Carl
Carl was given to 187 boys in 2025, #1,134 among boys’ names; 508,017 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 221,000 Americans named Carl and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (44% of everyone recorded); the median is 63 years old and half are between 48 and 73.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Carl by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Carl mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Carl is “a male given name from the Germanic languages, equivalent to English Charles.”
From Germanic, cognate with English Charles.
From German and other north European Carl and Karl.
From Latin Carolus.
/kɑːl/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Carl?
#1,134 among boys’ names, 2025
Carl fell from #600 in 2015 to #1,134 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 0.24 to 0.11 per 1,000.
8,345 babies in 1956, the peak
Carl peaked in 1956, when 8,345 babies were given it (8,313 boys, #48 among boys’ names). The 187 births of 2025 are 2% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 187 | #1,134 | 0.11 |
| 2024 | 216 | #1,032 | 0.13 |
| 2023 | 233 | #964 | 0.14 |
| 2022 | 220 | #1,013 | 0.13 |
| 2021 | 246 | #922 | 0.14 |
| 2020 | 286 | #813 | 0.17 |
| 2019 | 319 | #748 | 0.18 |
| 2018 | 345 | #701 | 0.19 |
| 2017 | 415 | #628 | 0.22 |
| 2016 | 445 | #605 | 0.23 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 457 | #600 | 0.24 |
| 2014 | 436 | #613 | 0.23 |
| 2013 | 446 | #579 | 0.24 |
| 2012 | 487 | #537 | 0.26 |
| 2011 | 426 | #589 | 0.22 |
| 2010 | 449 | #563 | 0.23 |
| 2009 | 519 | #521 | 0.26 |
| 2008 | 559 | #491 | 0.27 |
| 2007 | 628 | #445 | 0.30 |
| 2006 | 658 | #427 | 0.32 |
| 2005 | 653 | #415 | 0.33 |
| 2004 | 752 | #369 | 0.38 |
| 2003 | 775 | #354 | 0.39 |
| 2002 | 784 | #349 | 0.40 |
| 2001 | 882 | #318 | 0.45 |
| 2000 | 988 | #304 | 0.50 |
| 1999 | 996 | #290 | 0.52 |
| 1998 | 1,147 | #260 | 0.60 |
| 1997 | 1,093 | #260 | 0.58 |
| 1996 | 1,184 | #250 | 0.63 |
| 1995 | 1,380 | #213 | 0.72 |
| 1994 | 1,415 | #204 | 0.73 |
| 1993 | 1,585 | #193 | 0.81 |
| 1992 | 1,782 | #181 | 0.89 |
| 1991 | 1,922 | #168 | 1.0 |
| 1990 | 2,189 | #145 | 1.1 |
| 1989 | 2,259 | #135 | 1.1 |
| 1988 | 2,318 | #126 | 1.2 |
| 1987 | 2,223 | #126 | 1.2 |
| 1986 | 2,444 | #114 | 1.3 |
| 1985 | 2,526 | #112 | 1.4 |
| 1984 | 2,567 | #108 | 1.4 |
| 1983 | 2,605 | #106 | 1.5 |
| 1982 | 2,802 | #104 | 1.5 |
| 1981 | 2,793 | #106 | 1.6 |
| 1980 | 2,935 | #103 | 1.6 |
| 1979 | 2,898 | #100 | 1.7 |
| 1978 | 2,606 | #100 | 1.6 |
| 1977 | 2,615 | #99 | 1.6 |
| 1976 | 2,670 | #95 | 1.7 |
| 1975 | 2,810 | #91 | 1.8 |
| 1974 | 2,895 | #89 | 1.8 |
| 1973 | 3,013 | #90 | 1.9 |
| 1972 | 3,406 | #85 | 2.1 |
| 1971 | 4,055 | #72 | 2.3 |
| 1970 | 4,402 | #66 | 2.4 |
| 1969 | 4,522 | #62 | 2.5 |
| 1968 | 4,645 | #59 | 2.7 |
| 1967 | 4,890 | #57 | 2.8 |
| 1966 | 5,227 | #56 | 2.9 |
| 1965 | 5,797 | #54 | 3.1 |
| 1964 | 6,661 | #55 | 3.3 |
| 1963 | 7,128 | #54 | 3.5 |
| 1962 | 6,854 | #58 | 3.3 |
| 1961 | 7,255 | #56 | 3.4 |
| 1960 | 7,808 | #53 | 3.7 |
| 1959 | 7,501 | #54 | 3.5 |
| 1958 | 7,734 | #51 | 3.6 |
| 1957 | 8,192 | #49 | 3.8 |
| 1956 | 8,313 | #48 | 3.9 |
| 1955 | 8,294 | #47 | 4.0 |
| 1954 | 8,137 | #47 | 4.0 |
| 1953 | 7,829 | #44 | 4.0 |
| 1952 | 7,823 | #45 | 4.0 |
| 1951 | 7,641 | #43 | 4.1 |
| 1950 | 7,288 | #44 | 4.1 |
| 1949 | 7,689 | #43 | 4.3 |
| 1948 | 7,829 | #42 | 4.5 |
| 1947 | 8,050 | #40 | 4.4 |
| 1946 | 7,380 | #39 | 4.5 |
| 1945 | 6,314 | #39 | 4.7 |
| 1944 | 6,825 | #36 | 5.0 |
| 1943 | 7,472 | #33 | 5.2 |
| 1942 | 7,268 | #36 | 5.3 |
| 1941 | 7,160 | #29 | 5.8 |
| 1940 | 6,752 | #32 | 5.8 |
| 1939 | 6,593 | #30 | 6.0 |
| 1938 | 6,849 | #29 | 6.2 |
| 1937 | 6,914 | #28 | 6.5 |
| 1936 | 6,591 | #27 | 6.4 |
| 1935 | 6,693 | #28 | 6.4 |
| 1934 | 6,683 | #28 | 6.5 |
| 1933 | 6,188 | #28 | 6.2 |
| 1932 | 6,714 | #28 | 6.4 |
| 1931 | 6,583 | #28 | 6.3 |
| 1930 | 6,951 | #26 | 6.3 |
| 1929 | 6,895 | #28 | 6.4 |
| 1928 | 6,946 | #28 | 6.3 |
