Karl

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4.48

(25 votes)

Male Name

Usage

Old Norse
Old Swedish
Old Danish
Danish
Swedish
Norwegian
Faroese
Icelandic
Finnish
Greenlandic

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Origin and Meaning

1) Germanic name, short form of Háriolus

2) Later often misinterpreted and believed to be related to Old Norse karl = 'free man'

Related Names

Kal	♂
Kall	♂
Carl	♂
Carll	♂
Charl	♂
Karl	♂
Karlh	♂

See also:
Variant forms:

• Carlo (Italian)
• Carlos (Spanish)
• Carolus (Latinised)
• Charles (French, English)
• Kaarel (Estonian)
• Kârale (Greenlandic)
• Karel (Norwegian, Dutch, Slavic)
• Karelius (Latin)
• Kárral (Sami)
• Mies (Finnish)

Pet forms:

• Kake
• Kalle
• Kapu
• Kari
• Karli
• *Karl-si
• KarlungR
• Kassu

Female forms:

• Karella
• Karla
• Karlovna

Patronyms [What's That?]

Male

Karlinpoika
Karlsen
Karlsén
Karlson
Karlssen
Karlsson
Karlssøn
Karlßøn (17th century)
Karlsøn
Karlzén

Female

Karldatter
Karlintytär
Karlsdatter
Karlsdotter
Karlsdóttir

Combinations

For combinations see KARL (name element)

Grammar

- Danish
Nominative:	Karl
Genitive:	Karls

- Faroese
Nominative:	Karl
Accusative:	Karl
Dative:	Karli
Genitive:	Karls

- Finnish
Nominative:	Karl
Genitive:	Karlin
Partitive:	Karlia

- Icelandic
Nominative:	Karl
Accusative:	Karl
Dative:	Karli
Genitive:	Karls

- Norwegian
Nominative:	Karl
Genitive:	Karls

- Swedish
Nominative:	Karl
Genitive:	Karls

Name Days

Denmark

28 January

Faroe Islands

28 January

Norway

28 January

Finland (Swedish Language)

28 January

Sweden

28 January

Further Information

• In old sources, Karl can be difficult to distinguish from KalfR
• Iceland: Officially approved as a given name
• Faroe Islands: Officially approved as a given name

Pronunciation

• Swedish: [ˌkɑːɹl]

Earliest Documented Usage

• Denmark: A name mentioned in Danmarks gamle Folkeviser

Strongest Period of Usage

• Sweden:
  • 1865-1929
  • 1910-1929
• Norway:
  • 1900-1905

Predominant Regional Usage

• Norway:
  • Austlandet (Middle Ages)
• Denmark:
  • Mid-Jylland (2018)
• Sweden:
  • Svealand (except Dalarna) (19th century) see map
  • Northern Götaland (19th century) see map
  • Norrbotten (19th century) see map
  • Västerbotten (19th century) see map
  • Gotland (20th century)
  • Östsverige (20th century)

Namesakes

• Denmark:
  • Karl Adolph Gjellerup, 2 June 1857 – 13 October 1919), Danish poet and novelist, Nobel laureate (Literature, 1917)
• Sweden:
  • Karl Albert Staaff (21 January 1860 - 4 October 1915), Prime Minister of Sweden (1905-1906; 1911-1914)
• Finland:
  • Karl-August Fagerholm (31 December 1901 – 22 May 1984), Finnish politician and prime minister of Finland (1948–1950, 1956–1957 and 1958–1959)

Trivia

• Sweden: In January 1973, 321,408 people were named Karl (percentage of first or only given name: 93 %)

Statistics

Name Count per Country (What's this?)

Please turn your device to landscape orientation for better view of statistics tables and graphs.

Country	Commonness Commonness	Total		Female ♀		Male ♂
		as main name#	also middle name&	as main name#	also middle name&	as main name#	also middle name&
Sweden		36694	200798	5	22	36689	200776
Finland		n.a.	25721	0	0	n.a.	25721
Denmark		8284	n.a.	1	n.a.	8283	n.a.
Iceland		823	1811	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.
Greenland		666	2106	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.
Norway		8168	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	8168	n.a.
#: count of main first name only
&: count of both main and additional first names
Name counts are approximate as statistics normally is not published for names given to less than 3 or 5 persons per country.

 

Recent Statistics Trend

Sources:

Top List Ranking

Sources:

Norwegian Historic Statistics Trend

Swedish Regional Distribution

Regional distribution of Karl (m) in Sweden in the year 1880.