Karen

Danish variation of Katherine
"pure"

Karen Origin and Meaning

The name Karen is a girl's name of Danish origin meaning "pure".

Karen is a Danish diminutive of Katherine, an English name derived from the Greek Aikaterine. The etymology of Aikaterine is contested, but generally considered to have arisen from the Greek root katharos, meaning "pure." Kaja is a related name, as it is another Danish variation of Katherine.

Karen, a sweet good-girl Danish import, was so popular during the baby boom (Karen was Number 3 in 1960) that it's locked firmly into fashion limbo today. Recently, the name Karen has been turned into a meme, representing a hostile white woman—one who usually wants to speak with the manager.

Parents who want to honor a Karen or choose an updated version of the name might want to consider the Irish Kieran, the Cornish Kerensa or Kerenza, or variations from Karina to Kyra.

# 831 in the US

Karen Rank in US Top 1000

# 559 on Nameberry

Karen Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Karen Popularity

Famous People Named Karen

  • Karen Anne Carpenter
    American singer
  • Karen Lynne Valentine
    American actress
  • Karen Ruth Bass
    U.S. Congresswoman from California
  • Karen White
    American novelist
  • Karen Blanche Black
    American actress
  • Karen Jane Allen
    American actress
  • Karen Sheila Gillan
    Scottish actress
  • Karen Trust Grassle
    American actress
  • Karen Mok (born Karen Joy Morris)
    Hong Kong actress
  • Karen Lucille "Lucy" Hale
    American actress
  • Karen Elson
    English model and musician
  • Karen O
    stage name of Karen Lee Orzolek, American lead singer of band Yeah Yeah Yeahs
  • Karen Russell
    American novelist
  • Karen Robards
    American romance novelist
  • Karen Rose
    American romance novelist
  • Karen Traviss
    English science fiction novelist
  • Karen Young
    American actress
  • Karen Olivo
    American actress
  • Karen Patricia Moe
    American Olympic swimmer
  • Karen McDougal
    American model and actress
  • Karen Taylor
    English comedienne
  • Karen Hassan
    Northern Irish actress
  • Karen Valencia Clark Sheard
    American gospel singer
  • Karen Alexandria Kain
    Canadian ballerina
  • Karen Lancaume
    French adult actress
  • Karen LuJean Nyberg
    American astronaut
  • Karen Strassman
    American voice actress
  • Karen Friedman
    wife of American mobster Henry Hill; depicted in film "GoodFellas"
  • Karen Batten Pence
    wife of American politician Mike Pence
  • Karen Matheson
    Scottish folk singer
  • Karen Louise Bardsley
    English football player
  • Karen Julia Carney
    English football player
  • Karen Christenze von Blixen
    Finecke aka Isak Dinesen, Danish memoirist
  • Karen Muir
    South African swimmer
  • Karen Khachanov
    Russian tennis player
  • Karen Mulder
    Dutch Supermodel & Singer

Karen in Pop Culture

  • Karen Page
    character in Marvel's "Daredevil"
  • Karen Walker
    character on TV's "Will & Grace"
  • Karen Brockman
    character on British TV series "Outnumbered"
  • Karen Smith
    character in film "Mean Girls"
  • Karen Brewer
    main character in the "Baby,Sitters Little Sister" series
  • Karen Jackson
    character on TV's "Shameless"
  • Karen Arnold
    character on TV's "The Wonder Years"
  • Karen Cross
    character in film "Silver City"
  • Karen DeSonne
    character in "Generation Dead" by Daniel Waters
  • Karen Murphy
    character in movie "Abduction" played by Lily Collins
  • Karen Davis
    character in film "The Grudge"
  • Karen Vick
    character on TV's "Psych"
  • Karen
    character on TV's "The Walking Dead"
  • Karen Peck and New River
    gospel choir band
  • Karen Cartwright
    character on TV's "Smash"
  • Karen Beecher
    Duncan aka Bumblebee, character in DC Comics
  • Karen Filippelli
    character on TV's "The Office"
  • Karen Roe
    mother of Lucas and Lily Scott on TV's "One Tree Hill"
  • Karen
    little girl character in "Frosty the Snowman"
  • Rachel Karen Green
    character on TV's "Friends"
  • Karen von Rosewald
    character in the manga "Tokyo Ghoul:re"
  • Karen Rooney
    character on TV's "Liv and Maddie"
  • Karen "Kallen Stadtfeld" Kouzuki
    character in "Code Geass"
  • Karen McCormick
    Kenny's younger sister, character on "South Park"
  • Karen Starr
    DC Comics superhero, also called Kara Zor,L, alter ego of Power,Girl, the Earth,Two version of Kara Zor,El aka Supergirl
  • Karen
    a character in the anime/mange Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch
  • Karen Googlestien
    character from the 2004 movie "White Chicks"
  • Karen
    a background character in Cartoon Network's "The Amazing World of Gumball"
  • "Karen
    ” an internet term for a particularly self,entitled white woman
  • Karen Sisco
    main character played by Jennifer Lopez in the 1998 film "Out of Sight"
  • Karen Foster
    character on the ABC TGIF sitcom "Step by Step"
  • Karen
    computer wife of Sheldon Plankton from animated series Spongebob Squarepants