Carl (name)


Carl is a North Germanic male name meaning "free man". The name originates in Old West Norse. It is the first name of many Kings of Sweden including Carl XVI Gustaf. It is popular in Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Norway, and Sweden, and was largely popularized in the United States by Scandinavian and Italian descendants. Karl is a Germanic spelling which is very popular in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, and Norway, and was also popularized by German-speaking descendants in the USA. Other variants include the Anglo-Saxon-Frankish variant Charles, popular in Australia, Philippines, Canada, France, New Zealand, the UK and the United States; Carlo, very popular in Italy and southern Switzerland; Carlos, popular in Spain, Portugal and Latin America; and Karol, a variant in Poland and Slovakia.

List of people named Carl

Royalty

There are several derivations of the surname Carl, most of them originating as "son of Carl":