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 1996 and has been recorded in 21 different years as a boy's name. Its single biggest year was 1996 with 413 babies (rank #110 that year). It was not in the 2024 data. 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.

2,511

Total babies (all years)

Years in the data

413

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

Other boys' names starting with K

Year-by-Year Detail

Rank is among all boys' names registered that year.

Year	Babies	Rank
1996	413	#110
1997	343	#121
1998	245	#143
1999	217	#159
2000	177	#189
2001	133	#228
2002	98	#286
2003	118	#261
2004	104	#294
2005	114	#286
2006	80	#420
2007	78	#445
2008	56	#584
2009	58	#571
2010	60	#570
2011	54	#628
2012	41	#789
2013	26	#1,052
2014	43	#751
2015	27	#1,059
2016	26	#1,106