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Yes, according to the sources I mentioned, the name Karl/Carl most likely has nothing to do with the Swedish "karl" or the German "Kerl." The man/husband derivation is still around, you will find it in many name books. But of course a lot of them just collect information from other name books, so false information can easily spread.
Of course, there may be different derivations developing independently (as I have always fancied to assume for the name Alfred, Al-fred or Alf-red, but never have been able to find any evidence for). But I have never come across a good story explaining the man-Karl line. On the other hand, Kaufmann gives a very plausible explanation of the hari derivation, backing it up with a number of comprehensible parallels.