| 1927 | 7,277 | #26 | 6.5 |
| 1926 | 6,939 | #26 | 6.2 |
| 1925 | 7,061 | #28 | 6.3 |
| 1924 | 7,085 | #27 | 6.3 |
| 1923 | 6,871 | #28 | 6.3 |
| 1922 | 6,690 | #30 | 6.1 |
| 1921 | 7,077 | #30 | 6.4 |
| 1920 | 7,010 | #27 | 6.6 |
| 1919 | 6,474 | #29 | 6.6 |
| 1918 | 7,004 | #25 | 6.9 |
| 1917 | 6,699 | #24 | 7.2 |
| 1916 | 6,785 | #23 | 7.6 |
| 1915 | 6,613 | #22 | 7.8 |
| 1914 | 4,807 | #24 | 7.3 |
| 1913 | 3,935 | #23 | 7.7 |
| 1912 | 3,224 | #24 | 7.5 |
| 1911 | 1,574 | #26 | 7.0 |
| 1910 | 1,339 | #26 | 6.9 |
| 1909 | 1,215 | #25 | 7.4 |
| 1908 | 1,074 | #29 | 7.0 |
| 1907 | 1,018 | #27 | 6.9 |
| 1906 | 951 | #27 | 7.1 |
| 1905 | 959 | #26 | 7.2 |
| 1904 | 953 | #25 | 7.4 |
| 1903 | 910 | #23 | 7.6 |
| 1902 | 952 | #24 | 7.8 |
| 1901 | 817 | #24 | 7.7 |
| 1900 | 1,016 | #29 | 6.8 |
| 1899 | 774 | #25 | 7.3 |
| 1898 | 919 | #24 | 7.5 |
| 1897 | 828 | #25 | 7.3 |
| 1896 | 852 | #25 | 7.1 |
| 1895 | 851 | #22 | 7.2 |
| 1894 | 861 | #22 | 7.4 |
| 1893 | 786 | #24 | 7.0 |
| 1892 | 808 | #25 | 6.6 |
| 1891 | 675 | #24 | 6.7 |
| 1890 | 693 | #27 | 6.2 |
| 1889 | 704 | #27 | 6.4 |
| 1888 | 675 | #29 | 5.6 |
| 1887 | 588 | #28 | 5.8 |
| 1886 | 556 | #32 | 5.0 |
| 1885 | 494 | #34 | 4.6 |
| 1884 | 521 | #36 | 4.6 |
| 1883 | 480 | #32 | 4.6 |
| 1882 | 478 | #35 | 4.2 |
| 1881 | 359 | #41 | 3.6 |
| 1880 | 372 | #42 | 3.4 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Carl a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Carl has been given almost only to boys: 3,190 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Carl: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Carl, and how old are they?
221,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 44% of the 508,017 Americans ever recorded as Carl. The median Carl alive today is 63 years old; half are between 48 and 73.
The 2020 Census counted 243,430 people named Carl (668 women and girls, 242,762 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 256,301 born in the U.S. The Census count is 5% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 24,000 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 96,100 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 52,400 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 32,500 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 11,600 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 4,220 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Carl born?
The states with the most babies named Carl are Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio, with 21% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 35,879 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| New York | 34,146 | #1,225 | 0.8× |
| Ohio | 32,767 | #719 | 1.3× |
| Illinois | 27,749 | #879 | 1.1× |
| Texas | 23,761 | #1,356 | 0.8× |
| California | 23,144 | #1,456 | 0.7× |
| Michigan | 21,854 | #843 | 1.1× |
| Missouri | 16,135 | #802 | 1.3× |
| North Carolina | 15,101 | #952 | 1.0× |
| Indiana | 14,836 | #719 | 1.2× |
Where Carl is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Carl is most over-represented in West Virginia: since 1910 it was given 1.5 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Carl with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 5 names spelled alike, given to 620,719 babies since 1880, Carl is the most given (82% of them). In 2025 it was given to 187 of their 294 babies (64%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Carl
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Carl and names like it
- Compare Carl and KarlBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1950sCarl peaked in 1956.
- Pennsylvania’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Carl since 1910.
- Germanic namesWiktionary’s origin for Carl: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1956The year the most babies were named Carl.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Carl alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with CMost given first.