Given name & surname
Carel
“a free man”·“a joyous song; a small, strong woman”
Carel is a variant of Carl. In German use, Carl carries the interpretation “a free man.” Carel is a variant of Carol. In English use, Carol carries the interpretation “a joyous song; a small, strong woman.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Carel is a variant of Carl. In German use, Carl carries the interpretation “a free man.” Carel is a variant of Carol. In English use, Carol carries the interpretation “a joyous song; a small, strong woman.”
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1915. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Carel through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 226
- 166 boys · 60 girls
- Most popular year
- 1940
- 11 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 8 in 2024. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 459 as a first name in 2020; 627 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Carel’s family of names
Carel has a related form in Carol. Carel has a related form in Carl. In Greek usage, Carel is a transliteration of Καρέλ.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 12
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Charlesequivalent
- Carlosequivalent
- Carloequivalent
- Karlequivalent
- Karolequivalent
- Karelequivalent
- Karolisequivalent
- Carlesequivalent
Show 4 moreShow fewer
People named Carel
- Carel Fabritiuspainter from the Northern Netherlands (1622–1654)
- Carel StruyckenDutch actorborn 1948
- Carel Godin de Beaufortracecar driver1934–1964
- Carel EitingDutch association football playerborn 1998
- Carel VisserDutch sculptor (1928-2015)
- Carel Steven Adama van ScheltemaDutch poet (1877-1924)
- Carel ReynierszDutch Governor-General of the VOC (1604-1653)
- Carel BoshoffSouth African academic, writer and politician, former proponent of Apartheid, founder of Orania (1927-2011)
- Carel de Moorpainter from the Northern Netherlands (1655-1738)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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