Boys' name · peaked in 1963
Karl name popularity since 1925
92,480 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Karl (1.0% girls, 99.0% boys). Half of them were born in 1962 or earlier, so the typical Karl is about 64 years old in 2026. Karl peaked in 1963 as the #136 name for boys, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 92,480
- Named Karl, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #1,593 for boys in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 99.0% boys
- 889 girls · 91,591 boys
- Most popular in
- Wisconsin
- 1.80× its national share
Peak year is the year Karl made up the largest share of US boys, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Karl births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year by count was 1960. Measured as a share of all babies, Karl peaked in 1963.
- Steepest fall: Between 1995 and 2000, Karl's share of baby boys fell by 41%, from 1 in 3,180 to 1 in 5,370.
Shaded on the chart. This compares Karl's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Karl.
Decade by decade
Babies named Karl in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 30 | 3,050 | – |
| 1930s | 30 | 7,723 | #171 |
| 1940s | 16 | 9,724 | #197 |
| 1950s | 67 | 18,731 | #149 |
| 1960s | 225 | 21,179 | #154 |
| 1970s | 249 | 10,623 | #226 |
| 1980s | 251 | 9,371 | #242 |
| 1990s | 21 | 6,111 | #392 |
| 2000s | 0 | 2,800 | #752 |
| 2010s | 0 | 1,625 | #1,075 |
| 2020–25 | 0 | 654 | #1,593 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
39.0% of babies named Karl from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:
Where Karl is most popular
The index compares Karl's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Karl.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Wisconsin | 1.80× | 3,155 |
| District of Columbia | 1.73× | 712 |
| Michigan | 1.59× | 5,419 |
| Utah | 1.56× | 1,187 |
| Pennsylvania | 1.49× | 6,729 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Karl and were given to at least 1,000 boys from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Boys | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Karl (this page) | 91,591 | 1963 |
| Carl | 398,501 | 1915 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Karl's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Karl.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Karl (1963).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data