Gender
Origin
- Germanic
- German form of Charles
- Danish
- German
- Strong, manly; The writings of Karl Marx helped form the policies for the political and economic system known as Communism.
- Scandinavian
- Swedish
Syllables
1
Alternate Spellings and Variants of Karl
Pronunciation
k(a)-rl
Famous People
Actor Karl Malden, Fashion Designer Karl Lagerfeld
Popularity in the USA
- Boys: peak in 1960 (rank #135, 2,595 births); most recent 2025 (rank #1585, 107 births)
- Girls: peak in 1969 (rank #2055, 37 births); most recent 1993 (rank #8718, 9 births)
| Year | Boys | Girls |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 107 | – |
| 2024 | 99 | – |
| 2023 | 101 | – |
| 2022 | 128 | – |
| 2021 | 115 | – |
| 2020 | 104 | – |
| 2019 | 144 | – |
| 2018 | 143 | – |
| 2017 | 141 | – |
| 2016 | 167 | – |
Top girl names · Top boy names in the USA (2025)
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA), national baby names data (public domain). This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by the SSA. Data years: 1880 to 2025. Original data
Popularity in England and Wales
- Boys: peak in 1996 (rank #110, 413 births); most recent 2025 (rank #1467, 18 births)
| Year | Boys |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 18 |
| 2024 | 11 |
| 2023 | 18 |
| 2022 | 14 |
| 2021 | 23 |
| 2020 | 16 |
| 2019 | 19 |
| 2018 | 28 |
| 2017 | 31 |
| 2016 | 26 |
Top girl names · Top boy names in England and Wales (2025)
Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS), Baby names in England and Wales. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Data years: 1996 to 2025. Original data · Licence
Popularity in France
- Boys: peak in 1972 (rank #154, 331 births); most recent 2023 (rank #604, 72 births)
| Year | Boys |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 72 |
| 2022 | 96 |
| 2021 | 80 |
| 2020 | 98 |
| 2019 | 98 |
| 2018 | 103 |
| 2017 | 133 |
| 2016 | 121 |
| 2015 | 99 |
| 2014 | 123 |
Top girl names · Top boy names in France (2023)
Source: INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (last updated 8 July 2024), used under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0. Changes: names are shown in title case, and spellings that differ only by accents are counted together. Data years: 1900 to 2023. Original data · Licence
Popularity in Ireland
- Boys: peak in 1980 (rank #55, 192 births); most recent 2025 (rank #787, 3 births)
| Year | Boys |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 3 |
| 2024 | 4 |
| 2023 | 6 |
| 2022 | 3 |
| 2021 | – |
| 2020 | 3 |
| 2019 | 5 |
| 2018 | – |
| 2017 | 11 |
| 2016 | 8 |
Top girl names · Top boy names in Ireland (2025)
Source: Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ireland, Irish Babies' Names (tables VSA50 and VSA60), licensed under CC BY 4.0. Changes: spellings that differ only by accents (for example Rian and Rían) are counted together. Data years: 1964 to 2025. Original data · Licence
Popularity in Scotland
- Boys: peak in 1988 (rank #149, 16 births); most recent 2009 (rank #626, 3 births)
| Year | Boys |
|---|---|
| 2025 | – |
| 2024 | – |
| 2023 | – |
| 2022 | – |
| 2021 | – |
| 2020 | – |
| 2019 | – |
| 2018 | – |
| 2017 | – |
| 2016 | – |
Top girl names · Top boy names in Scotland (2025)
Source: National Records of Scotland (NRS), Babies' First Names. © Crown copyright. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Data years: 1974 to 2025. Original data · Licence
Popularity in Northern Ireland
- Boys: peak in 1997 (rank #93, 27 births); most recent 2022 (rank #414, 3 births)
| Year | Boys |
|---|---|
| 2025 | – |
| 2024 | – |
| 2023 | – |
| 2022 | 3 |
| 2021 | – |
| 2020 | – |
| 2019 | – |
| 2018 | 3 |
| 2017 | 3 |
| 2016 | 3 |
Top girl names · Top boy names in Northern Ireland (2025)
Source: Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA), Baby Names. © Crown copyright. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Data years: 1997 to 2025. Original data · Licence
Popularity in British Columbia (Canada)
- Boys: peak in 1964 (rank #84, 42 births); most recent 2022 (rank #627, 5 births)
| Year | Boys |
|---|---|
| 2023 | – |
| 2022 | 5 |
| 2021 | – |
| 2020 | – |
| 2019 | 5 |
| 2018 | – |
| 2017 | 5 |
| 2016 | – |
| 2015 | 5 |
| 2014 | 5 |
Top girl names · Top boy names in British Columbia (Canada) (2023)
Source: British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency, Most popular baby names for the past 100 years. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – British Columbia. Changes: names are shown in title case. Data years: 1924 to 2023. Original data · Licence