Karel (given name)
Karel is a masculine given name in Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian, Slovene and Swedish form of Charles, meaning Free Man.
Given name
The name Karel appears frequently among the Czechs. In 2006, 124,784 Karels lived in the Czech Republic, making the name the thirteenth most popular Czech name. Between 1999 and 2002, the number of Karels in the Czech Republic dropped by 2.7%, and the name dropped out of the twenty most popular newborn child names. Notable people with this given name include the following:- Karel Aalbers, Dutch businessman
- Karel Abraham, Czech motorcycle racer
- Karel Absolon, Czech geographer
- Karel Josef Adolf, 18th century Czech painter
- Karel Aguilar Chacón, Cuban canoeist
- Karel Albert, Belgian composer
- Karel Slavoj Amerling, Czech writer
- Karel Ančerl, Czech conductor
- Karel Anděl, Czech astronomer and selenographer
- Karel Anthierens, Belgian journalist
- Karel Appel, Dutch artist
- Karel Ardelt, Czech tennis player
- Karel Balcar, Czech painter
- Karel Bartošek, Czech French historian
- Karel Bártů, Czech modern pentathlete
- Karel Beyers, Belgian footballer
- Karel Bláha, Czech sprinter
- Karel Bláha (singer), Czech opera singer
- Karel Bernard Boedijn, Dutch botanist and mycologist
- Karel Bonsink, Dutch footballer and manager
- Karel Boom, Belgian genre painter, watercolorist and art teacher
- Karel Boone, Belgian businessman
- Karel Bossart, rocket designer
- Karel Albert Rudolf Bosscha, Dutch philanthropist and planter
- Karel Brančik, Hungarian naturalist
- Karel John van den Brandeler, Dutch modern pentathlete and fencer
- Karel Brandstätter, Czech rower
- Karel Hendrik van Brederode, Dutch engineer and architect
- Karel Brückner, Czech football coach
- Karel Bulan, Czech sport shooter
- Karel Burian, Czech operatic tenor
- Karel Campos, Mexican footballer
- Karel Čapek, Czech writer
- Karel Cejp, Czech botanist and mycologist
- Karel Černý, multiple people
- Karel Mark Chichon, British orchestra conductor
- Karel Choennie, Surinamese Roman Catholic bishop
- Karel Čížek, Czechoslovak rowing coxswain
- Karel Crawford, American politician
- Karel Cudlín, Czech photographer
- Karel Čurda, Czech Nazi collaborator
- Karel David, Czech long-distance runner
- Karel De Baere, Belgian cyclist
- Karel De Gucht, Belgian politician
- Karel De Smet, Belgian footballer
- Karel De Vis, Belgian water polo player
- Karel deLeeuw, American mathematician
- Karel Demuynck, Belgian tennis player
- Karel Dežman, Carniolan politician
- Karel Dillen, Belgian politician
- Karel Diviš, Czech entrepreneur
- Karel Dobrý, Czech actor
- Karel Domin, Czech botanist and politician
- Karel Doorman, Dutch naval officer
- Karel Dormans, Dutch rower
- Karel Duba, Czech musician
- Karel Dujardin, Dutch painter
- Karel van Eerd, Dutch entrepreneur
- Karel Effa, Czech actor
- Karel Engel, Czech wrestler
- Karel Engliš, Czech economist
- Karel Jaromír Erben, Czech poet and folklorist
- Karel Espino, Cuban football player
- Karel Jaromír Erben, Czech folklorist
- Karel Eykman, Dutch writer
- Karel la Fargue, Dutch painter
- Karel Farský, Czech priest and patriarch of the Czechoslovak Hussite Church
- Karel Fiala, Czech actor
- Karel Fialka, Indian-born British singer-songwriter
- Karel Finek, Czech footballer
- Karel Fleischner, Czechoslovak table tennis player
- Karel Fortyn, Czech physician
- Karel Fraeye, Belgian football manager
- Karel Frankenstein, Czech sprinter
- Karel Franta, Czech painter and illustrator
- Karel Freja, Czech footballer
- Karel Hendrik Geerts, Belgian sculptor
- Karel Geraerts, Belgian football manager
- Karel Gleenewinkel Kamperdijk, Dutch footballer
- Karel Goeyvaerts, Belgian composer
- Karel Goppold, Bohemian fencer
