Karen

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Keren in CR Costa Rica, MX Mexico, PE Peru and 1 more and קרן in IL Israel, FR France.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 16 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Karen is also recorded as 7 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Spanish given name3.6M records spelled Karen72 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Brazil, Argentina, United States, Mexico

  Languages: Spanish, Portuguese, Italian

  Also written Kärën, K'Aren, Káren, Karén, Kären

• a separate given name713K records spelled Karen10 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Italy

  Also written Karėn, Ḳaren, Karën, Káren, Kären

• Swahili given name68K records spelled Karen4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Kenya, United Kingdom, Philippines

  Languages: Swahili, Yoruba, Southern Sotho

  Also written Karén

• Polish given name55K records spelled Karen33 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Poland, Czechia, United Kingdom

  Languages: Polish, Czech, Croatian

  Also written Карэн, Карени, Карен, Karén, Kärën

• Indonesian given name42K records spelled Karen8 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Indonesia, United States, Philippines, Malaysia

  Languages: Indonesian, Malay, Malagasy

  Also written 'Karen, Karén, Kärën, Káren

• Hungarian given name26K records spelled Karen16 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Hungary, United States, Finland, United Kingdom

  Languages: Hungarian, Finnish, Estonian

  Also written Kärën, Kären, Kärén, Káren, Kärên

• Greek given name25K records spelled Karen3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Greece, United States, United Kingdom, Canada

  Also written Karén, Καρεν

92 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Karen is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In French, Danish form of Katherine, from Greek Aikaterinē, origin uncertain.

  as a name·Le grand guide des prénoms (Enfant - Education)

• Danish form of Katherine, first introduced to the English-speaking world by Scandinavian settlers in America. It has been used in Britain only since the 19508, but has become very popular. Karin Swedish form of }Katherine, found as a less common variant of Karen in America and Britain.

  as a name·A concise dictionary of first names

• Czech; from Kara or Kara, derivatives of the personal name Karel (see Charles).

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

• In English, A female given name from Ancient Greek.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In Danish, forma danesa de Catalina; difundido por escandinavos

  as a name·Diccionario etimológico de nombres propios

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 140 years between 1881–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Karen Horneyb. 1885DEAmerican-German psychoanalyst
• Karen Blixenb. 1885DKDanish writer
• Karen Uhlenbeckb. 1942USAmerican mathematician (born 1942)
• Karen Carpenterb. 1950USAmerican singer and drummer (1950–1983)
• Karen Allenb. 1951USAmerican actress
• Karen Nybergb. 1969USAmerican astronaut
• Karen Davidb. 1979INCanadian actress, singer and songwriter
• Karen Gillanb. 1987GBScottish actress and filmmaker
• Lucy Haleb. 1989USnot in their usual nameAmerican actress and singer
• Karen Fukuharab. 1992USAmerican actress (born 1992)

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 1,581 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Karen?

We estimate roughly 1.3 million people bear Karen (counting its spellings and scripts) across 11 countries in our records.

In which country does Karen have the most bearers?

Karen is most frequently recorded in the United Kingdom, where it is most often spelled karen.

Where is Karen most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Karen is densest in the Czechia — about 1 in 51 people — even though United Kingdom holds more of our records for it.

How common is Karen compared with other names?

In the United Kingdom, Karen is the 32nd most common given name of 369,273 given names recorded there.

Is Karen a male or female name?

Karen is a female name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Karen mean?

Recorded meaning: Form of Katherine, ultimately of Danish origin; now well established in Ireland.