Kari

Did you know?

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

⭐ Famous Kari

Kari Wahlgren

American voice actress

Choose Kari and your child shares a first name with Kari Wahlgren, an American voice actress. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Kari, like who?” Kari Wahlgren's Wikipedia article is available in 36 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Kari Wahlgren on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 17,857 baby girls born in the US in 2025 was named Kari, 90 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Kari would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryKari first shows up in US birth records in 1934, the first year at least 5 babies got it. It has been in use for 91 years since.
• 🏆Best yearIt was far more popular in 1976, when it ranked #127. Today it's #2,076, so it could be due a comeback.
• 📉Then vs nowKari was 2.9× more common in 2000 than it is today. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 6,200 baby girls; in 2025, about 1 in 17,857.
• 🍂TrendKari has slipped 608 places over the last five years and now sits at #2,076. Good news if you want a familiar name that fewer kids will share.
• 📍Where it's lovedKari is most popular in Ohio, where it ranks #801, followed by Maryland (#840). It's in the top 1,000 in 2 states.
• ⚖️Boy or girlKari is given to both boys and girls: 80% of the 113 babies named Kari in 2025 were girls. That makes it one of the names that truly works for either.
• 💬MeaningKari is a Norwegian form of Katherine, which means “pure”. Our records link it to German, Greek and Norwegian roots.
• 🌍OriginKari is the #5 most popular Norwegian girl name in the US. That's out of 18 Norwegian girl and unisex names in our list.

About the name Kari

Kari is a gender-neutral name of German, Greek and Norwegian origin meaning “pure”. It has 4 letters and 2 syllables, starting with K and ending in “-ari”. US birth records list Kari for girls from 1934 to 2025, in 90 of those 92 years. Its best year was 1976, when it ranked #127 among girl names. In 2025 it ranked #2,076, with 90 babies. Of the 113 US babies named Kari in 2025, 80% were girls and 20% were boys.

Origin:German namesGreek namesNorwegian names