Given name & surname
Kerl
“freeman of non-aristocratic descent”
Kerl is a surname from German.
Original GermanKerll
Meaning & origin
What it means
Kerl goes back to German Kerl, meaning “freeman of non-aristocratic descent.”
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
How it developed
From German Kerl (“freeman of non-aristocratic descent”).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1976. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Kerl through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 10
- 0 boys · 10 girls
- Most popular year
- 1976
- 5 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 5 in 1982. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 689 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.
Kerl’s family of names
In German usage, Kerl shares a linguistic root with the English form Charles. In English usage, Kerl as a surname has a related form in CURL. In German usage, Kerl as a surname has a related form in KERLL.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
Similar names
If you love Kerl, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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