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Karen

Gender
Girl
Say it
KA-ren
Origin
Greek
UK rank, 2025
#2,509 for girls
US rank, 2025
#1,279 for girls

Karen is a girls' name of Greek origin, meaning “associated with katharos, pure”. In 2025 it ranked 2,509th for girls in the UK (11 babies) and 1,279th for girls in the US (175 babies).

What does Karen mean?

Greek: Danish short form of Katherine

“associated with katharos, pure”

Danish short form of Katherine; Karen Blixen, author of Out of Africa, is a famous Danish bearer.

More on Wiktionary.

Is Karen a girl's or a boy's name?

Karen is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 11 girls in the UK and 175 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.

How popular is Karen in the UK?

Rank in 2025
2,509th among girls
Babies in 2025
11 about 1 in 25,000 girls
Five-year trend
Falling fast down 72% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1% chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 11 girls in the UK were named Karen, making it the 2,509th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,780th. Its busiest year was 1996, with 115 girls.

2025 had more girls named Karen than any year since 2020.

Half of all the girls named Karen in the UK since 1996 were born between 1998 and 2009. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier girls aren't counted.

Among girls in 2025, it was 2,438th in England and Wales.

In the England and Wales top 100 for girls, which the ONS has published every ten years since 1904: 1954 (#37), 1964 (#3), 1974 (#10) and 1984 (#51).

1996Busiest: 115 in 19962025
Karen in the UK, year by year
YearGirlsRank
202511#2,509
20244#4,907
20230–
20224#4,870
20217#3,338
202017#1,780
201916#1,871
201821#1,577
201718#1,763
201620#1,653
201524#1,431
201428#1,272
201328#1,296
201222#1,516
201125#1,335
201039#949
200936#976
200837#946
200748#754
200649#703
200556#633
200457#595
200354#599
200259#551
200167#490
200067#492
199966#495
199891#395
1997111#343
1996115#339

How popular is Karen in the US?

Rank in 2025
1,279th among girls
Babies in 2025
175 about 1 in 9,200 girls
Five-year trend
Falling down 53% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1% chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 175 girls in the US were named Karen, making it the 1,279th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 821st. Its busiest year was 1957, with 40,591 girls. It first appears in the records in 1881.

2025 had fewer girls named Karen than any year since 1931.

Half of all the girls named Karen in the US since 1880 were born between 1952 and 1966, the years shaded on the chart below.

1881Busiest: 40,591 in 19572025
Karen in the US, year by year
YearGirlsRank
2025175#1,279
2024186#1,250
2023226#1,089
2022199#1,216
2021229#1,088
2020332#821
2019440#662
2018470#636
2017554#556
2016617#508
2015627#505
2014633#494
2013730#416
2012897#354
20111,104#287
20101,288#248
20091,433#231
20081,816#187
20072,172#165
20062,031#173
20052,065#164
20042,168#155
20032,331#141
20022,225#150
20012,194#148
20002,174#153
19992,172#149
19982,073#152
19972,226#142
19962,401#133
19952,269#142
19942,487#128
19932,806#116
19922,765#121
19912,601#122
19902,716#120
19892,758#110
19882,567#111
19872,580#107
19862,801#100
19853,138#87
19843,536#82
19833,787#77
19824,153#68
19814,539#64
19805,055#54
19795,599#46
19786,371#39
19777,441#32
19767,505#31
19758,168#27
19748,643#26
19739,352#23
197211,181#21
197114,214#15
197016,699#12
196917,633#13
196819,560#9
196721,537#6
196625,450#5
196532,869#3
196430,243#4
196332,492#4
196235,184#4
196134,707#5
196036,378#4
195936,784#4
195838,487#4
195740,591#5
195640,052#7
195533,217#8
195432,456#8
195329,858#9
195228,956#8
195127,998#8
195024,132#12
194922,468#11
194821,996#12
194721,648#13
194619,647#15
194515,680#16
194415,944#16
194316,816#15
194215,387#16
194110,831#19
19407,283#34
19395,541#39
19384,508#50
19372,232#113
19361,718#132
19351,097#172
1934588#258
1933453#283
1932303#367
1931152#535
1930100#689
192978#798
192878#816
192757#1,010
192662#952
192549#1,089
192458#999
192348#1,101
192250#1,078
192142#1,184
192042#1,171
191927#1,527
191856#960
191747#1,026
191642#1,087
191536#1,140
191434#1,023
191312#1,766
191228#960
191111#1,450
191011#1,421
190912#1,219
190813#1,135
190714#1,037
190616#917
190511#1,162
190411#1,092
19038#1,318
19020–
19015#1,678
19008#1,430
18999#1,098
18988#1,263
18975#1,554
18969#1,122
18950–
189411#950
18937#1,175
189210#958
18916#1,213
189014#727
188910#839
18885#1,276
18879#788
18869#778
188510#695
18840–
18830–
18820–
18816#740

Names like Karen

Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.

Kathleen, Ffion, Erin, Caitlin, Megan, Helen, Robyn, Eden, Holly, Heidi, Ellen, Keira

Names related to Karen

Karina, Keren, Kareena, Karin, Kiren, Koren, Karyn, Karena, Karyna, Karine

More Greek names

Luca, Theodore, Sophia, George, Theo, Lucas, Sofia, Alexander, Sebastian, Penelope, Phoebe, Margot, Luke, Chloe, Sophie, Zoe

Every Greek name

Sources

Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.

To cite this page: Nameling, “Karen: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/karen, updated 20 October 2026.