Carl is a distinctive choice, ranked #1798 in 2025. Your child is likely to be the only Carl in their class.
💎
UK Rank 2025
#1798
US Rank #961
Ad
About the Name Carl
Carl has seen a notable decline in recent years, dropping 1153 places in five years. It was most popular in 1996 at #116 — parents choosing it today are making a deliberately counter-trend decision. The name has been a consistent presence in UK records since 1996.
Carl is uncommon in the UK, so your child is very likely to be the only Carl in their class.
In the US it ranks even higher at #961, where it enjoys a particularly strong following.
⭐ Famous People Named Carl
Carl Palmer — Carl Frederick Kendall Palmer is an English drummer.
Carl XVI Gustaf — Carl XVI Gustaf is King of Sweden, reigning since 1973.
Carl Schmitt — Carl Schmitt was a German jurist and political theorist.
Biographical summaries are shortened from Wikipedia and are used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence; those summaries remain available under that same licence.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about the name Carl
Unlikely. With around 14 UK babies named Carl per year, your child will almost certainly be the only Carl in their class, and possibly the only one in the whole school.
Carl is declining: down 687 places since 2020, to #1,798 in 2025. It peaked at #116 in 1996.
Carl is more popular in the US (#961) than in the UK (#2264). Names with strong rankings in both countries tend to have broad cross-cultural appeal, working well for international families or those with ties to both nations.
Notable people named Carl include: Carl Palmer, Carl XVI Gustaf and Carl Linnaeus. Short summaries for each appear below.
Carl does not appear in the US top 1,000 baby names, making it a distinctively British choice — your child is unlikely to encounter American Carls in the wild.
14
UK babies named Carl (2025)
< 1
Expected classmates with this name (class of 28)
~0.0
In a school of 600
↓ 687 places
Rank change (last 5 years)
🏫 Who else is in the room?
In a typical UK class of 28, highlighted children share the name Carl
Almost certainly the only Carl in the class
Ad
UK Popularity (1996–2025)
Rank and birth count · ONS official data
US Popularity (2020–2023)
Rank · SSA official data
✨ Similar names to Carl
Names with a similar style — each with their own classroom story
Carl Linnaeus, also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné, was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming organisms.
Carl Philipp Gottlieb von Clausewitz ( KLOW-zə-vits; German: [ˈkaʁl fɔn ˈklaʊzəvɪts] ; born Carl Philipp Gottlieb Clauswitz; 1 July 1780 – 16 November 1831) was a Prussian army officer and military theorist who stressed the "moral" (in modern terms meaning psychological) and political aspects of waging war.
Carl Nebel was a German engineer, architect and draughtsman, best known for his detailed paintings and lithographic prints made from them of the Mexican landscape and people during the battles of the Mexican–American War.