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Karle

UnisexGirls' nameBoys' name

Form of Karl

Karle has been given to 150 babies in the U.S. since 1980. It was used fewer than 5 times in 2025, so it doesn't appear in the latest year's list — today it's a genuinely uncommon pick. Its peak year was 1995, with 8 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 63% girls, 37% boys all-time.

Babies named Karle, 2007

1 in 500,000

Karle over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys
02.557.51018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Karle over time

In 2007, Karle went to 100% girls and 0% boys.

19382007

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Karle: meaning, origin, and history

Form of Karl

Old Norse

What Karle means

Karle is a form of Karl.

Origin, language, and formation

Karle is used in Norwegian Nynorsk. Its origins include Old Norse.

Karle comes through Old Norse Karli.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Karl.

Pronunciation and spelling

In Norwegian Nynorsk, Karle is pronounced /²kaːrlə/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 94 girls were recorded with the name Karle between 1980 and 2007. Its highest annual count was 8 in 1995; its best national rank was #8,644 in 1982.

In the United States, 56 boys were recorded with the name Karle between 1938 and 1982. Its highest annual count was 9 in 1951; its best national rank was #2,768 in 1951.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Karle?

Karle had fewer than 5 recorded uses in 2025, so these figures use 2007, the last year it was published.

Among all babies, 2007
1 in 500,000
8 of 3,997,748 births
Among girls only
1 in 240,000
<0.01% of girls
Rank, 2007
Unranked
Fewer than 5 uses
Coin-flip room size
346,380 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Karle sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Olivia (13,544)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2007 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 346,380 children born in 2007 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Karle. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Karles were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Karle was born before 1995 — so the typical Karle is around 30 today.

Median birth year
1995
About 30 years old
Biggest decade
1980s
37.2% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
87.2%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
94
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

1980s — 37.2% of all recorded uses (35).

Is Karle rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
—
Not ranked then
Rank vs 5 years ago
New entry
Not ranked then
Rank vs 10 years ago
—
Not ranked then
Births vs 10 years ago
—
Not published both years
Share of its own peak
0%
Peak was 1995 (8)
Years since peak
30
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
19.7% average annual change
Best rank ever
#8,644
1982

Spellings of Karle

Karle is not the most common spelling — Karen is, with 25.1% against Karle's <0.01%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Karle around the world

Where Karle ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • South Australia
    1962–1962
    #548
    in 1962

Popularity data from Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Karle by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#8,644
1982
Peak year
1995
8 that year
First recorded
1980
Last recorded
2007
All-time count
94
Count in 2025
Under 5

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#2,768
1951
Peak year
1951
9 that year
First recorded
1938
Last recorded
1982
All-time count
56
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Karle

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

KarielKariyaKarayaKarmahKarneKaraiKarmaniKarysKarimKarelysKardiKarilKarissKarstenKareKaremKaressKarmoniKartierKarelynKaryssKarcynKarliahKarysa

Sibling names for Karle

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Karle

Top names of 1995, Karle's peak yearThe 1990s in fullOther names that peaked in 1982Girls' names starting with KUncommon Norwegian Boy Names