Karen (name)


Karen 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. 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 Danish, 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.
Variants include Caren, Caryn, Karena, Karin, Karyn, and others.
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. 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.

Armenian

In Armenia Karen is a common masculine given name.
The masculine given name Karen derived from the Parthian name of House of Karen, 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 in his book History of Armenia.
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, or other meanings.

Notable people

Surname

West Asian people

Armenian people

Surname

Iranian people

  • Zarmihr Karen, Iranian nobleman and Sasanian governor of Zabulistan

East Asian people

Fictional people

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