Carl

Carl - A very unique male name

Carl, meaning free man, appeared on the charts for the first time in 1910 on position #26. In this article you'll learn the history of this name, statistics, see famous people named Carl and more.
Are you having a baby or looking to learn more about the name Carl? Our experts and editorial staff have gathered trends and insights for 30,000+ baby names over the last 100 years -- And on this page you will learn everything you ever wanted to know about the name Carl. The baby boy name Carl was given to 437 baby boys in 2012, ranking #542 on the national boy baby name top chart.


With that position 1 in 3,755 baby boys were given this name - making this a very unique male name according to our Popularity Score algorithm. Carl peaked in popularity 104 years ago in 1915 on position 22.

Famous with this name

How would you rate Carl, 1-5?

Carl is currently topping the charts in...

Did you know that popularity can vary a lot between states? Carl is currently topping the baby name charts in District of Columbia at position #213 - and is the least popular in Washington at position #945.

Why care about state specific baby name charts? It could be that a name that is very popular on the national overall charts is less (or even more) popular where you live. So make sure you check out the state specific charts below and find out how popular or unique Carl is where you live.

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Carl origin and meaning

Carl is a 4 letter name with 1 syllables. This name means free man. To see famous people named Carl, pop culture references for the name Carl and nicknames & variations - visit Nameberry or Wikipedia.

Similar to Carl

We've found the following names that sound similar to Carl, sorted by popularity.

Charlie / Carroll / Charley / Carlo / Cyril / Carol / Carrol / Curley / Carlyle / Cirilo /

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Name statistics

Most parents-to-be know if they want a popular or unique name, and with these charts and data tables you can easily get a better understanding of how popular or unique this name is.

With a quick glance you can easily tell if this name is increasing or declining in popularity - But note that its current popularity can actually differ a lot from state to state.

Chart position per year (visualized)

Chart position per state (visualized)

Chart position per year (table view)

Chart position per state (table view)

Even more about Carl

These are some of the common questions you may want to have answered to know if this is the perfect name for your baby.

Is Carl a common or unique name?

By analyzing the number of births and frequency of this name we've determined that it's currently a very unique male name.

What is the number of syllables for the name Carl?

1 syllables. Why is this important? One of the things that makes a baby name sound good and have a nice rythm is the number of syllables - and especially the number of syllables along with the syllable count for your last name. A simple rule is to avoid having the same number of syllables in your first, middle and last name.