Karl
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Old Norse. From Old Norse Karl, from karl (“free man”), originally a nickname. Popularized by the fame of Charlemagne (Karl in Swedish), from the same Proto-Germanic source.
Source: Wiktionary, Swedish entry for Karl (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Karl has been fairly steady over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 1998. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1998 | 244 |
| 1999 | 207 |
| 2000 | 211 |
| 2001 | 210 |
| 2002 | 213 |
| 2003 | 232 |
| 2004 | 223 |
| 2005 | 200 |
| 2006 | 156 |
| 2007 | 164 |
| 2008 | 167 |
| 2009 | 148 |
| 2010 | 116 |
| 2011 | 118 |
| 2012 | 114 |
| 2013 | 102 |
| 2014 | 105 |
| 2015 | 102 |
| 2016 | 98 |
| 2017 | 94 |
| 2018 | 74 |
| 2019 | 78 |
| 2020 | 74 |
| 2021 | 80 |
| 2022 | 74 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Men and boys |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 98,366 |
| 2000 | 92,993 |
| 2001 | 87,979 |
| 2002 | 83,004 |
| 2003 | 78,287 |
| 2004 | 73,723 |
| 2005 | 69,657 |
| 2006 | 65,794 |
| 2007 | 62,979 |
| 2008 | 60,498 |
| 2009 | 58,097 |
| 2010 | 55,714 |
| 2011 | 53,460 |
| 2012 | 51,298 |
| 2013 | 49,215 |
| 2014 | 47,360 |
| 2015 | 45,459 |
| 2016 | 43,672 |
| 2017 | 41,847 |
| 2018 | 40,108 |
| 2019 | 38,480 |
| 2020 | 36,689 |
Karl in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Karl.Hi! My name is Karl.
- Karl bor i Umeå och jobbar som snickare.Karl lives in Umeå and works as a carpenter.
- Karl har bott i Uppsala i tre år.Karl has lived in Uppsala for three years.
- Karls mamma är lärare.Karl's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Karls mamma is Karl's mum.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Karl
How do you pronounce Karl in Swedish?
In IPA, Karl is /kɑːrl/. Press Listen at the top of the page to hear it in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Karl mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Old Norse. From Old Norse Karl, from karl (“free man”), originally a nickname. Popularized by the fame of Charlemagne (Karl in Swedish), from the same Proto-Germanic source.
How popular is Karl in Sweden?
74 babies were named Karl in 2022. In 2020, 36,689 people in Sweden had Karl as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been fairly steady lately and peaked in 1998 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.