Carl Family History

14-Day Free Trial

GET STARTED

Carl Name Meaning

Variant spelling of Dutch, German, and Scandinavian Karl. English: from the Anglo-Scandinavian personal name Karl(i), ultimately from Germanic karl ‘man’, ‘freeman’. See also Charles. English: status name for a bondman or villein, from the vocabulary word karl, carl, which had various different meanings at various times: originally ‘man’, then ‘ordinary man’, ‘peasant’, and in Middle English specialized in the senses ‘free peasant’, ‘bondman’, ‘villein’, and ‘rough, churlish individual’.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press


Similar surnames: Karl, Earl, Carp, Cart, Call, Care, Garl, Carll, Carle, Card

Ready to discover your family story?

Simply start with yourself and we'll do the searching for you.

NEW

Carl Ethnicity Estimate

What are the common regions with the Carl name?

These results combine data from everyone in the AncestryDNA® database with the last name Carl. The Ancestry® ethnicity regions shown are top five most common on average for these people.

Explore the full experience here

  • England & Wales

    44%

  • Ireland & Scotland

    17%

  • Germanic Europe

    13%

  • Eastern Europe & Russia

    4%

  • Sweden

    3%

Your own DNA-based ethnicity estimate will differ from what you see here. To get your personalized ethnicity estimate, order an AncestryDNA® kit.order an AncestryDNA® kit.

Order a DNA Kit Today

Carl Family Origin

Where is the Carl family from?

Mapbox
© Mapbox © OpenStreetMap Improve this map
You can see how Carl families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Carl family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Carl families were found in the USA in 1880. In 1911 there were 208 Carl families living in Ontario. This was about 41% of all the recorded Carl's in Canada. Ontario had the highest population of Carl families in 1911.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Carl surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

View Census Data for Carl

Carl Family Occupations

What did your Carl ancestors do for a living?

In 1881, a less common occupation for the Carl family was Labourer. Farmer, Going To School and Laborer were the top 3 reported jobs worked by Carl. The most common Carl occupation in Canada was Farmer. 36% of Carl's were Farmers.

View Census data for Carl | Data not to scale

  • Farmer

    36%

  • Going To School

    11%

  • Laborer

    5%

  • Labourer

    4%

Census records can tell you a lot of little known facts about your Carl ancestors, such as occupation. Occupation can tell you about your ancestor's social and economic status.

Carl Historical Records

What Carl family records will you find?

Census Record

There are 102,000 census records available for the last name Carl. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Carl census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search 1881 Canadian census records for Carl

Passenger List

There are 16,000 immigration records available for the last name Carl. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in Canada, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Carl immigration records

Draft Card

There are 24,000 military records available for the last name Carl. For the veterans among your Carl ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Carl military records

You've only scratched the surface of Carl family history.

Discover More

Carl Life Expectancy

What is the average Carl lifespan?

Between 1943 and 2004, in the United States, Carl life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1943, and highest in 2002. The average life expectancy for Carl in 1943 was 26, and 75 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Carl

An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your Carl ancestors lived in harsh conditions. A short lifespan might also indicate health problems that were once prevalent in your family. The SSDI is a searchable database of more than 70 million names. You can find birthdates, death dates, addresses and more.

Famous Carl Family Ancestors

Discover the unique achievements of ancestors in your family tree

Famous ancestors img
Look up another name