Meaning not yet researched.
Karl: US boys given the name each year, 1880 to 2025, from Social Security card applications. 107 in 2025. Its best rank was #135 in 1964.
US births per year · SSA card applications
Peaked at #135 in 1964; #1,593 in 2025. Every baby recorded as Karl in 2025 was a boy.
Baby name · US data 1880–2025
#1,593 for US boys in 2025. Its best year was 1964, at #135.
Hover, tap or use the arrow keys for any year. Years with fewer than five babies of a sex are not published by SSA and show as zero.
Karl: US boys given the name each year from 1880 to 2025. 107 boys in 2025. Peak: #135 in 1964 · most boys in one year: 2,594 (1960).
In 2025, 107 US boys were named Karl, making it the 1,593rd most common boys’ name of the year, up 100 places from #1,693 in 2024. That is 8 more than the 99 boys named Karl in 2024. Its best rank for boys was #135, reached in 1964. The most boys given the name in a single year was 2,594, in 1960. For comparison, it was #1,075 in 2015 and #172 in 1950.
Social Security card records list Karl in every one of the 146 years from 1880 to 2025; in 1880 there were 21 babies with the name. In all, 101,751 US babies have been given the name, 0.9% of them girls and 99% boys. Its busiest decade was the 1960s, with 21,404 babies named Karl.
Over the 10 years from 2016 to 2025, 1,250 US boys were named Karl; the busiest of those years was 2016, with 167. In 2025 that was about 1 in 15,963 of the boys in SSA’s list for the year.
Among the states, Karl ranked highest in New Jersey in 2025, at #676 for boys there. It was not in the top 100 of any state. Related spellings in the SSA files include Charles (2,447,135 babies since 1880), Carl (508,017 babies since 1880), Carlos (309,076 babies since 1880) and Carlo (16,000 babies since 1880). Rarer spellings such as Kalle are summarised on this page.
Meaning not yet researched.
We publish a meaning only with a cited source and a confidence label, and never generate one. Meanings are being researched for the most common names first.
Rare spellings summarised here: Kalle (358).
Numbers are all-time US births. Links come from Wikidata’s “said to be the same as” (P460, CC0) and our spelling rule: at most two letters different, with the same sound pattern.
No nicknames listed for Karl in the open dataset we use.
Source: carltonnorthern/nicknames (Apache-2.0).
US boys. Rank within each state. SSA leaves out states where fewer than five boys got the name, so 43 are not listed.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank 2025 | Rank 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | 10 | #676 | #1,040 |
| Pennsylvania | 7 | #1,049 | #1,104 |
| Illinois | 6 | #1,206 | #941 |
| New York | 8 | #1,358 | #753 |
| Georgia | 5 | #1,445 | — |
| Florida | 7 | #1,550 | #690 |
| Texas | 6 | #2,428 | #1,413 |
| California | 5 | #2,636 | #1,143 |
Births and national rank for each year SSA lists the name, newest first.
| Year | Girls | Girls rank | Boys | Boys rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | — | — | 107 | #1,593 |
| 2024 | — | — | 99 | #1,693 |
| 2023 | — | — | 101 | #1,688 |
| 2022 | — | — | 128 | #1,430 |
| 2021 | — | — | 115 | #1,535 |
| 2020 | — | — | 104 | #1,570 |
| 2019 | — | — | 145 | #1,285 |
| 2018 | — | — | 143 | #1,288 |
| 2017 | — | — | 141 | #1,289 |
| 2016 | — | — | 167 | #1,152 |
| 2015 | — | — | 184 | #1,075 |
| 2014 | — | — | 165 | #1,148 |
| 2013 | — | — | 169 | #1,099 |
| 2012 | — | — | 161 | #1,139 |
| 2011 | — | — | 173 | #1,079 |
| 2010 | — | — | 177 | #1,089 |
| 2009 | — | — | 207 | #967 |
| 2008 | — | — | 188 | #1,020 |
| 2007 | — | — | 242 | #860 |
| 2006 | — | — | 270 | #771 |
| 2005 | — | — | 265 | #752 |
| 2004 | — | — | 281 | #695 |
| 2003 | — | — | 300 | #660 |
| 2002 | — | — | 330 | #609 |
| 2001 | — | — | 351 | #580 |
| 2000 | — | — | 366 | #564 |
| 1999 | — | — | 390 | #534 |
| 1998 | — | — | 455 | #482 |
| 1997 | — | — | 483 | #459 |
| 1996 | — | — | 504 | #447 |
| 1995 | — | — | 598 | #392 |
| 1994 | — | — | 612 | #382 |