- Karel Gott, Czech singer
- Karel Govaert, Belgian cyclist
- Karel Gut, Czech ice hockey player and coach
- Karel Guzmán, Cuban basketball player
- Karel Hájek, Czechoslovak photographer
- Karel Halík, Czech wrestler
- Karel Halíř, Czech violinist
- Karel Hanika, Czech motorcycle racer
- Karel Hardeman, Dutch rower
- Karel Hartmann, Czechoslovak ice hockey player
- Karel Hasil, Czech footballer
- Karel Hašler, Czech songwriter and actor
- Karel Havlíček (artist), Czech painter
- Karel Havlíček (politician), Czech politician
- Karel Havlíček Borovský, Czech writer and journalist
- Karel Havlík, Czech politician
- Karel Heijting, Dutch footballer
- Karel Heřmánek, Czech actor
- Karel Heyne, Dutch botanist
- Karel Hirman, Slovak engineer, manager and politician
- Karel Hoffmann, Czech violinist
- Karel Höger, Czechoslovak actor
- Karel Holle, Dutch colonial administrator
- Karel Holomek, Czech politician
- Karel Holý, Czech ice hockey player
- Karel Hoplíček, Czech shot putter
- Karel Anton Hošek, Czech Republic adventurer and revolutionary
- Karel Hradil, multiple people
- Karel Hrbáček, mathematician
- Karel Hromádka, Czech chess player
- Karel Hromádka (ice hockey), Czech ice hockey player
- Karel Hromas, Czech ice hockey player
- Karel Hrubeš, Czech footballer
- Karel Hrudik, Czechoslovak sprint canoer
- Karel Hruška, Czech opera singer
- Karel van der Hucht, Dutch astronomer
- Karel Husa, Czech composer and conductor
- Karel Ferdinand Irmler, Czech lawyer and university educator
- Karel Jalovec, Czech musicologist
- Karel Janeček, Czech mathematician and businessman
- Karel Janák, Czech director
- Karel Janež, Slovenian gymnast
- Karel Janoušek, Czechoslovak Air Force officer
- Karel Janovický, Czech composer
- Karel Jarolím, Czech footballer
- Karel Jarůšek, Czech footballer and manager
- Karel Javůrek, Czech painter
- Karel Jindřichovský, Czech handball player
- Karel Jonker, Canadian rower
- Karel Kachyňa, Czech film director
- Karel Kaers, Belgian cyclist
- Karel Kalaš, Czech opera singer
- Karel Kaplan, Czech historian
- Karel Karafiát, Czech rower
- Karel Kašpar, Czechoslovak boxer
- Karel Kaufman, Dutch football manager
- Karel Kavina, Czech botanist, educator and university educator
- Karel Kesselaers, Belgian footballer
- Karel Klančnik, Yugoslavian ski jumper
- Karel Klapálek, Czechoslovak legioneer and army general
- Karel Klaver, Dutch field hockey player
- Karel Klečka, Czech gymnast
- Karel Klíč, Czech artist
- Karel Klostermann, Czech-Austrian writer
- Karel Knejzlík, Czech footballer
- Karel Kněnický, Czech sprinter
- Karel Knesl, Czech footballer
- Karel František Koch, known for rescuing Jews in Bratislava during Holocaust
- Karel Kodejška, Czech former ski jumper
- Karel Kolář, Czechoslovak runner
- Karel Koldovský, Czech ski jumper
- Karel Kolesa, Czech rower
- Karel Kolský, Czech footballer and manager
- Karel Komárek, Czech businessman
- Karel Komzák, multiple people
- Karel Konrád, Czech writer and journalist
- Karel Kopp, Czech architect
- Karel Blažej Kopřiva, Czech organist and composer
- Karel Kovář, multiple people
- Karel Kovařovic, Czech composer and conductor
- Karel Koželuh, Czech sportsperson
- Karel Kožíšek, Czech canoeist
- Karel Kramář, Czech politician
- Karel Kratochvíl, Czech footballer
- Karel Kratz, Dutch water polo player
- Karel Krautgartner, Czech musical artist
- Karel Krejčí, Czech footballer and manager
- Karel Kroupa, Czech footballer
- Karel Kroupa Jr., Czech football player
- Karel Kryl, Czechoslovak poet, singer and songwriter
- Karel Kubát, Czech ice hockey player
- Karel Kubeška, Czech curler and curling coach
- Karel Kuhn, Czech basketball player
- Karel Kuklík, Czech photographer
- Karel Kula, Czech footballer
- Karel Kuthan, Czech architect
