People with the first name Karen
882,576
About 1 in 376 Americans had this first name in the 2020 Census.
Measured, privacy-protected national Census count—not a total of historical baby-name records.
U.S. first-name statistics
How common is Karen?
Karen was the #33 most frequent first name in the 2020 Census.
National rank
#33
More common than 99.9% of listed first names
Peak year
1957
40,668 SSA-recorded births
2025 births
175
#2,420 across first names
Census frequency
1 in 376
Across the 2020 U.S. population
Sex distribution
Reported in the 2020 Census first-name table.
0.2% male99.8% female
Demographic distribution
Aggregated race and Hispanic-origin reporting in the 2020 Census name table.
Reading the result
Karen across two different records
The Census count answers “how many people had this name?” using a national snapshot of living residents in 2020. The SSA series answers “when was this name popular?” using Social Security card applications associated with births.
Karen reached its highest published annual SSA count in 1957, with 40,668 recorded births. In 2025, SSA recorded 175 babies with the name.
Names do not determine a person’s identity. Demographic percentages above describe national aggregates and should never be applied to an individual.
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