Carl (name)

For persons with similar names, see Karl (given name) and Charles.

Carl

Pronunciation	Urban East Norwegian: [kɑːl] Swedish: [kɑːɭ]
Gender	Male
Origin
Word/name	Old Norse
Meaning	"Free man"
Other names
Related names	Karl, Charles, Carlo, Carlos, Carolus, Carol

Carl is a North Germanic masculine name meaning "free man". The name originates in Old Norse. It is the first name of many Kings of Sweden including Carl XVI Gustaf. It is a variant of the English Charles, and the Latin Carolus.

List of people named Carl

Royalty and nobility

• Carl Bernadotte (1911–2003), Swedish prince
• Carl Johan Bernadotte (1916–2012), Swedish prince
• Carl XVI Gustaf (born 1946), King of Sweden 1973 to present
• Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland (born 1979), Prince of Sweden
• Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland (1861–1951), Swedish prince

Most other Swedish and Norwegian royalty so named – see Carl of Sweden – are listed on English Wikipedia as Charles.

• Carl, Duke of Württemberg (1936–2022), head of the House of Württemberg from 1975 to 2022

As a given name

• Carl Adams (wrestler) (born 1950), American wrestler, coach and businessman
• Carl Anderson (singer) (1945–2004), American singer and actor
• Carl Asercion (1909–1990), American steel guitar player
• Carl Ballantine (1917–2009), American actor
• Carl Banks (born 1962), American football player
• Carl Barât (born 1978), British musician
• Carl Barber (born 1956), Canadian Haskap berry grower
• Carl Barks (1901–2000), American cartoonist, author, and painter
• Carl Bengtström (born 2000), Swedish athlete
• Carl Benner, American electrical engineer
• Carl Berman (born 1985), American football player
• Carl Bildt (born 1949), Swedish politician and diplomat
• Carl L. Boeckmann (1867–1923), Norwegian-Ameican artist
• Carl Bradford (born 1992), American football player
• Carl "Charlie" Brandt (1957–2004), American serial killer
• Carl Brashear (1931–2006), U.S. Navy master diver
• Carl Braun (basketball) (1927–2010), American basketball player
• Carl Byrum (born 1963), American football player
• Carl Caldenius (1887–1961), Swedish geologist
• Carl Carlton (born 1953), American singer-songwriter
• Carl Clark (1933–2015), American photographer
• Carl Cohen (businessman) (1913–1986), American gambling executive and Las Vegas casino manager
• Carl Cohen (philosopher) (1931–2023), professor of philosophy at the University of Michigan, philosopher, and animal rights activist
• Carl Colpaert, American film director
• Carl Crawford (born 1981), American baseball player
• Carl Czerny (1791–1857), Austrian pianist
• Carl Davis (American football) (born 1992), American football player
• Carl Decaluwé (born 1960), Belgian politician
• Carl Dobkins Jr. (1941–2020), American singer and songwriter
• Carl Douglas (born 1942), Jamaican musician who wrote the disco song "Kung Fu Fighting"
• Carl E. Douglas (born 1955), American lawyer and member of the defense team during O.J. Simpson's murder trial
• Carl Earn (1921–2007), American tennis player
• Carl Edwards (born 1979), American NASCAR driver
• Carl Edwards Jr. (born 1991), American baseball player
• Carl Eller (born 1942), American football player
• Carl Erskine (1926–2024), American baseball pitcher
• Carl Etelman (1900–1963), American football back and coach
• Carl G. Fisher (1874–1939), American entrepreneur
• Carl Fodor (born 1963), American football player
• Carl Fogarty (born 1965), English motorcycle racer
• Carl Froch (born 1977), British boxer
• Carl Garrigus (1931–1975), American football player
• Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777–1855), German mathematician, astronomer, geodesist, and physicist
• Carl Giammerese (born 1947), guitar player for American pop group The Buckinghams
• Carl Granderson (born 1996), American football player
• Carl Grubert (1911–1979), American cartoonist
• Carl Gunnarsson (born 1986), Swedish ice hockey player
• Carl August Hagberg (1810–1864), Swedish linguist
• Carl Hubbell (1903–1988), American baseball player
• Carl Hunter (born 1965), bassist in The Farm
• Carl Icahn (born 1936), American businessman
• Carl von In der Maur (1852–1913), Austrian aristocrat and Liechtenstein government official
• Carl Jenkinson (born 1992), English footballer
• Carl Johan Ståhlberg (1865–1952), Finnish jurist and the First President of the Republic of Finland
• Carl Jung (1875–1961), Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist, founder of analytical psychology
• Carl Kaiser (1927–2010), Canadian ice hockey player
• Carl Karcher (1917–2008), American businessman, founder of the Carl's Jr. fast food restaurant chain
• Carl Kasell (1934–2018), American radio personality
• Carl Kline (psychiatrist) (1915–2005), Canadian psychiatrist and researcher
• Carl Laemmle (1867–1939), founder of Universal Pictures
• Carl Laemmle Jr. (1908–1979), producer and businessman
• Carl Landry (born 1983), American basketball player
• Carl Lawson (American football) (born 1994), American football player
• Carl Lewis (born 1961), American track and field athlete
• Carl Limberger (born 1964), Australian tennis player
• Carl Lindner Jr. (1919–2011), American businessman
• Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778), Swedish biologist and physician
• Carl J. Luksic (1921–2009), American flying ace during World War II
• Carl Lutz (1895–1975), Swiss vice-consul to Hungary during WWII, credited with saving over 62,000 Jews
• Carl Mann (1942–2020), American rockabilly singer
• Carl Menger (1840–1921), Austrian economist
• Carl Nicks (American football) (born 1985), American football player
• Carl Oliver (born 1969), Bahamian sprinter and Olympic medallist
• Carl Ona-Embo (born 1989), Congolese basketball player
• Carl Orff (1895–1982) German composer
• Charles "Carl" Panzram (1891–1930), American serial killer
• Carl Perkins (1932–1998), American singer-songwriter
• Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714–1788), German composer and musician
• Carl Posy, Israeli philosopher
• Carl Pursell (1932–2009), American politician
• Carl Reiner (1922–2020), American actor, comedian, and director
• Carl Glennis Roberts (1886–1950), American surgeon, civil rights activist
• Carl Robie (1945–2011), American swimmer
• Carl Robinson (born 1976), Welsh footballer
• Carl Rogers (1902–1987), American psychologist and psychotherapist
• Carl Hancock Rux, American poet, playwright, writer, singer
• Carl Sagan (1934–1996), American astronomer, cosmologist, astrophysicist
• Carl Sandburg (1878–1967), American poet, writer, editor
• Carl Sargeant (1968–2017), Welsh politician
• Carl Schueler (born 1956), American race walker
• Carl L. Sitter (1922–2000), U.S. Marine Corps officer
• Carl Smith (musician) (1927–2010), American country music singer
• Carl Söderberg (born 1985), Swedish ice hockey player
• Carl Starfelt (born 1995), Swedish footballer
• Carl Stockdale (1874–1953), American actor
• Carl Heinrich Stratz (1858–1924), German-Russian gynecologist
• Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer (1927–1959), American actor and singer, best known as "Alfalfa" from the Our Gang (Little Rascals) comedy shorts
• Carl Olof Tallgren (1927–2024), Finnish politician and businessman
• Carl Thomas (singer) (born 1972), American R&B singer
• Carl Valeri (born 1984), Australian association football player
• Carl Van Doren (1885–1950), American critic
• Carl Maria von Weber (1786–1826), German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist
• Carl Weathers (1948–2024), American actor and football player
• Carl "Charles" Webb, formerly unidentified man known as "Somerton Man"
• Carl Wieland (born 1950), Australian creationist
• Carl Wilson (1946–1998), American musician and lead guitar player for The Beach Boys
• Carl Wittrock (born 1966), Dutch composer and conductor
• Carl Voss-Schrader (1880–1955), Finnish colonel, business director, lawyer and interior minister
• Carl Yastrzemski (born 1939), American baseball player
• Carl Zeiss (1816–1888), German scientific instrument maker, optician and businessman

