Karen

Did you know?

A few things about Karen you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Karen

Karen Gillan

Scottish actress and filmmaker

Choose Karen and your child shares a first name with Karen Gillan, a Scottish actress and filmmaker. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Karen, like who?” Karen Gillan's Wikipedia article is available in 67 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Karen Gillan on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Pedro Heshike for Galaxy Con, CC BY 2.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 9,183 baby girls born in the US in 2025 was named Karen, 175 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Karen would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryKaren first shows up in US birth records in 1881, the first year at least 5 babies got it. It has been in use for 144 years since.
• 🏆Best yearIt was far more popular in 1965, when it ranked #3. Today it's #1,279, so it could be due a comeback.
• 📉Then vs nowKaren was 11× more common in 2000 than it is today. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 835 baby girls; in 2025, about 1 in 9,183.
• 🍂TrendKaren has slipped 458 places over the last five years and now sits at #1,279. Good news if you want a familiar name that fewer kids will share.
• 📍Where it's lovedKaren is most popular in Maryland, where it ranks #731, followed by Pennsylvania (#763) and Ohio (#801). It's in the top 1,000 in 6 states.
• 🌍OriginKaren is the most popular Danish girl name in the US. That's out of 12 Danish girl and unisex names in our list.

About the name Karen

Karen is a girl name of Danish and Greek origin. It has 5 letters and 2 syllables, starting with K and ending in “-ren”. US birth records list Karen for girls from 1881 to 2025, in 140 of those 145 years. Its best year was 1965, when it ranked #3 among girl names. In 2025 it ranked #1,279, with 175 babies.

Origin:Danish namesGreek names