Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Karl?
Births per year, rank history and how many Karls are alive today.
Karl (male) is a rare spelling of the boys' name Carl in England and Wales, ranked 1466th in 2025 and given to 18 babies. This spelling of the name peaked in 1974, when around 1,700 babies were given the name, the 50th most popular that year. It has declined since 1974; the 2025 figure is roughly 1% of its peak. At least 44,000 babies have been named Karl in England and Wales since 1964. Figures before 1996 are estimates.
Across all spellings of the name, the Carl you are most likely to meet is around 61 years old. Half of all Carls born in England and Wales are between 43 and 62, and there are at least 91,000 of them alive today. If you walk into a room of 100 males, there's roughly a 26% chance that at least one of them will be called Carl.
How many babies are named Karl each year?
Includes all spellings: Karl, Carl. Figures before 1996 are estimates.
Where does the Karl spelling rank?
Where does the Carl spelling rank?
Where this data comes from
Figures from 1996 onwards are the Office for National Statistics' annual baby-name registrations for England and Wales, which record every name given to three or more babies in a year. Figures before 1996 are estimates: the ONS published only top-100 rankings at ten-year intervals back to 1904, so counts for those years are modelled from the rankings, calibrated against Douglas Galbi's long-run research into English name frequencies, and shown with an uncertainty band. Estimates of living bearers combine these birth figures with national life tables and ONS mid-year population estimates.
One limit worth naming: these figures count names as registered at birth. Anyone who changes their name later in life - including trans people, and anyone who adopts a different name by deed poll or simply by use - is not reflected here. Birth registrations record where a name began, not the name a person lives with.
Common questions
When was the name Karl most popular?
The most popular form of the name, Carl, peaked in 1964, when around 3,400 babies in England and Wales were given the name. The Karl spelling itself peaked in 1974, with around 1,700 babies.
How many people are called Karl?
At least 91,000 people named Karl in any spelling born in England and Wales are alive today.
How old is the typical Karl?
Most living Karls are between 43 and 62; the most common age is about 61.
Is Karl becoming more or less popular?
Well past its peak: today's figures are a fraction of the 1964 peak, though numbers have levelled off in recent years.