—2024 rank
1957peak year
987,811babies named Karen since 1880
▼ 58%5-year trend
Karen popularity over 145 years
🌱 Below the charts · roughly undefined% girls / NaN% boys in 2024
What does Karen mean?
A Danish short form of Katherine, from Greek Aikaterine, traditionally glossed as 'pure'. Brought to America by immigrants and huge mid-century before its image turned comedic.
OriginDanish, Greek
Syllables2
Gendergirl
Styleclassic, vintage
Names like Karen
Same era, same vibe — if you like Karen, these usually land on the shortlist too.
Famous Karens
- Karen Carpenter, singer
- Karen Blixen, writer
Spellings & variants
KatherineKarin
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