Carl
Meaning: Its source is ceorl, an Ancient Germanic name meaning "Freeholder."
Languages: This boy's name is used in German, English, Norwegian, Swedish and Danish.
Alternative Spellings: Karl
Variant Forms: Carel
Feminine Forms: Carla
Popularity: The name Carl ranked 332nd in popularity for males of all ages in a sample of 2000-2003 Social Security Administration statistics and 47th in popularity for males of all ages in a sample of the 1990 US Census.
This name is highly rated in the 1990 U.S. Census popularity survey of all ages, but after 1960 does not appear in the state data listing the most popular baby names.
Narrative: The first Holy Roman Emperor, who lived from 742-814, is known to English-speaking students of history as Charlemagne (French for ''Charles the Great.'')
Charlemagne was a powerful Germanic leader who synthesized a relatively ordered society out of the chaos that followed the fall of Rome. He not only united France, but much of central Europe. His widespread fame gave rise to many forms of his name, in many languages.
For example, in Latin he was referred to as Carolus Magnus, and in German as Karl der Grosse. Many of these forms remain popular names in their own right, or have formed the basis for other modern names.
Arts and Music
- Carl Bergmann (born 1821, died 1876)
German conductor.
- Led the New York Philharmonic, 1855-76 (see list of Conductors)
- Carl Orff (born 1895, died 1982)
German composer.
- Composed Carmina Burana (see list of Composers of the 20th Century)
- Carl Maria von Weber (born 1786, died 1826)
German composer who had a major influence on the development of opera.
- Composed Der Freischutz (see list of Romantic Composers)
Leadership
- Carl B. Albert
U.S. Representative from Oklahoma.
- Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, 1971-76 (see list of Speakers of the U.S. House of Representatives)
- Carl L. Hall
- CEO of Fortune 500 company Graybar Electric (see list of 1996 Fortune 500 Company CEOs)
- Carl E. Lindner
- CEO of Fortune 500 company Chiquita Brands Internationl (see list of 1996 Fortune 500 Company CEOs)
- Carl H. Lindner
- CEO of Fortune 500 company American Financial Group (see list of 1996 Fortune 500 Company CEOs)
- Carl von Ossietzky (born 1889, died 1938)
German journalist and pacifist. Spent three years (1933-36) in a Nazi concentration camp.
- 1935 Nobel Prize winner for Peace (see list of Nobel Peace Prize Winners)
- Carl E. Stewart
American judge.
- Circuit Judge, Fifth Circuit Court (see list of Judges of the U.S. Courts of Appeals)
Miscellaneous
- Carl Gustav Jung (born 1875, died 1961)
Swiss psychiatrist and psychologist.
- On the cover of Sgt. Pepper''s Lonely Hearts Club Band (see list of Faces on the Cover of ''Sergeant Pepper'')
- Carl Murphy (born 1889, died 1967)
American editor and publisher.
- 1955 Spingarn Medal winner (see list of Spingarn Medal Winners)
- Carl T. Rowan (born 1925, died 2000)
American newspaper columnist.
- 1997 Spingarn Medal winner (see list of Spingarn Medal Winners)
- Carl Sandburg (born 1878, died 1967)
American poet and biographer.
- 1964 recipient of Presidential Medal of Freedom (see list of Presidential Medal of Freedom Winners)
- Carl Vinson
- 1964 recipient of Presidential Medal of Freedom (see list of Presidential Medal of Freedom Winners)
Science and Philosophy
- Carl D. Anderson (born 1905, died 1991)
American physicist who discovered the positron.
- 1936 Nobel Prize winner in Physics, with Victor Hess (see list of Winners of the Nobel Prize for Physics)
- Carl Bosch (born 1874, died 1940)
German chemist who developed high-pressure chemical methods.
- 1931 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry, with Friedrich Bergius (see list of Winners of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry)
- Carl F. Braun (born 1850, died 1918)
German physicist who helped develop wireless telegraphy.
- 1909 Nobel Prize winner in Physics, with Guglielmo Marconi (see list of Winners of the Nobel Prize for Physics)
- Carl F. Cori (born 1896, died 1984)
Czech-American biochemist noted for his work on the metabolism of sugar.