- Karel Kváček, Czech wrestler
- Karel Lamač, Czech film director
- Karel Lambert, American philosopher and logician
- Karel Lang, Czech ice hockey player
- Karel Lavický, Czech windsurfer
- Karel Lavrič, Carniolan politician
- Karel Lavrih, Yugoslav cyclist
- Karel Lodewijk Ledeganck, Flemish writer
- Karel Leština, Czech sprint canoer
- Karel Lidický, Czech sculptor
- Karel Linz, Czech volleyball player
- Karel Lismont, Belgian long-distance runner
- Karel Loprais, Czech rally raid driver
- Karel Hynek Mácha, Czech poet
- Karel Mallants, Belgian footballer
- Karel van Mallery, Flemish engraver
- Karel van Mander, Flemish painter, poet and art historian
- Karel van Mander III, Dutch painter
- Karel van Mander the Younger, Dutch Golden Age painter
- Karel Marquez, Filipino entertainer
- Karel Martens, Dutch graphic designer
- Karel Masopust, Czechoslovak ice hockey player
- Karel Matoušek, Czech wrestler
- Karel Mauser, Slovene poet, author and playwright
- Karel Meijer, Dutch water polo player
- Karel Mejta, multiple people
- Karel Meulemans, Belgian pigeon fancier
- Karel Michal, Czech writer
- Karel Michlowsky, Czech footballer and manager
- Karel Miljon, Dutch boxer
- Karel Minnie, South African politician
- Karel Miry, Belgian composer
- Karel Mustmaa, Estonian professional footballer
- Karel Navrátil, Czech violinist and composer
- Karel Ndjoba, Namibian military officer
- Karel Nedobitý, Czech long-distance runner
- Karel Nedvěd, Czech runner
- Karel Neffe, Czech rower
- Karel Neffe Jr., Czech rower
- Karel Nepomucký, Czech footballer
- Karel de Nerée tot Babberich, Dutch painter
- Karel Nesl, Czech cyclist
- Karel Niessen, Dutch physicist
- Karel Nováček, Czech tennis player
- Karel Novák, Czechoslovak canoeist
- Karel Novy, multiple people
- Karel Ondříček, Czech violinist
- Karel Oomen, Belgian wrestler
- Karel Ooms, Belgian painter
- Karel Otáhal, Czech sculptor
- Karel Otčenášek, Czech Roman Catholic bishop
- Karel Eduard Paar, Czech Knight of Justice
- Karel Paar, Czech cyclist
- Karel Pacák, Czech long-distance runner
- Karel Pacner, Czech publicist
- Karel Pařík, Czech-born Bosnian architect
- Karel Paulus, Czech volleyball player
- Karel Pauzer, Czech graphic, sculptor and artist
- Karel Pechan, Czech cyclist
- Karel Pekelharing, Dutch dancer, choreographer and resistance member
- Karel Pešek, Czech footballer and ice hockey player
- Karel Pešek (motorcyclist), Czech motorcycle racer
- Karel Petr, Czech mathematician
- Karel Petrů, Czech football manager
- Karel Pexidr, Czechoslovak composer
- Karel Pilař, Czech ice hockey player
- Karel Piták, Czech footballer
- Karel Plášek, Czech professional ice hockey player
- Karel Plicka, Czechoslovak photographer, director, cinematographer, folklorist and pedagogue
- Karel Plíhal, Czech musician
- Karel van der Pluym, Dutch painter
- Karel Poborský, Czech football player
- Karel Podhajský, Czech footballer
- Karel Poláček, Czech writer, humorist and journalist
- Karel Poma, Belgian politician
- Karel Potgieter, South African shot putter
- Karel Pott, Portuguese sprinter
- Karel Prager, Czech architect
- Karel Přibyl, Czech sprinter
- Karel Prohl, Czech weightlifter
- Karel Průša, Czech speedway rider
- Karel Purkyně, Austro-Hungarian painter
- Karel Rachůnek, Czech ice hockey player
- Karel Rada, Czech footballer
- Karel Raška, Czech physician and epidemiologist
- Karel Reiner, Czech composer and pianist
- Karel Reisz, Czech-born British filmmaker
- Karel Řepa, Czechoslovak architect
- Karel Robětín, Czech tennis player
- Karel Roden, Czech actor
- Karel Rottiers, Belgian cyclist
- Karel Rüütli, Estonian politician
- Karel Růžička, Czechoslovak bobsledder
- Karel Růžička (pianist), Czech jazz pianist, composer and music teacher
