Karla vs Karen

Side-by-side comparison of Karla and Karen — popularity rank, total births, peak decade, and historical trends from Social Security Administration data.

Name A

Karla

Girl name · Rank #730

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Name B

Karen

Girl name · Rank #1260

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Which name is more popular?

Metric Karla Karen
Current Rank #730 #1260
Total Births (all years) 91,241 987,811
Peak Year 1964 1957
Peak Year Births 2,060 40,590
Peak Decade 1960ss 1950ss
Gender Girl Girl
First Recorded Year 1915 1881

Births by Decade

Decade Karla Karen
1880ss — 49
1890ss — 79
1900ss — 98
1910ss 26 304
1920ss 65 564
1930ss 536 16,692
1940ss 3,102 167,699
1950ss 11,463 332,533
1960ss 17,716 286,054
1970ss 11,367 95,173
1980ss 9,360 34,917
1990ss 12,870 24,515
2000ss 16,144 20,608
2010ss 6,553 7,357
2020ss 2,039 1,169

Recent Annual Births (2014–present)

Year Karla Karen
2014 620 633
2015 616 627
2016 554 617
2017 553 554
2018 476 470
2019 427 439
2020 420 331
2021 411 229
2022 425 199
2023 398 226
2024 385 184

Data Sources

Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, ssa.gov/oact/babynames.
Source: SSA Annual Name Rankings, 1915–2024.

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