How Many People Are Named Kari?
An estimated 54,789 people in the United States have the first name Kari. It is predominantly female (98.5%). The average bearer is 46 years old, and Kari peaked in popularity in 1975 with 2,243 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Kari 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 Kari paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Kari is overwhelmingly female, 908 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- Kari has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1970s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
54,789
About 1 in 6,256 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Female
98.5% confidence
Average Age
46
years old
Peak Year
1975
2,243 births
Total Registered
60,515
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Kari
Kari is predominantly female (98.5%), though 908 male births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Kari as a male name
Ranked #2,846 in 2024
45 male births in 2024
Peak: 2024 (45 births)
Kari as a female name
Ranked #1,841 in 2024
109 female births in 2024
Peak: 1975 (2,221 births)
Kari: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Kari span from the 1930s to the 2020s, covering 10 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1970s, when 18,918 babies were registered. Kari has declined significantly from its peak in the 1970s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Kari by Decade
How has Kari 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.
Kari by State
Birth registrations for Kari span all 50 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, Minnesota, Wisconsin. The lowest are in District of Columbia, Delaware, Vermont. On average, about 1,134 Karis were registered per state.
Kari + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Kari as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Kari
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
Kari: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kari?
We estimate approximately 54,789 people named Kari 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 6,256 Americans share this first name.
Is Kari a common name?
Kari is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 99.2% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 60,515 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Kari most popular?
Kari reached peak popularity in 1975, when 2,243 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Kari is approximately 46 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Kari a female name?
Kari is predominantly female. 98.5% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Kari Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Kari Smith, Kari Johnson, Kari 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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