Carl

Carl is a masculine personal name derived from the Germanic word “karl” meaning “free man.” A long time ago, the Germanic term “karl” signified a “free” man but not one of nobility; i.e., from the same Proto-Germanic root as the Olde English word “ceorl” which stood for “man of low birth, a common man”. In the later Middle High German and Middle English, however, both terms evolved their definitions to mean more simply “man, fellow, husband”. For instance, in Geoffrey Chaucer’s famous 14th century collection of stories, “The Canterbury Tales” he writes in Middle English: “The millere was a stout carl for the nones” (translation: the miller was a stout fellow for the occasion). Despite the name’s rather “lowly” beginnings, many Europeans of high rank and those among the royalty bore names derived from Karl/Carl (such as Charlemagne, Charles, Caroline and Charlotte). In fact, the 8th/9th century Frankish leader, Charlemagne (Charles the Great), had a lot to do with the name’s perpetuation among the earlier Franks (a Germanic tribe and precursors to the French people). By the 15th century, upper-class people of England began to adopt the name, and Mary Queen of Scots (having been influenced by her French upbringing) named her first son Charles James (who would eventually become King James VI of Scotland and then King James I of England, uniting Scotland, England and Ireland under one monarchy). The form of Carl is most popular in the Scandinavian countries, particularly in Denmark and Sweden. In fact, the current reigning King of Sweden is Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden (which means 15 kings named Carl came before him). The founder of analytical psychology, Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961) is another famous name bearer.