Karlene
Karlene was last recorded in 2024, when 7 babies were given it; 4,167 Americans have been recorded with it between 1913 and 2024 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 3,120 Americans named Karlene and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (75% of everyone recorded); the median is 62 years old and half are between 44 and 72.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Karlene by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Karlene mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Karlene is “a female given name.”
/kɑɹˈlin/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Karlene?
Unranked in 2025
Its last girls’ rank on record is #12,777, in 2024; SSA lists a name only in years with 5 or more births.
104 babies in 1959, the peak
Karlene peaked in 1959, when 104 girls were given it, #1,049 among girls’ names. It was not recorded in 2025.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per million girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 7 | #12,777 | 4.3 |
| 2023 | 8 | #11,688 | 5.0 |
| 2022 | 5 | #16,475 | 3.0 |
| 2021 | 7 | #12,831 | 4.3 |
| 2020 | 11 | #9,227 | 6.8 |
| 2019 | 5 | #16,740 | 3.0 |
| 2018 | 5 | #16,849 | 2.9 |
| 2017 | 13 | #8,535 | 7.5 |
| 2016 | 8 | #12,300 | 4.5 |
| 2014 | 6 | #15,577 | 3.4 |
Every recorded year (108)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per million girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 11 | #9,905 | 6.3 |
| 2012 | 9 | #11,727 | 5.1 |
| 2011 | 5 | #18,152 | 2.8 |
| 2010 | 9 | #11,736 | 5.1 |
| 2009 | 10 | #11,068 | 5.4 |
| 2008 | 18 | #7,217 | 9.5 |
| 2007 | 10 | #11,224 | 5.2 |
| 2006 | 17 | #7,307 | 8.9 |
| 2005 | 10 | #10,511 | 5.4 |
| 2004 | 23 | #5,452 | 12.5 |
| 2003 | 16 | #7,043 | 8.8 |
| 2002 | 22 | #5,349 | 12.2 |
| 2001 | 28 | #4,373 | 15.6 |
| 2000 | 22 | #5,224 | 12.1 |
| 1999 | 14 | #7,017 | 7.9 |
| 1998 | 13 | #7,309 | 7.4 |
| 1997 | 21 | #4,913 | 12.1 |
| 1996 | 32 | #3,528 | 18.3 |
| 1995 | 32 | #3,447 | 18.2 |
| 1994 | 29 | #3,737 | 16.2 |
| 1993 | 44 | #2,737 | 24.3 |
| 1992 | 23 | #4,442 | 12.5 |
| 1991 | 31 | #3,474 | 16.5 |
| 1990 | 16 | #5,669 | 8.4 |
| 1989 | 43 | #2,627 | 23.3 |
| 1988 | 37 | #2,820 | 20.8 |
| 1987 | 25 | #3,565 | 14.4 |
| 1986 | 24 | #3,591 | 14.0 |
| 1985 | 39 | #2,511 | 22.7 |
| 1984 | 31 | #2,882 | 18.4 |
| 1983 | 37 | #2,490 | 22.1 |
| 1982 | 33 | #2,794 | 19.5 |
| 1981 | 38 | #2,509 | 22.8 |
| 1980 | 37 | #2,558 | 22.3 |
| 1979 | 22 | #3,594 | 13.7 |
| 1978 | 29 | #2,820 | 18.9 |
| 1977 | 33 | #2,581 | 21.5 |
| 1976 | 30 | #2,624 | 20.5 |
| 1975 | 38 | #2,215 | 26.1 |
| 1974 | 43 | #1,977 | 29.3 |
| 1973 | 30 | #2,474 | 20.6 |
| 1972 | 36 | #2,152 | 23.7 |
| 1971 | 55 | #1,673 | 33.1 |
| 1970 | 56 | #1,666 | 32.0 |
| 1969 | 54 | #1,639 | 32.0 |
| 1968 | 66 | #1,381 | 40.2 |
| 1967 | 73 | #1,264 | 44.2 |
| 1966 | 75 | #1,246 | 44.3 |
| 1965 | 70 | #1,294 | 39.7 |
| 1964 | 82 | #1,222 | 43.3 |
| 1963 | 89 | #1,160 | 46.2 |
| 1962 | 99 | #1,092 | 50.3 |
| 1961 | 96 | #1,123 | 47.6 |
| 1960 | 94 | #1,118 | 46.5 |
| 1959 | 104 | #1,049 | 51.4 |
| 1958 | 99 | #1,052 | 49.2 |
| 1957 | 95 | #1,068 | 46.5 |
| 1956 | 85 | #1,120 | 42.3 |
| 1955 | 76 | #1,147 | 38.9 |
| 1954 | 74 | #1,159 | 38.1 |
| 1953 | 89 | #1,020 | 47.3 |
| 1952 | 78 | #1,068 | 42.1 |
| 1951 | 78 | #1,053 | 43.3 |
| 1950 | 75 | #1,066 | 43.8 |
| 1949 | 82 | #995 | 47.9 |
| 1948 | 85 | #941 | 50.1 |
| 1947 | 92 | #926 | 51.9 |
| 1946 | 84 | #914 | 53.5 |
| 1945 | 60 | #997 | 45.9 |
| 1944 | 70 | #921 | 52.7 |
