Karen (name)

Karen entered the English language from Danish, where it has been a short form of "Katherine" since medieval times.^[1] It became popular in the English-speaking world in the 1940s. The name Karen was one of the top 10 names for girls born in the United States during the 1950s and 1960s, peaking as the third most popular girl's name in 1965.^[2]

Variants include Caren, Caryn, Karena, Karin, Karyn, and others.^[3]

In part due to its increasingly common derogatory use since 2017, the name has become significantly less popular in the United States in recent years.^[4] However, the name had already peaked in use and gone out of fashion prior to 2017. One recent study found that the perceived disrespect and verbal abuse they experience because of their name has had a negative impact on the mental health of women who are named Karen. Participants in the study came from a variety of racial, cultural, and economic backgrounds, reflecting the enormous, widespread popularity of the name in the Anglosphere during the mid-20th century.^[5]

In Armenia Karen (Armenian: Կարեն, IPA: [kɑˈɾɛn]) is a common masculine given name.

The masculine given name Karen derived from the Parthian name of House of Karen (or Caren), one of the seven aristocratic families of ancient Iran. Several Iranian princes named Karen are known before and after the Islamic period. The Karen house ruled the Tabaristan region of Iran, which approximately corresponds to the current provinces of Gilan state and Mazandaran.

The masculine given name Garen is a Western Armenian form of the Eastern Armenian Karen.

The masculine given name Karen was mentioned by the prominent Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi (c. 410–490s AD; Armenian: Մովսես Խորենացի) in his book History of Armenia.^[6]

Karen can also be a surname.

In East Asia, Karen is a feminine given name. The name can be found in Japan. It may come from 可憐 ("pretty, lovely"),^[7] 華蓮 (combining kanji meaning "flower" and "lotus or water lily")^[8] or other meanings.

• Karen Iwata (born 1998), Japanese singer
• Karen Kong, Malaysian singer
• Karen Makishima (born 1976), Japanese politician
• Karen Miyama (born 1996), Japanese actress
• Karen Mok (born 1970), Hong Kong singer and actress
• Karen Nun-Ira (born 1991), Japanese judoka
• Karen Tanaka (born 1961), Japanese composer
• Karen Takizawa (born 1992), Japanese model, tarento and actress
• Karen Yu (born 1980), Taiwanese politician

• All pages with titles beginning with Karen
• All pages with titles containing Karen
• Karen (disambiguation)
• Caron (name)
• Garen (disambiguation)
• Karan (given name)
• Karan (surname)
• Karien
• Karen people
• Karen (slang)
• Karey (disambiguation)