- Karel Rychlík, Czech mathematician
- Karel Sabbe, Belgian ultra runner
- Karel Sabina, Czech writer and journalist
- Karel Pravoslav Sádlo, Czech cellist
- Karel Saitl, Czech weightlifter
- Karel San Juan, Jesuit Filipino priest from Marikina, Philippines
- Karel Satsuit Tubun, police officer and National Hero of Indonesia
- Karel Scheder, Czechoslovak sprint canoer
- Karel Schmuck, Czech water polo player
- Karel Schoeman, South African writer
- Karel Schummelketel, Dutch equestrian
- Karel Schwarzenberg, Czech politician
- Karel Šebor, Czech composer
- Karel Sedláček, Czech darts player
- Karel Senecký, Czech footballer
- Karel Sesa, Indonesian academic
- Karel Shook, American ballet master, choreographer and writer
- Karel Šiktanc, Czech poet and children’s writer
- Karel Škréta, Czech painter
- Karel Slabbaert, Dutch painter and draftsman
- Karel Sládeček, Czech politician
- Karel Sladkovský, Czech journalist, writer and politician
- Karel Slavíček, Czech scientist and missionary to China
- Karel Smyczek, Czech actor and director
- Karel Snoeckx, Belgian footballer
- Karel Soucek, Canadian stuntman
- Karel Sperber, surgeon imprisoned in Auschwitz
- Karel Philips Spierincks, Flemish painter
- Karel Špillar, Czech painter and graphic artist
- Karel Štark, Czech cyclist
- Karel Starý, Bohemian gymnast
- Karel Štěch, Czech landscape painter, graphic designer, woodcutter and illustrator
- Karel van Steenhoven, Dutch recorder player and composer
- Karel Štefl, Czech pair skater
- Karel Štefl (cross-country skier), Czech cross-country skier
- Karel Steiner, Czechoslovak footballer
- Karel Steklý, Czech film director
- Karel Štěpánek, Czech actor
- Karel Stibor, Czechoslovak ice hockey player
- Karel Štogl, Czech lawyer
- Karel Struijs, Dutch water polo player
- Karel Šula, Slovak shot putter
- Karel Svoboda, multiple people
- Karel Svolinský, Czech painter, graphic artist, illustrator and university professor
- Karel Sys, Belgian boxer
- Karel Tammjärv, Estonian cross-country skier
- Karel Teige, Czech artist
- Karel Thijs, Belgian cyclist
- Karel Thole, Dutch painter
- Karel Tichota, Czech footballer
- Karel Tilga, Estonian athlete
- Karel Toman, Czech poet
- Karel van der Toorn, Dutch scholar of ancient religions
- Karel Traxler, Czech chess player
- Karel Treybal, Czech chess player
- Karel Tůma, Czech modern pentathlete
- Karel Tuns, Belgian boxer
- Karel Uher, Czech male curler
- Karel Urbánek, Czech politician
- Karel Urbánek (footballer), Czech footballer
- Karel Uyttersprot, Belgian politician
- Karel Vacek, Czech cyclist
- Karel Vácha, Czech former football player
- Karel Vachek, Czech director
- Karel Van Hassel, Belgian cyclist
- Karel Van Miert, Flemish socialist politician
- Karel Van Roose, Belgian footballer
- Karel Večeřa, Czech football manager
- Karel Vejmelka, Czech ice hockey player
- Karel Velebný, Czech musician
- Karel Verbist, Belgian cyclist
- Karel Vinck, Belgian businessman
- Karel Vohralík, Czech ice hockey player
- Karel Voolaid, Estonian football player and manager
- Karel Voous, Dutch ornithologist
- Karel Vosátka, Czechoslovak figure skater
- Karel Wälzer, Czechoslovak ice hockey player
- Karel van der Weide, Dutch chess grandmaster
- Karel Weis, Czech composer
- Karel Frederik Wenckebach, Dutch cardiologist
- Karel Willemen, Dutch designer
- Karel Wiesner, Canadian chemist
- Karel van de Woestijne, Flemish writer
- Karel van Wolferen, Dutch journalist, writer and professor
- Karel Zahradnik, Czech mathematician
- Karel Zelenka, Czech-Italian figure skater
- Karel Zeman, Czech filmmaker
- Karel Zich, Czech composer, guitarist and singer
- Karel Elodie Ziketh, Ivorian hurdler
- Karel Zlín, Czech painter, sculptor and poet
- Karel Zvonař, Czech wrestler