first name
KAREN
of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census
Of the 882,576 people named Karen, 81.6% reported their origin as White, 7.9% as Hispanic or Latino and 6.1% as Black. Virtually all are female (99.8%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.
What should your name go on next?
Thanks! We'll make the most-wanted one next.
Karen peaked in 1957, when 40,668 babies got the name.
At least 990,774 babies have been given the name since 1881. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.
Karen by decade
Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1960s, when it ranked #15. The largest share of babies named Karen, 59.4%, were born during the baby boom (1946–1964).
Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.
Where Karen is most common
Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Karen has been most common in District of Columbia (1.7×), Rhode Island (1.5×), and Wisconsin (1.4×), and least common in Mississippi (0.45×).
986,480 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.
Either side of Karen
Spelled almost the same
8 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Karen, most common first.
Also a last name
As a last name, Karen ranks #30,557 of 156,621, with 818 people. See Karen as a last name
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🔎 KAREN 🟦🟦⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 1 in 342 Americans More common than 83.4% of us Peaked in 1957 with 40,668 babies Beat that 👇 https://howrareismy.name/first/karen/