How Many People Are Named Karl?
An estimated 69,799 people in the United States have the first name Karl. It is predominantly male (99.1%). The average bearer is 56 years old, and Karl peaked in popularity in 1960 with 2,614 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Karl as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Karl paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Karl is overwhelmingly male, 915 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- Karl has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1960s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
69,799
About 1 in 4,911 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Male
99.1% confidence
Average Age
56
years old
Peak Year
1960
2,614 births
Total Registered
101,648
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Karl
Karl is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 101,648 total births registered, 99.1% were male.
Karl as a male name
Ranked #1,688 in 2024
99 male births in 2024
Peak: 1960 (2,594 births)
Karl as a female name
Ranked #9,091 in 1993
9 female births in 1993
Peak: 1969 (37 births)
Karl: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Karl span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1960s, when 21,408 babies were registered. Karl has declined significantly from its peak in the 1960s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Karl by Decade
How has Karl tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 419 | 419 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 589 | 589 | 0 | |
| 1900s | 792 | 792 | 0 | |
| 1910s | 4,715 | 4,694 | 21 | |
| 1920s | 5,836 | 5,801 | 35 | |
| 1930s | 7,753 | 7,723 | 30 | |
| 1940s | 9,740 | 9,724 | 16 | |
| 1950s | 18,798 | 18,731 | 67 | |
| 1960s | 21,408 | 21,183 | 225 | |
| 1970s | 10,877 | 10,628 | 249 | |
| 1980s | 9,621 | 9,370 | 251 | |
| 1990s | 6,131 | 6,110 | 21 | |
| 2000s | 2,799 | 2,799 | 0 | |
| 2010s | 1,623 | 1,623 | 0 | |
| 2020s | 547 | 547 | 0 | |
Karl by State
Birth registrations for Karl span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, California, Pennsylvania. The lowest are in Wyoming, Nevada, Vermont. On average, about 1,860 Karls were registered per state.
Karl + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Karl as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Karl
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
Karl: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Karl?
We estimate approximately 69,799 people named Karl are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 4,911 Americans share this first name.
Is Karl a common name?
Karl is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 99.3% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 101,648 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Karl most popular?
Karl reached peak popularity in 1960, when 2,614 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Karl is approximately 56 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Karl a male name?
Karl is predominantly male. 99.1% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Karl Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Karl Smith, Karl Johnson, Karl Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
Search for a full name combination
How Many of Me