- 1947 Nobel Prize winner in Physiology/Medicine, with Gerty Cori and Bernardo Houssay (see list of Winners of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine)
- Carl Djerassi (born 1923)
Austrian chemist, educator and writer.
- 1973 National Medal of Science winner (see list of National Medal of Science Winners)
- Carl Gustav Jung (born 1875, died 1961)
Swiss psychiatrist and psychologist.
- Founded analytic psychology; developed a theory of the ''''collective unconscious'''' (see list of Medical Practitioners)
- Carl B. Macready
- Member of the National Aviation Hall of Fame (see list of National Aviation Hall of Fame)
- Carl S. Marvel
Chemist.
- 1986 National Medal of Science winner (see list of National Medal of Science Winners)
- Carl J. Meade
American astronaut.
- Astronaut on Atlantis (1990), Columbia (1992), Discovery (1994) (see list of Spaceflight Veterans)
- Carl L. Norden
- Member of the National Aviation Hall of Fame (see list of National Aviation Hall of Fame)
- Carl Rogers (born 1902, died 1987)
American psychotherapist.
- Developed encounter groups (see list of Medical Practitioners)
- Carl A. Spaatz (born 1891, died 1974)
First U.S. Air Force chief of staff.
- Member of the National Aviation Hall of Fame (see list of National Aviation Hall of Fame)
- Carl E. Walz (born 1955)
American astronaut.
- Astronaut on Discovery (1993), Columbia (1994), Atlantis (1996) (see list of Spaceflight Veterans)
Sports
- Carl Furillo (died 1989)
Baseball player.
- 1953 National League Batting Champion (see list of National League Batting Champions)
- Carl Howelson
Skier.
- Elected to the Colorado Ski Hall of Fame in 1977 (see list of Members of the Colorado Ski Hall of Fame)
- Carl ''Meal Ticket'' Hubbell (died 1988)
American baseball player.
- 1933, 1936 National League Most Valuable Player (see list of National League Most Valuable Players)
- Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1947 (see list of Members of the Baseball Hall of Fame)
- 1933 Associated Press Athlete of the Year (see list of Associated Press Athletes of the Year)
- Carl Lewis (born 1961)
American track and field star.
- 1984 and 1988 Olympic track and field gold medal winner for 100m (see list of Olympic Gold Medalists in the 100 Meter Sprint)
- 1984 Olympic track and field gold medal winner for 200m (see list of Olympic Gold Medalists in Miscellaneous Track Events)
- 1984, 1988, 1992 and 1996 Olympic track and field gold medal winner for Long Jump (see list of Olympic Gold Medalists in the Long Jump)
- 1983-84 Associated Press Athlete of the Year (see list of Associated Press Athletes of the Year)
- Carl W. A. Linder
American runner.
- 1919 Boston Marathon champion (see list of Boston Marathon Winners)
- Carl Morton
Baseball player.
- 1970 National League Rookie of the Year (see list of National League Rookies of the Year)
- Carl Robie
American athlete.
- 1968 Olympic swimming gold medal winner for 200m butterfly (see list of Olympic Gold Medalists in Miscellaneous Swimming Events)
- Carl Voss
Hockey player.
- 1933 Calder Memorial Trophy winner (see list of Calder Memorial Trophy Winners)
- Carl ''Yaz'' Yastrzemski
American baseball player.
- 1967 American League Most Valuable Player (see list of American League Most Valuable Players)
- 1963, 1967-68 American League Batting Champion (see list of American League Batting Champions)
- Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999 (see list of Members of the Baseball Hall of Fame)
- Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989 (see list of Members of the Baseball Hall of Fame)
- 1967 Associated Press Athlete of the Year (see list of Associated Press Athletes of the Year)
- 1967 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year (see list of Sports Illustrated Sportsmen of the Year)
Stage and Screen
- Carl Foreman (born 1914, died 1984)
American film director.
- On The Hollywood Blacklist (see list of Blacklisted Hollywood Figures)
- Carl Hutchins
Fictional character.
