girl name?

Carl is mainly a boy's name in US records (99% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Carl?

215 US babies were named Carl in 2024. Its peak year was 1915.

How do you pronounce Carl?

Carl is usually pronounced KAHRL.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.