Karla
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from the Germanic languages, masculine equivalent Karl. By surface analysis, Karl + -a.
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Karla (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Karla has been fairly steady over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2014. 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 | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1998 | – |
| 1999 | – |
| 2000 | – |
| 2001 | 10 |
| 2002 | – |
| 2003 | – |
| 2004 | 7 |
| 2005 | 13 |
| 2006 | 11 |
| 2007 | 10 |
| 2008 | 11 |
| 2009 | 12 |
| 2010 | 4 |
| 2011 | 11 |
| 2012 | 17 |
| 2013 | 14 |
| 2014 | 23 |
| 2015 | 20 |
| 2016 | 13 |
| 2017 | 14 |
| 2018 | 22 |
| 2019 | 14 |
| 2020 | 14 |
| 2021 | 22 |
| 2022 | 20 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 844 |
| 2000 | 812 |
| 2001 | 786 |
| 2002 | 758 |
| 2003 | 727 |
| 2004 | 694 |
| 2005 | 672 |
| 2006 | 651 |
| 2007 | 638 |
| 2008 | 617 |
| 2009 | 609 |
| 2010 | 591 |
| 2011 | 595 |
| 2012 | 600 |
| 2013 | 592 |
| 2014 | 607 |
| 2015 | 608 |
| 2016 | 615 |
| 2017 | 621 |
| 2018 | 631 |
| 2019 | 631 |
| 2020 | 640 |
Karla in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Karla.Hi! My name is Karla.
- Har du träffat Karla? Hon började jobba här i måndags.Have you met Karla? She started working here on Monday.
- Karla har bott i Uppsala i tre år.Karla has lived in Uppsala for three years.
- Karlas mamma är lärare.Karla's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Karlas mamma is Karla's mum.
More names
Questions about Karla
How do you pronounce Karla in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Karla in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Karla mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from the Germanic languages, masculine equivalent Karl. By surface analysis, Karl + -a.
How popular is Karla in Sweden?
20 babies were named Karla in 2022. In 2020, 640 people in Sweden had Karla as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been fairly steady lately and peaked in 2014 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.