| 1943 | 72 | #917 | 51.6 |
| 1942 | 79 | #869 | 58.5 |
| 1941 | 53 | #1,009 | 43.9 |
| 1940 | 64 | #898 | 56.0 |
| 1939 | 76 | #786 | 69.3 |
| 1938 | 58 | #940 | 52.6 |
| 1937 | 65 | #857 | 61.1 |
| 1936 | 56 | #916 | 53.8 |
| 1935 | 35 | #1,213 | 33.4 |
| 1934 | 34 | #1,225 | 32.6 |
| 1933 | 29 | #1,342 | 28.8 |
| 1932 | 25 | #1,545 | 23.4 |
| 1931 | 19 | #1,831 | 17.8 |
| 1930 | 11 | #2,773 | 9.8 |
| 1929 | 12 | #2,654 | 10.7 |
| 1928 | 15 | #2,328 | 13.0 |
| 1927 | 8 | #3,718 | 6.7 |
| 1926 | 9 | #3,405 | 7.6 |
| 1925 | 5 | #5,388 | 4.1 |
| 1924 | 11 | #3,063 | 8.8 |
| 1923 | 8 | #3,796 | 6.6 |
| 1922 | 5 | #5,397 | 4.2 |
| 1921 | 8 | #3,843 | 6.5 |
| 1920 | 6 | #4,659 | 5.0 |
| 1919 | 6 | #4,519 | 5.3 |
| 1918 | 6 | #4,560 | 5.2 |
| 1915 | 7 | #3,614 | 7.1 |
| 1913 | 5 | #3,430 | 8.0 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Karlene a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Karlene has been recorded only for girls: SSA lists no boys with the name in 108 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Karlene: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Karlene, and how old are they?
3,120 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 75% of the 4,167 Americans ever recorded as Karlene. The median Karlene alive today is 62 years old; half are between 44 and 72.
The 2020 Census counted 4,350 people named Karlene (4,347 women and girls, 3 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 3,368 born in the U.S. The Census count is 29% above that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 310 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 1,290 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 687 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 500 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 244 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 85 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Karlene born?
The states with the most babies named Karlene are California, New York and Michigan, with 48% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 256 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| New York | 163 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Michigan | 134 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Ohio | 109 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Illinois | 77 | not ranked | 0.3× |
| Minnesota | 72 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Iowa | 64 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Wisconsin | 59 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Pennsylvania | 58 | not ranked | 0.2× |
| Washington | 57 | not ranked | 0.8× |
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Karlene with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 28,187 babies since 1880, Karlene is the second most given (15% of them). In 2025 none of their 151 babies recorded by SSA was a Karlene (SSA lists a name only with 5 or more babies of one sex).
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Karlene
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Karlene and names like it
- Compare Karlene and CarleneBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1950sKarlene peaked in 1959.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Karlene since 1910.
- The top names of 1959The year the most babies were named Karlene.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Karlene alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with KMost given first.