Recorded 1881–2025 · United States
Karen was most popular in 1957, when 40,668 American babies were given the name — ranking #14 that year. In 2025 it ranked #2,418, with 175 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 990,774 people named Karen.
Karen first appears in Social Security Administration records in 1881, which makes it about 144 years old as a recorded American name. It has been recorded in 140 of the 145 years since.
The Social Security Administration has recorded 990,774 American births named Karen between 1880 and 2025. That is recorded US births, not a world population — it counts people issued a Social Security number at birth in the United States. Of those, roughly 813,139 are estimated to be alive today.
175 American babies were named Karen in 2025, ranking #2,418 that year.
Karen is falling. Across 2021–2025 it averaged 204 births a year, against 802 a year across 2011–2015 — a change of -75% over the decade.
Measured on recorded births. American births overall have fallen since 2007, so most established names lose births over any recent decade — a name can shed births and still hold its rank. Compare the rank above, which is measured against the other names of the same year.
Across the whole record Karen is a girl’s name — 99.7% of the 990,774 Americans given it were girls and 0.3% were boys. In births since 2016 it is 99% girls and 1% boys.
Counted from every US birth the Social Security Administration recorded under this name, so it reflects use rather than opinion. A name given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year is withheld at source and is not counted.
Roughly 813,139 Americans named Karen are alive today — 82% of everyone ever recorded with the name. The median is 66 years old, and half are between 58 and 72.
An estimate, not a count. Recorded births are carried forward through the Social Security Administration’s 2023 period life table, by age and sex. That table describes mortality in one recent year, so it credits the oldest cohorts with today’s survival rather than the harsher rates they actually lived through — the further back a name peaked, the more this will overstate how many remain. It counts people issued a Social Security number at birth, not immigrants who arrived later.
Danish · form of Katherine, "pure"
How much more common the name is in each state than across the country as a whole.
See Karen on the interactive charts
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Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org