Kaarlo
A masculine Finnish name deriving from the Old Norse name Karle.
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Kaarlo. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kaarlo today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kaarlo births was 1919 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kaarlo. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Kaarlo. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1919
5 babies that year
Average age
-
1919 SSA rank
#4,487
Tracked since 1919
Popularity
Kaarlo: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Kaarlo by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Kaarlo during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Kaarlo
The name Kaarlo has its origins in the Germanic language family, and is a variant of the name Karl, which is derived from the Old High German name Karal, meaning "free man" or "husband". This name was widely used across Northern and Western Europe during the Middle Ages.
The name Kaarlo is most commonly found in Finland, where it is the Finnish form of the name Karl. It is believed to have been introduced to Finland through Swedish influence during the country's long period as part of the Swedish realm, from the 12th to the 19th century.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Kaarlo comes from the 16th century, when it was used by Kaarlo Henrikinpoika Oxenstierna, a Finnish-born statesman who served as the Lord High Chancellor of Sweden from 1585 to 1607. Kaarlo Henrikinpoika Oxenstierna played a significant role in shaping Swedish politics during the reigns of King John III and King Sigismund III.
In the 19th century, the name Kaarlo gained prominence with Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg, a Finnish lawyer and politician who served as the first President of Finland from 1919 to 1925. Ståhlberg was a key figure in the struggle for Finnish independence and played a crucial role in establishing the new nation's democratic institutions.
Another notable figure with the name Kaarlo was Kaarlo Juho Jalkanen, a Finnish theologian and writer who lived from 1819 to 1855. Jalkanen was a influential figure in the Finnish literary movement known as the Kalevala Renaissance, and his works played a significant role in shaping Finnish national identity and cultural awareness.
In the field of music, the name Kaarlo is associated with Kaarlo Bergbom, a Finnish opera singer and actor who lived from 1843 to 1916. Bergbom was a pioneering figure in the establishment of the Finnish National Theatre and is considered one of the most important figures in the history of Finnish theatre.
Lastly, Kaarlo Rantanen, a Finnish long-distance runner who competed in the early 20th century, was a notable bearer of the name. Rantanen won the silver medal in the marathon event at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium, and held the world record for the marathon distance for several years.
People
Kaarlo + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kaarlo as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Kaarlo: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kaarlo?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kaarlo going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about - US residents.
Is Kaarlo a common name?
We classify Kaarlo as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kaarlo most popular?
The single biggest year for Kaarlo was 1919, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kaarlo is about 0 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Kaarlo in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kaarlo a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kaarlo in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Kaarlo still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kaarlo in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Kaarlo can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have the name Kaarlo?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.