Frequency: (2490)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
German, Dutch, Scandinavian, and eastern and southern Slavic: from the personal name Karl, from a common Germanic word, Old High German karl ‘man’, ‘husband’, ‘freeman’. See also Carl and Charles. The popularity of this name and its cognates in central and northern Europe was greatly enhanced by its status as a royal and imperial name; in particular it was bestowed in honor of the Frankish emperor Charlemagne (in Latin, Carolus Magnus).
GIVEN NAMES: German 4%. Hans (5), Lothar (4), Erwin (3), Erhard (2), Georg (2), Otto (2), Bernd, Bernhard, Ernst, Gerhard, Hartmut, Heinz.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
