Given name & surname
Karle
“a free man”
Karle is a variant of Karl. One German interpretation is “a free man.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Karle is a variant of Karl. One German interpretation is “a free man.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Karle 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 1938. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Karle through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 150
- 56 boys · 94 girls
- Most popular year
- 1982
- 12 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 girls is 8 in 2007. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 328 as a first name in 2020; 1,106 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.
Karle’s family of names
Karle has a related form in Karl. In Norwegian Nynorsk usage, Karle has a related form in Kalle. In Greek usage, Karle as a surname is a transliteration of Κάρλε.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Karle has relatives in 3 languages.
3 related names in 3 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Karle
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Karle, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Kari
“of the wind” · “one with curly hair”
20% boys · 80% girls
Kirby
“from the church town” · “from the village with the church”
48% boys · 52% girls
Anh
“one who offers safety and peace”
34% boys · 66% girls
Afton
“from the Afton river”
16% boys · 84% girls
Jayme
“he who supplants” · “she who supplants”
36% boys · 64% girls
Kodie
“one who is helpful”
32% boys · 68% girls
Kasey
“a vigilant woman” · “vigilant, wakeful”
44% boys · 56% girls
Azure
“sky blue” · “resembling a blue semiprecious stone”
52% boys · 48% girls