Carlo

Carlo is the Italian form of Charles, which in turn comes from the Germanic word “karl” meaning “free man.” In Old High German, the term “karl” indicated a “free man” but not one of noble birth – which is ironic given the number of “noble” people that have borne derivations of this name throughout Europe for centuries. Karl essentially comes from the same Proto-Germanic root as the Olde English word “ceorl” which defined a “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”. The Medieval Latin form of the name was Carolus which later evolved into the Italian Carlo and Spanish Carlos. All of the “Charles” names owe their popularity to the Frankish leader and the first Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne (Latin: Carolus Magnus, or Charles the Great). The name Charles was particularly popular among the Franks, who were a western European Germanic tribe, and big spreaders of Christianity in the Middle Ages. By the 15th century the name was pretty well spread throughout Europe – Charles in England and France, Karl in Germany, Carl in Scandinavia, Carlo in Italy and Carlos in Spain and Portugal. Carlo is still a Top 20 name for bambini ragazzo italiano in Italy.