- Character on the soap opera ''''Another World'''' (see list of Characters on ''Another World'')
- Carl Reiner (born 1922)
American actor, writer, director and producer.
- Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame for Television (see list of Television Personalities with Stars in the Hollywood Walk of Fame)
- Portrayed Alan Brady (see list of Actors on ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'')
- Carl Smith
- Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording (see list of Recording Personalites with Stars in the Hollywood Walk of Fame)
- Carl Laemmle, Sr. (born 1867, died 1939)
American film executive.
- Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame for Motion Picture (see list of Movie Personalities with Stars in the Hollywood Walk of Fame)
- Carl Wishnitski
Fictional character.
- Portrayed by Ritch Brinkley (see list of Characters on ''Murphy Brown'')
The Literary World
- Carl Bernstein (born 1944)
American journalist.
- Co-author of the 1976 nonfiction best-seller The Final Days (see list of Bestselling Nonfiction Authors in the U.S.)
- Carl N. Degler (born 1921)
American historian.
- 1972 Pulitzer Prize winner for History, for Neither Black Nor White (see list of Winners of the Pulitzer Prize for History)
- Carl Van Doren (born 1885, died 1950)
American biographer and critic.
- 1939 Pulitzer Prize winner for Biography/Autobiography, for Benjamin Franklin (see list of Winners of the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography)
- Carl Foreman
Fictional character.
- A character in Stephen King''s novel Salem''s Lot (see list of Characters in Salem's Lot)
- Carl Hough
Fictional character.
- A pilot in Stephen King''s novel The Stand (see list of Characters in The Stand)
- Carl Roone
Fictional character.
- Killed in 1930, when the Black Spot burned down, in Stephen King''s novel It (see list of Characters in It)
- Carl Sagan (born 1934, died 1996)
American astronomer and writer.
- 1978 Pulitzer Prize winner for General Nonfiction, for The Dragons of Eden (see list of Winners of the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction)
- Carl Sandburg (born 1878, died 1967)
American poet and biographer.
- 1940 Pulitzer Prize winner for History, for Abraham Lincoln: The War Years (see list of Winners of the Pulitzer Prize for History)
- Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner for Poetry, in 1918 for Corn Huskers and in 1951 for Complete Poems (see list of Winners of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry)
- Wrote Chicago Poems (see list of Poets of the 20th Century)
- Carl M. Saunders
- 1950 Pulitzer Prize winner for Editorial Writing (see list of Winners of the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing)
- Carl E. Schorske
- 1981 Pulitzer Prize winner for General Nonfiction, for Fin-de-Siècle Vienna: Politics and Culture (see list of Winners of the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction)
- Carl F. G. Spitteler (born 1845, died 1924)
Swiss poet.
- 1919 Nobel Prize winner for Literature (see list of Winners of the Nobel Prize for Literature)
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Teasing Nicknames:
- Carl's Jr.
- Cart
- Snarl
- Carlsbad
Meaning: Its source is ceorl, an Ancient Germanic name meaning "Freeholder."
Nickname For: Carlotta
Popularity: The name Carl ranked 2147th in popularity for females of all ages in a sample of the 1990 US Census.
Though this name appears on the 1990 U.S. Census lists, it is used by only a small percentage of the general population.
This name is usually reserved for boys. In part, it may owe its position on the US Census popularity list to incorrectly filled-out census forms.
Narrative: Of all the feminine forms of Carl (and its equivalent Charles), the oldest is probably Carolina, which developed in Latin as a feminine form of Carolinus, itself an elaboration of Carolus.
Carolus Magnus was the Latin name of the first Holy Roman Emperor, a Germanic leader known in the English-speaking world as Charlemagne (French for ''Charles the Great''). He was crowned emperor in 800 A.D., after uniting much of central Europe and building a relatively stable society out of the chaos that followed the fall of Rome.
Charlemagne's widespread fame gave rise to many forms of his name in many languages. Each male form suggested a female equivalent, which in turn changed and developed, so that we see Carolina changed to Caroline, shortened to Carol, and so on.
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