Karl

What does the name Karl mean?

Karl is the German and Scandinavian form of Charles and goes back to the Germanic word karl, meaning "free man". It was the name of Charlemagne, Karl der Grosse, and of generations of German and Swedish kings, and it came to America with German immigrants in the 19th century. Karl stood at number 564 in 2000, fell out of the US top 1000 in the mid-2010s and ranks at number 1593 in 2025.

At a glance

Gender

Boy's name

Origin

German / Scandinavian

Name day

November 4

Popularity

Rather rare – #1593 of the boy names in the United States

International

Karl (German / Swedish / Norwegian / Danish), Carl (English / German), Charles (English / French), Carlos (Spanish / Portuguese), Carlo (Italian), Karel (Dutch / Czech).

Similar names

• Carl
• Charles
• Karel
• Kalle
• Carlo

Parents who love Karl also like

• Carl
• Charles
• Kurt
• Otto
• Walter
• Frederick