Girls' name · since 1881
Karen
987,989 babies named Karen in U.S. Social Security records since 1881, with the highest year being 1957. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #15 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,281 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 987,989
- born since 1881
- 1950s
- peak decade
Karen currently ranks #1281 among girls' names in America, with 987,989 babies recorded since 1881.
Social Security Administration records show Karen recorded 987,989 times among girls since 1881, holding rank #1281 nationally today, ahead of 93% of girls, peaking in the 1950s. This profile derives year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1881 to 2025.
- #15 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #1,281 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 987,989 born since 1881
- 1950s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Karen ranks #15 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,281 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 987,989 born since 1881, peaking in the 1950s.
- #15 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,281 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 987,989
- born since 1881
- 1950s
- peak decade
Karen's 987,989 recorded births place it above 99.97% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Karen compares
987,989 Top 1% higher than 99% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Karen's all-time total is 2,628x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Karen | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 987,989 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 40,591 | 21 | 19,840 |
Karen's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Divide Karen's SSA record in two at 1956 and the more recent half accounts for 63% of all births, the earlier half the remaining 37%, consistent with a name still gaining ground rather than fading. Its calmest year was 1888, with only 5 births recorded -- set against the 1957 peak of 40,591, that's the full swing in one name's fortunes.
Karen popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1881–2025
- Peak year (1957)
- 40,591
- Annual births at peak, across 145 years of records
Karen popularity over time - boys
2,785 total births recorded since 1935 (Karen as boys' name)
Karen by decade
1950s is the heaviest window (332,531 births, 34% of the file).
1950s was Karen's strongest decade.
332,531 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 34% of all-time use.
Karen births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 49
1880s
49 births
- 1890s 79
1890s
79 births
- 1900s 98
1900s
98 births
- 1910s 304
1910s
304 births
- 1920s 564
1920s
564 births
- 1930s 16,692
1930s
16,692 births
- 1940s
1940s
167,700 births
- 1950s
1950s
332,531 births
- 1960s
1960s
286,053 births
- 1970s 95,173
1970s
95,173 births
- 1980s 34,914
1980s
34,914 births
- 1990s 24,516
1990s
24,516 births
- 2000s 20,609
2000s
20,609 births
- 2010s 7,360
2010s
7,360 births
- 2020s 1,347
2020s
1,347 births
What this shows Peak: 1950s at 332,531 births (34% of all-time use).
How Karen compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Karen's total volume
Karen by state
Where Karen concentrates geographically, total births since 1881
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 91,366 | 9.2% |
| #2 | New York | | 88,448 | 9.0% |
| #3 | Pennsylvania | | 65,917 | 6.7% |
| #4 | Illinois | | 61,295 | 6.2% |
| #5 | Ohio | | 60,539 | 6.1% |
| #6 | Michigan | | 51,735 | 5.2% |
| #7 | Texas | | 46,501 | 4.7% |
| #8 | New Jersey | | 34,449 | 3.5% |
91,366 of 987,989 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Karen appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Karen? ▼
Where does Karen sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Karen most popular? ▼
Where is Karen most popular? ▼
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What to do with Karen's data
- Karen's decade-level peak was the 1950s (332,531 total births); usage has since declined to 1,347 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Karens (91,366 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Karen
Nearby Names Like Karen
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Karen
Compare Karen side by side: Karen vs Kara Karen vs Karla Karen vs Karina
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Karen
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Karen: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1957)
Similar record span (~144 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1881–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Karen draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.