As a family name

• Christian Thomsen Carl (1676–1713), Danish navy officer. Middle name also given as Thomasen, Thomesen, or Thomasen.
• Howie Carl (1938–2005), American basketball player
• Max Carl (born 1950), American songwriter

As a stage name

• Carl Carl, stage name of Karl Andreas Bernbrunn (1787–1854), Polish-born actor and theatre director
• Margarethe Carl, stage name of Margarethe Bernbrunn (1788–1861), German soprano and actress
• Carl Wayne, stage name of Colin David Tooley (1943–2004), British singer and musician best known as a member of the Move

Fictional characters

• Carl, a character from the Supercell game Brawl Stars
• Carl, a character from Family Guy
• Carl, a raccoon in Carl The Collector
• Carl, a character in the web series Llamas with Hats
• Carl, a character from Disney's 2007 film Meet the Robinsons
• Carl, a character from Waltzes from Vienna
• Carl Alphonse, a characer from the 1995 film Billy Madison
• Carl Bentley, a character from the 1995 film Jumanji
• Carl Brutananadilewski, a character from Aqua Teen Hunger Force
• Carl Carlson, a character from The Simpsons
• Carl Casagrande, a character from The Casagrandes
• Carl Chryniszzswics, a character from Johnny Bravo
• Carl Clover, a playable character in the Blazblue fighting game series
• Carl Conrad Coreander, a character in The Neverending Story
• Carl "Crusher" Creel alter ego of supervillain Absorbing Man
• Carl Denham, a character from the 1933 film King Kong and its 2005 remake
• Carl Elias, a recurring antagonist from the science fiction drama Person of Interest
• Carl Fredricksen, a character from Disney-Pixar's 2009 film Up
• Carl Gallagher, a character in the TV series Shameless
• Carl Gould, a minor character in the Arthur television show
• Carl Grimes, a notoriously elusive character from the comic/TV series The Walking Dead
• Carl Hamilton, a Swedish secret agent of novels by Jan Guillou
• Carl Hanratty, FBI agent in the 2002 film Catch Me If You Can
• Carl Johnson, a character in the Grand Theft Auto video game series
• Carl Kolchak, a character from Kolchak: The Night Stalker
• Carl Rader, a character from the 1940 film Santa Fe Trail
• Carl Saxe, a character from the 1947 film Unconquered
• Carl Spackler, a character from the 1980 film Caddyshack
• Carl Stephans, a character from 711 Ocean Drive
• Carl the Grim Rabbit, a character from Looney Tunes
• Carl Wheezer, a character from The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius
• Carl Winslow, a character from the TV series Family Matters

Derived surnames

There are several derivations of the surname Carl, most of them originating as "son of Carl":

• Carlsen
• Carlson
• Carlsson
• Carlton
• Karlsen
• Karlson
• Karlsson
• Karl (surname)

See also

• All pages with titles beginning with Carl
• All pages with titles containing Carl
• Cari (name)
• Carle, surnames
• Carle (given name)
• Carli (given name)
• Carlo (name)
• Carla
• Carol (given name)
• Caroline (name)
• Carly
• Charl (name)
• Karl (given name)
• Karla (name)