Meaning and history
Karen began as a Danish and Norwegian short form of Katherine, a name of uncertain Greek origin that later became associated with the Greek word for "pure." It entered broad English use in the twentieth century and was especially popular in the mid-century United States. Notable bearers include Danish writer Karen Blixen, who wrote under the name Isak Dinesen, and American singer Karen Carpenter.
20062006: 2,031 births, rank #173
2007: 2,172 births, rank #165
2008: 1,816 births, rank #187
2009: 1,433 births, rank #231
2010: 1,288 births, rank #248
20112011: 1,104 births, rank #287
2012: 897 births, rank #354
2013: 730 births, rank #416
2014: 633 births, rank #494
2015: 627 births, rank #505
20162016: 617 births, rank #508
2017: 554 births, rank #556
2018: 470 births, rank #636
2019: 440 births, rank #662
2020: 332 births, rank #821
20212021: 229 births, rank #1,088
2022: 199 births, rank #1,216
2023: 226 births, rank #1,089
2024: 186 births, rank #1,250
20252025: 175 births, rank #1,279
Karen moved from #662 to #821 for girls between 2019 and 2020. Its highest annual birth count came in 1957, with 40,591 births.