Karly
Karly was the 2631st most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 66 babies. Its best year was 1992, when it ranked 558th; the most babies were born in 1993 (427). Over the last ten years it has moved down 1,298 places. More babies were named Karly in the 1990s than in any other decade.
Meaning (as Carly) feminine of Carl (free man) · Germanic, English
- Rank in 2025
- #2,631 girls, down 490 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 66girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 1993427 babies
- Total since 1880
- 10,871babies recorded
What does the name Karly mean?
Karly is a spelling of Carly, pronounced the same way, so it shares Carly's meaning and origin.
Carly is a feminine form of Carl with -y, taken into use in the second half of the 20th century, according to Wiktionary, and also a pet form of Carla, Carlene and Carlotta. Carl and Charles go back to a Germanic word for man or free man, as DMNES explains for Charles. Carly has been used in the US since 1951 and was most common in the mid-1990s.
karl (Old High German, “man, free man”)
How sure is this? Probable.
Related names: Carla, Carlie, Karly, Charlotte, Carl.
See also: Germanic names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Carly' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Charles', DMNES (Durham University)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Carla', DMNES (Durham University)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (yob*.txt), team3 computation of first year recorded, US Social Security Administration (public domain)
Karly popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 5 since 1978.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #2,631 | 66 |
| 2020 | #2,141 | 85 |
| 2010 | #908 | 288 |
| 2000 | #698 | 336 |
| 1990 | #891 | 217 |
| 1980 | #1,322 | 96 |
| 1970 | — | — |
| 1960 | — | — |
| 1950 | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Karly, counting every spelling?
Karly is a spelling of Carly, a name family that ranked #374 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #2,631 for Karly on its own. Together these spellings went to 886 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carly | 248 | #1,009 | 1,730 |
| Karlee | 103 | #1,898 | 801 |
| Carlee | 101 | #1,911 | 654 |
| Karlie | 85 | #2,179 | 624 |
| Carley | 63 | #2,725 | 387 |
| Carlie | 65 | #2,657 | 384 |
| Karli | 64 | #2,708 | 370 |
| Karly | 66 | #2,631 | 352 |
| Karley | 46 | #3,362 | 346 |
| Carli | 45 | #3,408 | 294 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Karly?
66 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Karly (0.02 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Karly born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 127 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Karly.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Karly?
About 10,700 people born in the US named Karly are alive today, with a median age of 26; half are between 18 and 34. That makes Karly mostly worn by children and young adults.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Karly by state
How common Karly was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. In 44 states fewer than five girls a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Karly: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Karly, they share its era and feel.
Questions about the name Karly
What does Karly mean?
Karly is a spelling of Carly, which means “feminine of Carl (free man)” (Germanic, English origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Karly?
Karly was the 2631st most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 66 babies. Its best year was 1992, when it ranked 558th; the most babies were born in 1993 (427). Over the last ten years it has moved down 1,298 places. More babies were named Karly in the 1990s than in any other decade.
Is Karly a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Karly in the US.
Where is Karly most popular?
In 2021–2025, Karly was most common in California (0.05 per 1,000 girls), followed by Texas and Ohio.