Karen
Danish in origin, a shortened form of Katherine that reached English speakers through Scandinavian immigration. Katherine itself goes back to the Greek Aikaterine, of disputed meaning.
Karen in 2025
Karen was given to 175 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 2,422nd most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 18,945 babies born.
The history of Karen
Karen reached its highest point in 1957, when 40,668 babies were given the name, ranking 14th that year. Its best-ever ranking was 11th, in 1965.
Across the 145 years of records since 1881, 990,774 babies have been named Karen. Half of them were born before 1959, which places the name's centre of gravity with the Baby Boomers.
Karen by decade
| Decade | Babies named Karen | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 49 | 1,294 |
| 1890s | 79 | 1,246 |
| 1900s | 98 | 1,502 |
| 1910s | 304 | 1,767 |
| 1920s | 564 | 1,450 |
| 1930s | 16,760 | 79 |
| 1940s | 168,154 | 26 |
| 1950s | 333,094 | 13 |
| 1960s | 286,775 | 11 |
| 1970s | 95,549 | 38 |
| 1980s | 35,186 | 119 |
| 1990s | 24,694 | 241 |
| 2000s | 20,712 | 313 |
| 2010s | 7,398 | 520 |
| 2020s | 1,358 | 1,519 |
Where Karen is heading
Karen has fallen 72% over the past decade, from 632 babies in 2015 to 175 in 2025.
That is less than 5% of its 1957 peak — Karen is now a rare name in the United States.
Names like Karen
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Karen.