Names / Boy names
Carl
Current rank
#1,134
and easing
All-time peak
#22
in 1915
First recorded
1880
in U.S. data
Children named
508,000
since 1880
Popularity over time
Annual U.S. children given the name · Peak #22 in 1915 · Source: Social Security Administration
Meaning & background
Carl makes its debut in American naming records in 1880, where it reads as a boys' name. These days it lands below the top 1,000, so it still feels distinctive. Its strongest year was 1915, at #22 nationally. More than 508,000 children have been given the name overall.