Girl · #1,441 in 2026

Karen

Name: Popularity of the name Karen in U.S. births, 1880–2026
Creator: U.S. Social Security Administration
License: https://www.ssa.gov/foia/
Keywords: Karen, baby name, popularity, U.S., SSA, rankings

Karen is a given name and occasional surname. In English, it is a feminine given name derived from the name Katherine, and it is also found in modern Africa, as well as in East Asia. However, in other countries such as Iran and Armenia, it is a masculine name deriving from Middle Iranian.

Current Rank

#1,441

Peak Rank

#3 (1957)

Total Babies

988K

5-Yr Trend

-54%

1881

First Year

2026

Last Year

1957

Peak Year

Peak Rank

988K

Total Count

141

Years Active

Meaning & Origin of Karen

What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →

The Story of Karen

Karen first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1881, with 6 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 1957, when 40,590 Karens were born — ranking #5 that year. As of 2026, Karen ranks #1,441 for baby girls with 153 births, falling sharply (-54%). In total, more than 988K Karens have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1880s through the 2020s.

Popularity Over Time

Popularity by State

Top 10

11-50

51-100

101-500

500+

No data

Names that sound like Karen

Phonetically similar names — useful when Karen is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.

Frequently Asked Questions about Karen

What does the name Karen mean?

How popular is Karen in 2026?

In 2026, Karen ranks #1,441 among girls' names in the U.S., with 153 babies given the name that year.

When was Karen most popular?

Karen reached its peak popularity in 1957, ranking #3 that year with 40,590 babies given the name.

In which U.S. states is Karen most popular?

Karen has historically been most popular in California, Hawaii, Arkansas. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Karen.

Is Karen a unisex name?

In U.S. Social Security records, Karen is primarily a girl's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a boy's name.

What names go well with Karen?

Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Karen include Elizabeth, Margaret, Sarah. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data.

About the name Karen

Karen is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1881 and has accumulated 988K births in the dataset. Karen's peak popularity came in 1957 when it ranked #3. Use the chart and map above to compare Karen's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.

Continue exploring

Data sources

Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .

Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.