Karsten vs Pål
Karsten and Pålcompared on official birth-registration statistics and Namewise's recorded data. This page states what each name's record shows — it never picks a winner or scores one name against the other.
Head to head
Ranks are only compared within one published list and one year. Two ranks from different years, from a boys' and a girls' list, or from different registrars are not comparable, so they are not placed side by side.
Norway · Boys
In 2025, Karsten was ranked #191 and Pål #385 among boys in Norway.
Karsten and Pål over time
Karsten and Pål appear together in 1 published list, across 81 years of shared records. Pål held the stronger position in more years in 1 of them, Karsten in 0.
The order between them changed and held in one of those lists — a change in that published list, never a claim that one name displaced the other.
Karsten reached its own highest recorded position earlier in 1 of those lists, and Pål in none. Each position is a place inside its own list, so this compares when they peaked and never how high.
Counted list by list. Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale in the same year, so those comparisons are real — but positions from different lists are not, so nothing here is combined into an overall standing.
How this pair is related
The relationship kinds these two qualify for, each under its own stated rule. Every one is drawn from a list they both appear in.
- Repeatedly exchanged positions
Karsten and Pål changed places 7 times in Norway · Boys between 1945 and 2025, ending at #191 and #385.
- Longest-running competitions
Karsten and Pål were both ranked in Norway · Boys for 81 years, from 1945 to 2025, ending at #191 and #385.
List by list
Norway · Boys81 shared years, 1945–2025
Karsten held the stronger position in 20 of those years, Pål in 61.
Highest recorded here: Karsten #110 in 1948, Pål #23 in 1971.
The order changed in 2012: Karsten moved ahead. In 2011 they stood at #362 and #225; by 2012 that had become #274 and #521.
Most recent shared year, 2025: Karsten #191, Pål #385.
Two names moving past each other in a ranking is a fact about the ranking. Namewise does not claim one name displaced the other, that families chose between them, or that either influenced the other — none of that is in this data.
Side by side
| Field | Karsten | Pål |
|---|---|---|
| Record type | Official statistical record (evidence-only) | Official statistical record (evidence-only) |
| Gender usage | male | male |
| Meaning | Not yet recorded | Not yet recorded |
| Origin | Not yet recorded | Not yet recorded |
| Pronunciation | Not yet recorded | |
| Syllables | 2 | 1 |
| Common variants / nicknames | Not yet recorded | Not yet recorded |
| Recorded regional usage | GB-ENW, NO | NO |
| Most recent popularity observation | Norway · Boys #191 (2025) | Norway · Boys #385 (2025) |
| Pronunciation clarity (demonstration score) | Not yet recorded | Not yet recorded |
| Spelling simplicity (demonstration score) | 82/100 | 95/100 |
| International familiarity (demonstration score) | 60/100 | 40/100 |
| Data Confidence | medium | medium |
What the data shows
- Karsten has 2 syllables, compared with 1 for Pål.
- Both names have recorded usage in NO.
How each name got here
Karsten
Popularity journey
First recorded1945
First recorded at #129 among boys in Norway in 1945 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Norway · Boys
Highest recorded1945–2025
Highest recorded position: #110 among boys in Norway, in 1948 (recorded 1945–2025).
Norway · Boys
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #191 among boys in Norway, in 2025.
Norway · Boys
Pål
Popularity journey
First recorded1945
First recorded at #99 among boys in Norway in 1945 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Norway · Boys
Highest recorded1945–2025
Highest recorded position: #23 among boys in Norway, in 1971 (recorded 1945–2025).
Norway · Boys
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #385 among boys in Norway, in 2025.
Norway · Boys