Given name & surname
Karlis
“a free man”
Karlis is a variant of Karl. One German interpretation is “a free man.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Karlis is a variant of Karl. One German interpretation is “a free man.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Karlis 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 1950. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Karlis through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 72
- 72 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1987
- 9 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 5 in 2007. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 9 in 1987. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 307 as a first name in 2020; 155 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.
Karlis’s family of names
Karlis has a related form in Karl. In Latvian usage, Karlis has a conventional equivalent in the German form Karl. In Greek usage, Karlis as a surname is a transliteration of Καρλής.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 3
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Similar names
If you love Karlis, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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“a courtier”
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Jarvis
“one who wields a spear”
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“from the hollow; of the churning waters”
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Kahlil
“a beloved friend”
99% boys · 1% girls
Korey
“from the hollow; of the churning waters”
86% boys · 14% girls
Cory
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94% boys · 6% girls
Cortez
“a courteous man”
>99% boys
Marquis
“a lord of the borderlands; a nobleman”
>99% boys