Karen

Karen: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning: “pure”
Origin: Danish
Say it: KAIR-ən · 2 syllables
Used for: Girls

Danish form of Katherine, widely used in Scandinavia and the English-speaking world. Katherine's ultimate Greek etymology is traditionally associated with purity.

Scandinavian names English names American names Names meaning pure Classic names International names

How popular is Karen?

202455.0 per million US babies

Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Compare with another name

Babies named Karen in 2024184

2024 rank#1,260 girls

Peak year1956

Total US babies since 1880990,595

Karen is fading: recent use is about 28% of its level ten years before.

Names like Karen

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

Catalinapure · Spanish
Katherinepure · Greek
Catherinepure · Greek
Katiepure · English
Kathrynpure · Greek
Katepure · Greek
Caitlinpure · Irish
Katerinapure · Greek

Karen questions

What does the name Karen mean?

Karen means "pure". It comes from Danish. Danish form of Katherine, widely used in Scandinavia and the English-speaking world. Katherine's ultimate Greek etymology is traditionally associated with purity.

Is Karen a boy or girl name?

Karen is mainly a girl's name in US records (100% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Karen?

184 US babies were named Karen in 2024. Its peak year was 1956.

How do you pronounce Karen?

Karen is usually pronounced KAIR-ən.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.