Karel

Karel is a masculine given name of Czech and Dutch origin, derived from Charles. It is used in the Czech Republic and the Netherlands, with the feminine form Karla in Czech and in some other languages.

Etymology and variants: The name comes from the Germanic Karl, meaning “free man.” Variants include Karl, Carlo, and its Czech form Karol.

Notable people: Karel Čapek (1890–1938) was a Czech writer who introduced the word robot in the science fiction drama R.U.R. Karel Gott (1939–2019) was a Czech singer known for a long, versatile career. Karel Appel (1921–2006) was a Dutch painter and a founder of the CoBrA movement. Karel Schwarzenberg (1937–2021) was a Czech prince and politician who served as foreign minister and senator. Karel Kryl (1944–1994) was a Czech singer-songwriter associated with the Velvet Revolution era.

Technology and education: Karel the Robot is a teaching programming language created by Richard E. Pattis in the early 1980s. It is designed to teach algorithmic thinking by steering a robot in a grid world, performing basic actions such as moving, turning, and manipulating objects called beepers. The language is intended to be simple and readable for beginners and has inspired many derivative teaching tools and exercises in computer science education.

Summary: Beyond personal names, Karel denotes a historical and cultural thread in Central European and Dutch contexts and also refers to an influential educational programming language used to introduce novices to core programming concepts.