Boy name#56 of boy names
Carl
Pronounced K AA1 R L (ARPABET)
- 1 syllable
- Peaked 1956
- 145 years in use
- 1 spelling
How popular is Carl?
Carl is a boys' name, and has been in the record since the data starts in 1880. It has been given to 609,489 children — the 56th most common boys' name on record.
It has been slipping, down 38% on the previous decade. Its best single year was 1956, when 10,372 children were given it.
Karl is counted with it here, since the two are pronounced identically.
Spelling variants
These spellings sound identical to Carl and are counted together with it, which is why the totals here are higher than a single-spelling count.
- Karl
Characteristics
- 1 syllable
Phonetic detail
- Pronunciations:
- K AA1 R L
- Stress pattern:
- 1
- Syllables:
- 1
Stress digits mark unstressed (0), primary (1) and secondary (2) syllables.
Names like Carl
Same first letter and syllable count, peaking around the same time.
Sibling names for Carl
Names from the same era with a matching rhythm but a different initial.
Frequently asked questions
- How popular is the name Carl?
- Carl ranks 56th among boys' names in US records, with 609,489 births since 1880. Over the past decade it accounts for 4,504.
- Is Carl a unisex name?
- No. Carl is recorded almost entirely as a boys' name; births to the other gender are too few to register as a share.
- When was Carl most popular?
- 1956, when 10,372 children were given the name. It has been in use for 145 years and is still recorded as of 2024.
- How else is Carl spelled?
- Karl. All of these sound the same and are counted together in the totals on this page.