Karen (
KARR -ən ) is a
given name and occasional
surname . In
English , it is a feminine given name derived from the name
Katherine , and it is also found in modern
Africa , as well as in
East Asia (particularly
Japan ). However, in other countries such as
Iran and
Armenia , it is a masculine name deriving from
Middle Iranian .
English
Karen entered the English language from
Norwegian , where it has been a short form of "Katherine" since medieval times. 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.
[1]
Variants include
Caren ,
Caryn ,
Karena ,
Karin ,
Karyn , and others.
[2]
Due to its increasingly common
derogatory use since 2017, the name has become significantly less popular in the United States in recent years.
[3]
Armenian
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 (ca. 410–490s AD; Armenian: Մովսես Խորենացի) in his book
History of Armenia .
[4]
Karen can also be a surname.
In East Asia
In
East Asia , Karen is a feminine given name. The name can be found in
Japan . It may come from 可憐 ("pretty, lovely"),
[5] 華蓮 (combining kanji meaning "flower" and "lotus or water lily")
[6] or other meanings.
Notable people
First name
Karen Aardal (born 1961), Norwegian and Dutch applied mathematician
Karen Ackerman (born 1951), American children's author
Karen Aline Peliçari (born 1989), Brazilian footballer
Karen Allen (born 1951), American actress
Karen Alexander (disambiguation) , several people
Karen Anderson (writer) (1932–2018), American fantasy writer
Karen Anderson (squash player) (born 1971), Jamaican squash player
Karen Anette Anti (born 1972), Norwegian Sami politician
Karen Armstrong (born 1944), British author on comparative religion
Karen Arthur (born 1941), American film director, producer, and actress
Karen Dianne Baldwin (born 1963), Miss Universe 1982
Karen Bass (writer) (born 1962), Canadian author of young adult fiction
Karen Bernstein (born 1969), Canadian voice actress
Karen Bjornson (born 1952), American model
Karen Black (1939–2013), American actress
Karen Blixen (1885–1962), Danish author under the pen name Isak Dinesen
Karen Carlson (born 1944), American actress
Karen Carpenter (1950–1983), American singer and drummer
Karen Cashman , American short track speed skater
Karen Cellini (born 1958), American actress
Karen Chen , American figure skater
Karen Chin , American paleontologist, coprolitologist, and taphonomist
Karen Clark-Sheard (born 1960), American gospel singer and songwriter, member of the Clark Sisters
Karen Cockburn (born 1980), Canadian Olympic trampolinist
Karen Connelly (born 1969), Canadian travel writer and novelist
Karen Crouse , American journalist and author
Karen Daley , president of the
American Nurses Association
Karen David (born 1979/1980), Indian-born Canadian actress
Karen Davila (born 1970), Filipina newscaster and broadcast journalist
Karen delos Reyes (born 1984), Filipina actress
Karen Devine , American computer scientist
Karen Dotrice (born 1955), English former actress
Karen Dunne (born 1967), American track and road cyclist
Karen Elson (born 1979), British model and singer
Karen Fairchild co-lead singer of (
Little Big Town
Karen Fisher , New Zealand geographer
Karen Fogg , British diplomat
Karen Fralich , Canadian artist
Karen Friedman (born 1946), wife of mobster Henry Hill, depicted in
Goodfellas
Karen Gillan (born 1987), Scottish actress
Karen L. Gould (born 1948) American scholar of French-Canadian literature, president of
Brooklyn College
Karen Hampton (disambiguation) , several people
Karen Handel (born 1962), American politician
Karen Harding (born 1991), English singer
Karen Hassan (born 1981), Northern Irish actress
Karen Haude , German field hockey player
Karen Horning (born 1966), Peruvian breaststroke swimmer
Karen Kain (born 1951), Canadian ballerina, currently artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada
Karen Kamon (1951–2020), American singer and actress
Karen Keys-Gamarra , American politician from Virginia
Karen Kilgariff (born 1970), American comedian and podcast host
Karen Killilea (1940–2020), subject of two books by her mother, Marie Killilea
Karen Kingsbury (born 1963), Christian fiction author
Karen King-Aribisala , Nigerian writer
Karen Kohanowich , former United States Navy diver
Karen Kong (born 1984), Malaysian singer
Karen Kotte (died 1509), Danish merchant
Karen Kurreck (born 1962), American road cyclist
Karen LaFace (born 1966), American diver
Karen Lam , Canadian filmmaker
Karen Lam (researcher) , diabetes and obesity researcher
Karen Lancaume (1973–2005), French pornographic actress
Karen Lang , American mayor
Karen MacLeod (1958–2021), British long-distance runner
MØ (Karen Marie Aagaard Ørsted Andersen) , Danish singer
Karen Marrongelle , American mathematics educator
Karen Matheson , Scottish folk singer
Karen McDougal (born 1971), American model, actress and Playboy Playmate
Karen Mok (born 1970), Hong Kong-based actress and singer-songwriter
Karen Morrison-Comstock (born 1955), Miss USA 1974
Karen Montell , American politician
Karen Mulder (born 1970), Dutch model and singer
Karen Muir (1952–2013), South African swimmer
Karen L. Nyberg (born 1969), American astronaut
Karen O (born 1978), American Singer/Musician of
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Karen O'Leary , New Zealand comedian
Karen Palacios , Venezuelan clarinetist
Karen Pence (born 1957),
Second Lady of the United States
Karen Pickering (born 1971), British swimmer
Karen Poutasi (born 1949), New Zealand government official
Karen Prell (born 1959), American puppeteer and animator
