How Many People Are Named Karen?
An estimated 723,738 people in the United States have the first name Karen, ranking it #47 among all first names. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 62 years old, and Karen peaked in popularity in 1957 with 40,667 births that year. It has a similar number of bearers to Donald (721,719).
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Karen as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Karen paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Karen is overwhelmingly female, 2,784 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- Karen has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1950s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
723,738
About 1 in 474 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Very Common
Predicted Gender
Female
99.7% confidence
Average Age
62
years old
Peak Year
1957
40,667 births
Total Registered
990,595
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Karen
Karen is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 990,595 total births registered, 99.7% were female.
Karen as a male name
Ranked #13,191 in 2023
5 male births in 2023
Peak: 1964 (91 births)
Karen as a female name
Ranked #1,263 in 2024
184 female births in 2024
Peak: 1957 (40,590 births)
Karen: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Karen span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1950s, when 333,095 babies were registered. Karen has declined significantly from its peak in the 1950s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Karen by Decade
How has Karen tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 49 | 0 | 49 | |
| 1890s | 79 | 0 | 79 | |
| 1900s | 98 | 0 | 98 | |
| 1910s | 304 | 0 | 304 | |
| 1920s | 564 | 0 | 564 | |
| 1930s | 16,760 | 68 | 16,692 | |
| 1940s | 168,153 | 454 | 167,699 | |
| 1950s | 333,095 | 562 | 332,533 | |
| 1960s | 286,776 | 722 | 286,054 | |
| 1970s | 95,549 | 376 | 95,173 | |
| 1980s | 35,189 | 272 | 34,917 | |
| 1990s | 24,693 | 178 | 24,515 | |
| 2000s | 20,711 | 103 | 20,608 | |
| 2010s | 7,395 | 38 | 7,357 | |
| 2020s | 1,180 | 11 | 1,169 | |
Karen by State
Birth registrations for Karen span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, New York, Pennsylvania. The lowest are in Alaska, Wyoming, Nevada. On average, about 19,340 Karens were registered per state.
Karen + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Karen as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Karen
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
Karen: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Karen?
We estimate approximately 723,738 people named Karen are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 474 Americans share this first name.
Is Karen a common name?
Karen is classified as "Very Common" and is more popular than 100% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 990,595 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Karen most popular?
Karen reached peak popularity in 1957, when 40,667 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Karen is approximately 62 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Karen a female name?
Karen is predominantly female. 99.7% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Karen Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Karen Smith, Karen Johnson, Karen Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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