Karen Name Popularity

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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.

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for Percentages.

		Karen (Girl)		Karen (Boy)
Year	%	No. of Babies Given Name	Popul. Rank	No. of Babies Given Name	Popul. 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.