Karen Press (born 1956), South African poet
Karen Ann Quinlan (1954–1985), central figure in an American right-to-die controversy
Karen Reyes (born 1996), Filipina actress
Karen Rosenberg (born 1975), Danish singer
Karen Sheffield (born 1961), Canadian judo champion
Karen Smith (Australian field hockey) (born 1979), Australian field hockey player
Karen Smith (New Zealand field hockey) (born 1970), New Zealand field hockey player
Karen Smyers (born 1961), American triathlete
Karen Spencer, Countess Spencer , wife of
Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer
Karen Strassman (born 1966), American voice actress
Karen Taylor (comedian) (born 1976), British comedian
Karen Elizabeth Tilley , Miss Canada 1985
Karen Valentine (born 1947), American actress
Karen Villanueva (born 1998), Mexican rhythmic gymnast
Karen Vogtmann (born 1949), American mathematician
Karen Winkfield (born 1970), American radiation oncologist and physician-scientist
Karen Young (1951–1991), American disco singer
Karen Zoid (born 1987), South African rock singer
Surname
Anna Karen (1936–2022), South African British actress
James Karen (1923–2018), American actor
Tom Karen (1926–2022), Austrian-born British industrial designer
West Asian people
Armenian people
Karen Abrahamyan (born 1966), Armenian politician
Karen Aghamyan (born 1946), Armenian painter
Karen Aleksanyan (born 1980), Armenian football midfielder
Karen Andreasyan (born 1977), Armenian human rights defender
Karen Asatryan (born 1974), Armenian football player
Karen Asrian (1980–2008), Armenian chess grandmaster
Karen Demirchyan (1932–1999), Armenian politician
Karen Drambjan (1954–2011), Armenian-born Estonian lawyer, politician and activist
Karen Jalavyan (born 1971), Armenian Colonel in Artsakh
Karen Kavaleryan (born 1961), Russian musician and composer
Karen Karapetyan (born 1963), Armenian politician and Prime minister of Armenia from 2016 to 2018
Karen Khachanov (born 1996), Russian tennis player of Armenian descent
Karen Khachaturian (1920–2011), Russian composer of Armenian descent
Karen Sargsyan (conductor) (born 1952), Armenian choirmaster
Karen Shakhnazarov (born 1952), Russian filmmaker, producer and screenwriter of Armenian descent
Surname
Iranian people
Zarmihr Karen (died 558), Iranian nobleman and Sasanian governor of Zabulistan
East Asian people
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
Fictional people
Live action
Karen, a character in the 2012 American comedy movie
Wanderlust
Karen (The Walking Dead ) , a female character in the TV series
The Walking Dead
Karen Arnold, a character in the American coming-of-age, comedy-drama television series
The Wonder Years
Karen Barclay, on the hit 1988 horror film
Child's Play
Karen Brockman, character from British comedy
Outnumbered
Karen Collins, wife of protagonist in
Irving Wallace 's novel The R Document
Karen Cooper Fairgate MacKenzie , on the television series
Knots Landing
Karen Darling, on the television series
Dirty Sexy Money
Karen Davis , in the 2004 motion picture
The Grudge
Karen Filippelli , on the U.S. version of the television series The Office
Karen Fisher, headteacher in
Waterloo Road
Karen Foster , fictional character on Step By Step
Karen Hayes , on the television series 24
Karen Holmes, a character played by
Deborah Kerr in 1953 movie
From Here to Eternity
Karen McDonald , on
ITV soap opera
Coronation Street
Karen Mizuki , in
J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai
Karen Nelson in the motion picture
Halloween (2018)
Karen Page , long-time love interest of the superhero
Daredevil in the Marvel Universe
Karen Pelly, from the Canadian series
Corner Gas
Karen Richards, a character played by
Celeste Holm in the 1950 motion picture
All About Eve
Karen Roe, a character from the
One Tree Hill
Karen Sisco , an American television series, eponymous character played by
Carla Gugino
Karen Smith, played by
Amanda Seyfried in the motion picture
Mean Girls (2004)
Karen Spencer , on the CBS Daytime soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful
Karen Taylor , in the
BBC soap opera
EastEnders
Chief
Karen Vick , a character from the American television dramedy
Psych
Karen Walker , in the television series
Will & Grace
Karen Wheeler, a main character on the show
Stranger Things
Karen Yeo, a character from the 2006 Singaporean film
I Not Stupid Too
Animation
Caren, a character in
Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch media
Karen , companion of
Frosty the Snowman
Karen (Pokémon ) , a character in the Pokémon media
Karen, in
Sister Princess
Karen, a character and bachelorette in the
Story of Seasons video game franchise
Karen Aijou, the main protagonist of
Revue Starlight
Karen Araragi, in
Bakemonogatari
Karen Jones, a character in the game
Red Dead Redemption 2
Karen Joshua, in
Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team
Karen Kasumi, a firemaster in anime and manga
X/1999
Karen Kisaragi, in
Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School
Karen Kouzuki (Kallen Stadtfeld) in
Code Geass
Karen Kujō from
Kin-iro Mosaic
Karen Low, a character from the anime
Jormungand
Karen McCormick, Kenny's younger sister in the Comedy Central series
South Park
Karen Minazuki, in
Yes! Pretty Cure 5
Karen Onodera from
Please Twins!
Karen Plankton , one of two main antagonists in
SpongeBob SquarePants and its
film series
Karen Tendō, in
Gamers!
Karen Travers, a character in the game
Scarlet Nexus
Print
Karen Starr, a character created by DC Comics, civilian identity of
Power Girl
See also
References