Given name & surname
Karlan
“a free man”
Karlan is a variant of Karl. One German interpretation is “a free man.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Karlan is a variant of Karl. One German interpretation is “a free man.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Karlan is a variant of Karl. An origin associated with Karl is German.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1959. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Karlan through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 50
- 50 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1959
- 7 babies
- 2025
- 5
- #12,968 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 5 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 12,968 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for boys was 7 in 1959. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 224 as a first name in 2020; 173 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.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
People named Karlan
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Karlan, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Carlton
“from the free man's town”
>99% boys
Cary
“from the river” · “from the fort on the hill”
95% boys · 5% girls
Karon
“one who is pure; virginal”
>99% boys
Ken
“born of fire” · “handsome, fair one”
>99% boys
Carl
“a free man”
>99% boys
Derwin
“a friend of the deer; a gifted friend”
>99% boys
Andree
“manliness” · “virility”
93% boys · 7% girls
Kemp
“the champion”
>99% boys