Karl is a distinctive choice, ranked #1466 in 2025. Your child is likely to be the only Karl in their class.
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UK Rank 2025
#1466
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About the Name Karl
Karl has seen a notable decline in recent years, dropping 597 places in five years. It was most popular in 1996 at #110 — parents choosing it today are making a deliberately counter-trend decision. The name has been a consistent presence in UK records since 1996.
Karl is uncommon in the UK, so your child is very likely to be the only Karl in their class.
⭐ Famous People Named Karl
Lennart Karl — Lennart Karl is a German professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich and the Germany national team.
Karl Pilkington — Karl Pilkington is an English presenter, actor and author.
Karl von Habsburg — Karl von Habsburg is an Austrian politician and the head of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, the former royal house of the defunct Austro-Hungarian thrones.
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 Karl
Unlikely. With around 18 UK babies named Karl per year, your child will almost certainly be the only Karl in their class, and possibly the only one in the whole school.
Karl has been fairly steady, ranked #1,466 in 2025 against #1,492 in 2020. Its best recorded position was #110 in 1996.
Karl is a distinctive choice sitting outside the mainstream UK top names. Parents choosing less common names often find their children appreciate the individuality as they grow up, rarely needing to add an initial to distinguish themselves.
Notable people named Karl include: Lennart Karl, Karl Pilkington and Karl von Habsburg. Short summaries for each appear below.
Karl does not appear in the US top 1,000 baby names, making it a distinctively British choice — your child is unlikely to encounter American Karls in the wild.
18
UK babies named Karl (2025)
< 1
Expected classmates with this name (class of 28)
~0.0
In a school of 600
↑ 26 places
Rank change (last 5 years)
🏫 Who else is in the room?
In a typical UK class of 28, highlighted children share the name Karl
Almost certainly the only Karl in the class
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UK Popularity (1996–2025)
Rank and birth count · ONS official data
No US data available for this name
✨ Similar names to Karl
Names with a similar style — each with their own classroom story
Lennart Karl is a German professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich and the Germany national team.
Karl von Habsburg is an Austrian politician and the head of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, the former royal house of the defunct Austro-Hungarian thrones.
Karl Dönitz was a German naval officer and politician who, following the suicide of Adolf Hitler during the Second World War in April 1945, succeeded him as head of state of Germany during the Nazi era.