Karli is a spelling of Carly, the feminine pet form of Carl or Charles, and means "free woman" or "free man", from the Germanic karl. In Finnish and Estonian Karli is actually a boys' name, but in the United States it is firmly feminine. Karli was at number 635 in 2000, its best position, has drifted out of the top 1,000 since and ranks number 2,708 in 2025, with 64 births.