| 1993 | 9 | #9,091 | 662 | #357 |
| 1992 | — | — | 738 | #336 |
| 1991 | 6 | #12,217 | 811 | #317 |
| 1990 | 6 | #12,057 | 858 | #295 |
| 1989 | 14 | #5,967 | 908 | #273 |
| 1988 | 23 | #3,952 | 843 | #274 |
| 1987 | 23 | #3,791 | 853 | #260 |
| 1986 | 29 | #3,162 | 904 | #248 |
| 1985 | 31 | #2,971 | 961 | #242 |
| 1984 | 24 | #3,461 | 896 | #244 |
| 1983 | 29 | #2,940 | 911 | #242 |
| 1982 | 27 | #3,212 | 973 | #240 |
| 1981 | 27 | #3,176 | 1,062 | #226 |
| 1980 | 24 | #3,452 | 1,060 | #225 |
| 1979 | 21 | #3,709 | 956 | #234 |
| 1978 | 22 | #3,435 | 900 | #232 |
| 1977 | 25 | #3,111 | 941 | #230 |
| 1976 | 26 | #2,900 | 868 | #234 |
| 1975 | 25 | #2,910 | 904 | #226 |
| 1974 | 26 | #2,791 | 1,004 | #214 |
| 1973 | 32 | #2,376 | 985 | #220 |
| 1972 | 26 | #2,706 | 1,167 | #199 |
| 1971 | 23 | #3,000 | 1,323 | #191 |
| 1970 | 23 | #2,980 | 1,575 | #177 |
| 1969 | 37 | #2,076 | 1,565 | #180 |
| 1968 | 22 | #2,746 | 1,598 | #168 |
| 1967 | 29 | #2,237 | 1,695 | #159 |
| 1966 | 19 | #2,886 | 1,792 | #158 |
| 1965 | 19 | #2,874 | 2,019 | #154 |
| 1964 | 18 | #3,045 | 2,403 | #135 |
| 1963 | 23 | #2,580 | 2,513 | #136 |
| 1962 | 21 | #2,698 | 2,457 | #142 |
| 1961 | 17 | #3,119 | 2,543 | #138 |
| 1960 | 20 | #2,773 | 2,594 | #135 |
| 1959 | 19 | #2,708 | 2,354 | #148 |
| 1958 | 14 | #3,296 | 2,348 | #146 |
| 1957 | 6 | #5,728 | 2,338 | #146 |
| 1956 | 14 | #3,245 | 2,060 | #150 |
| 1955 | 7 | #4,946 | 1,935 | #149 |
| 1954 | — | — | 1,736 | #166 |
| 1953 | — | — | 1,653 | #163 |
| 1952 | — | — | 1,564 | #170 |
| 1951 | 7 | #4,593 | 1,439 | #175 |
| 1950 | — | — | 1,304 | #172 |
| 1949 | — | — | 1,321 | #172 |
| 1948 | — | — | 1,187 | #179 |
| 1947 | 6 | #5,008 | 1,119 | #184 |
| 1946 | — | — | 998 | #185 |
| 1945 | — | — | 758 | #197 |
| 1944 | — | — | 837 | #186 |
| 1943 | 5 | #5,010 | 907 | #182 |
| 1942 | 5 | #4,978 | 878 | #179 |
| 1941 | — | — | 864 | #178 |
| 1940 | — | — | 855 | #174 |
| 1939 | — | — | 866 | #171 |
| 1938 | — | — | 985 | #162 |
| 1937 | — | — | 907 | #162 |
| 1936 | 5 | #4,533 | 830 | #166 |
| 1935 | — | — | 812 | #171 |
| 1934 | 6 | #4,055 | 689 | #186 |
| 1933 | 5 | #4,541 | 681 | #181 |
| 1932 | — | — | 670 | #193 |
| 1931 | 7 | #3,680 | 635 | #204 |
| 1930 | 7 | #3,860 | 648 | #206 |
| 1929 | 7 | #3,867 | 637 | #207 |
| 1928 | 8 | #3,601 | 599 | #219 |
| 1927 | 8 | #3,719 | 630 | #211 |
| 1926 | — | — | 595 | #226 |
| 1925 | 7 | #4,220 | 589 | #225 |
| 1924 | 5 | #5,468 | 584 | #233 |
| 1923 | — | — | 565 | #235 |
| 1922 | — | — | 527 | #246 |
| 1921 | — | — | 573 | #233 |
| 1920 | — | — | 502 | #245 |
| 1919 | 7 | #4,045 | 515 | #234 |
| 1918 | — | — | 600 | #209 |
| 1917 | — | — | 673 | #181 |
| 1916 | 8 | #3,410 | 685 | #176 |
| 1915 | 6 | #4,012 | 715 | #160 |
| 1914 | — | — | 548 | #161 |
| 1913 | — | — | 387 | #177 |
| 1912 | — | — | 323 | #182 |
| 1911 | — | — | 156 | #195 |
| 1910 | — | — | 92 | #252 |
| 1909 | — | — | 102 | #211 |
| 1908 | — | — | 97 | #210 |
| 1907 | — | — | 89 | #214 |
| 1906 | — | — | 108 | #169 |
| 1905 | — | — | 65 | #243 |
| 1904 | — | — | 67 | #230 |
| 1903 | — | — | 70 | #213 |
| 1902 | — | — | 65 | #223 |
| 1901 | — | — | 54 | #235 |
| 1900 | — | — | 75 | #231 |
| 1899 | — | — | 49 | #239 |
| 1898 | — | — | 53 | #241 |
| 1897 | — | — | 57 | #233 |
| 1896 | — | — | 60 | #234 |
| 1895 | — | — | 67 | #211 |
| 1894 | — | — | 73 | #201 |
| 1893 | — | — | 63 | #216 |
| 1892 | — | — | 59 | #231 |
| 1891 | — | — | 61 | #203 |
| 1890 | — | — | 47 | #248 |
| 1889 | — | — | 50 | #229 |
| 1888 | — | — | 71 | #207 |
| 1887 | — | — | 49 | #224 |
| 1886 | — | — | 48 | #249 |
| 1885 | — | — | 44 | #249 |
| 1884 | — | — | 34 | #298 |
| 1883 | — | — | 33 | #287 |
| 1882 | — | — | 40 | #272 |
| 1881 | — | — | 29 | #299 |
| 1880 | — | — | 21 | #377 |
About the data: counts are Social Security card applications for US births, for names given to at least five babies of a sex in a year (SSA, names.zip, public domain). Ranks follow SSA’s own order: most births first, ties alphabetical. Files retrieved 2026-10-05 (checksum on our sources page).