Karl

Primarily a boy's name · 100% boys

Meaning

Karl is a Germanic male given name. It comes from Old High German, meaning 'man, husband, freeman' and was widely popularised in Central and Northern Europe by its status as a royal name, in particular through the Frankish Emperor Charlemagne.

From Wikipedia

Karl first appears in the data in 1991 and has been recorded in 34 different years as a boy's name. Its single biggest year was 1992 with 249 babies (rank #140 that year). In 2024 it was given to 23 boys (rank #1,089). The name has been declining over the last five years.

Numerology of Karl

In Pythagorean numerology, every letter has a value from 1 to 9. Adding the letters of Karl yields these three numbers — a playful read on the name's character.

6Destiny numberThe carerNurturing, responsible, family at the centre.Sum of every letter. The overall character a name carries.
1Soul urgeThe leaderIndependent, pioneering, drawn to going first.Sum of the vowels — what's said to drive the heart.
5PersonalityThe free spiritCurious, restless, energised by change.Sum of the consonants — the outer impression.

2,887

Total babies (all years)

Years in the data

249

Peak in a single year

Popularity Over Time — Boys

Also a character in

In Succession: Karl Muller — Waystar CFO

Famous people named Karl

Karl Marxphilosopher · b. 1818
Karl Popperphilosopher of science · b. 1902
Karl Jaspersphysician · b. 1883
Karl Ferdinand Braununiversity teacher · b. 1850
Karl Adolph Gjellerupnovelist · b. 1857

More popular boys' names

Names ranked near Karl in 2024

Other boys' names starting with K

Year-by-Year Detail

Rank is among all boys' names registered that year.

Year	Babies	Rank
1991	244	#149
1992	249	#140
1993	233	#146
1994	217	#140
1995	194	#172
1996	167	#189
1997	138	#210
1998	132	#214
1999	117	#226
2000	96	#254
2001	78	#313
2002	83	#287
2003	63	#369
2004	56	#419
2005	45	#508
2006	54	#462
2007	39	#621
2008	46	#571
2009	64	#446
2010	54	#508
2011	47	#557
2012	51	#532
2013	54	#512
2014	41	#657
2015	45	#592
2016	48	#571
2017	31	#811
2018	36	#716
2019	43	#627
2020	28	#873
2021	23	#1,038
2022	26	#948
2023	22	#1,081
2024	23	#1,089