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Karen Name Popularity

    

Charts | Table | About | By Year

How popular is Karen?

The less frequently given name Karen was the 635th Most Popular Girls Name in the United States in 2018.

This top 1000 contender has seen rankings outside of the top 1000.

It reached its highest popularity RANKING of #3 in 1965.

Nonetheless, the name was given to the greatest number of children in 1957 with 40,586 occurrences.

In any year, the least number of babies named Karen was less than 5, most recently in 1902.

Approximately during the years 1903-1906, 1909-1918, and 1925-1956, the name Karen took a definitive turn upwards in popularity whereas unequivocal downward movement occurred about 1957-1964, 1965-1987, 1992-1995, 2005-2014, and 2015-2017.

Sometimes the name Karen has been more popular as a girls name and sometimes it has been more popular as a boys.

Where is the name Karen popularity headed?

Currently, the name is at an extremely low point when compared to its most popular year.

Karen's popularity has been spiralling downward for some time. Of late, continuing the trend, the number of parents selecting the name Karen for their newborn has dropped.

The name Karen still has a solid footing but will probably continue to drift downward in popularity.

Relative to what it once was, Karen is very rarely used as a given name.

*Mouse over the charts or scroll down to the table for data details.

 
Mouse over or Click for Percentages.
   Karen (Girl)Karen (Boy)
Year %No. of Babies Given NamePopul. RankNo. of Babies Given NamePopul. Rank
2018 468 635 < 5 --
2017 552 557 7 10,210
2016 615 508 < 5 --
2015 626 505 5 13,030
2014 631 494 < 5 --
2013 730 416 < 5 --
2012 896 354 5 13,227
2011 1,103 288 7 10,192
2010 1,286 249 8 9,231
2009 1,433 230 < 5 --
2008 1,816 187 5 13,571
2007 2,171 165 12 6,858
2006 2,029 173 11 7,179
2005 2,064 164 9 7,985
2004 2,165 155 12 6,334
2003 2,331 141 10 6,989
2002 2,222 150 6 10,049
2001 2,193 148 18 4,379
2000 2,173 153 20 3,999
1999 2,172 149 14 4,890
1998 2,073 152 6 9,062
1997 2,223 143 9 6,365
1996 2,401 133 16 4,098
1995 2,270 142 19 3,494
1994 2,487 128 17 3,827
1993 2,807 116 33 2,317
1992 2,763 121 25 2,775
1991 2,599 122 21 3,057
1990 2,716 120 18 3,389
1989 2,757 110 37 1,972
1988 2,567 111 20 2,805
1987 2,582 107 35 1,845
1986 2,800 100 23 2,391
1985 3,139 87 26 2,152
1984 3,537 82 28 1,954
1983 3,789 77 22 2,310
1982 4,154 68 31 1,830
1981 4,536 64 23 2,238
1980 5,054 54 27 2,027
1979 5,601 46 32 1,770
1978 6,372 39 22 2,157
1977 7,444 32 27 1,880
1976 7,505 31 36 1,523
1975 8,166 27 32 1,607
1974 8,651 26 36 1,455
1973 9,355 23 40 1,318
1972 11,182 21 49 1,169
1971 14,209 15 57 1,086
1970 16,701 12 48 1,197
1969 17,638 13 74 890
1968 19,558 9 49 1,059
1967 21,540 6 54 988
1966 25,446 5 64 907
1965 32,872 3 81 822
1964 30,247 4 91 789
1963 32,485 4 83 832
1962 35,184 4 75 883
1961 34,697 5 79 861
1960 36,380 4 72 896
1959 36,776 4 81 841
1958 38,463 4 66 941
1957 40,586 5 77 856
1956 40,047 7 72 885
1955 33,218 8 50 1,072
1954 32,454 8 53 1,033
1953 29,853 9 58 942
1952 28,959 8 36 1,234
1951 27,998 8 34 1,269
1950 24,136 12 36 1,211
1949 22,467 11 41 1,101
1948 21,996 12 36 1,206
1947 21,648 13 37 1,202
1946 19,646 15 39 1,118
1945 15,678 16 52 869
1944 15,943 16 49 911
1943 16,816 15 54 912
1942 15,386 16 65 800
1941 10,830 19 44 965
1940 7,283 34 37 1,084
1939 5,542 39 17 1,680
1938 4,508 50 21 1,504
1937 2,232 113 9 2,581
1936 1,719 132 13 2,014
1935 1,097 172 8 2,827
1934 588 258 < 5 --
1933 453 283 < 5 --
1932 303 367 < 5 --
1931 154 533 < 5 --
1930 100 689 < 5 --
1929 79 792 < 5 --
1928 78 818 < 5 --
1927 57 1,015 < 5 --
1926 62 953 < 5 --
1925 49 1,097 < 5 --
1924 58 1,008 < 5 --
1923 48 1,106 < 5 --
1922 50 1,084 < 5 --
1921 42 1,193 < 5 --
1920 42 1,179 < 5 --
1919 27 1,543 < 5 --
1918 56 964 < 5 --
1917 47 1,031 < 5 --
1916 42 1,093 < 5 --
1915 36 1,146 < 5 --
1914 34 1,030 < 5 --
1913 12 1,826 < 5 --
1912 28 966 < 5 --
1911 11 1,499 < 5 --
1910 11 1,473 < 5 --
1909 12 1,250 < 5 --
1908 13 1,168 < 5 --
1907 14 1,061 < 5 --
1906 16 940 < 5 --
1905 11 1,212 < 5 --
1904 11 1,137 < 5 --
1903 8 1,382 < 5 --
1902 < 5 -- < 5 --
1901 5 1,806 < 5 --
1900 8 1,505 < 5 --
1899 9 1,143 < 5 --
1898 8 1,316 < 5 --
1897 5 1,663 < 5 --
1896 9 1,170 < 5 --
1895 < 5 -- < 5 --
1894 11 978 < 5 --
1893 7 1,239 < 5 --
1892 10 984 < 5 --
1891 6 1,271 < 5 --
1890 14 747 < 5 --
1889 10 872 < 5 --
1888 5 1,380 < 5 --
1887 9 822 < 5 --
1886 9 802 < 5 --
1885 10 715 < 5 --
1884 < 5 -- < 5 --
1883 < 5 -- < 5 --
1882 < 5 -- < 5 --
1881 6 786 < 5 --
1880 < 5 -- < 5 --

United States name popularity data is provided by the Social Security Administration and is based on Social Security card applications.

Data for a given year is not made available until well into the next year.

Data reflects what was recorded and has not been edited for errors, so for example the gender associated with a name may be incorrect.

The more babies that are given a particular name, the higher the popularity ranking. If multiple names have the same usage, the tie is broken by assigning popularity rank in alphabetical order. Therefore in the case of names with fewer occurrences, names with the same number of occurrences may have vastly different rankings because they will be interranked alphabetically.

To safeguard privacy, the SSA does not include names with less than 5 occurrences.

Please note, we update the data each May when the SSA releases new figures. All data changes at that time, including previous years, which will change minutely based on new information.