How common is the surname Carl?

11,689 people in the United States had the surname Carl in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 26,413 Americans. It ranked 3,071st of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Carl?

Renée Carl, actress (1875-1954), followed by Katharine Augusta Carl.

Where is the surname Carl most common?

Wikidata records people named Carl in the United States, France and Austria.

Is the surname Carl getting more or less common?

Less common. 12,060 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 11,689 in 2010, down 3.1%.

Is Carl also a first name?

Yes. Carl is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Carl

A surname, carried by 11,689 people in the United States.

1 syllable Soundex C640 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Carl is more common than 98.1% of them.

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 11,689 people named Carl in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 26,413 Americans. That is down 3.1% since 2000, when the Census counted 12,060.

#3,071

rank among US surnames

11,689

people in 2010

4.0

per 100,000 Americans

-3.1%

change since 2000 (was #2,746)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#3,062	Marx	11,716	26,352
#3,063	Sommers	11,706	26,375
#3,064	Kolb	11,705	26,377
#3,065	Morrell	11,700	26,389
#3,066	Havens	11,699	26,391
#3,067	Brice	11,697	26,395
#3,068	Finnegan	11,695	26,400

Who is named Carl

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

88% of people named Carl identified as white (not Hispanic), 4.0% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.8% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 88%
Black (not Hispanic) 4.0%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.8%
American Indian and Alaska Native 2.1%
Two or more races 1.6%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.4%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Carls

4 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Renée Carl
Actress (1875-1954)
Katharine Augusta Carl
American painter and author (1865-1938)
Jerry Carl
American politician (born 1958)
Rudolf Carl
Austrian actor (1899–1987)

Notable Carls come mostly from the United States (2), France (1) and Austria (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Carl

Carl has the Soundex code C640, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code C640.

Questions

How common is the surname Carl?: 11,689 people in the United States had the surname Carl in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 26,413 Americans. It ranked 3,071st of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Carl?: In the 2010 Census, 88% of people named Carl identified as white (not Hispanic), and 4.0% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Carl?: Renée Carl, actress (1875-1954), followed by Katharine Augusta Carl.
Where is the surname Carl most common?: Wikidata records people named Carl in the United States, France and Austria.
Is the surname Carl getting more or less common?: Less common. 12,060 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 11,689 in 2010, down 3.1%.
Is Carl also a first name?: Yes. Carl is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.