Karaline
A feminine name of uncertain origin, perhaps a blend of Karen and Caroline.
Name Census estimates that about 754 living Americans carry the first name Karaline. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Karaline today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Karaline births was 2014 (40 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Karaline. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
754
~ 1 in 454,581 Americans
Peak year
2014
40 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,287
Tracked since 1975
Census
Karaline in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 644 people with the first name Karaline, which placed it at #17,227 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#17,227
National first-name rank
People counted
644
644 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
89.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Karaline
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Karaline is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.4%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Karaline described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Karaline at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.1% · 574
- Hispanic or Latino6.4% · 41
- Two or more races2.6% · 17
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 5
- Black or African American0.6% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 3
Popularity
Karaline: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Karaline from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 309 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Karaline by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Karaline during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Karalines live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Texas, Missouri, Georgia recorded the most babies named Karaline, while Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 8 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Karaline
The name Karaline is believed to have its roots in the ancient Greek language, with its origins dating back to the classical era of Greece, around the 5th century BCE. The name is thought to be derived from the Greek word "kalos," which means beautiful, and the suffix "-ine," indicating a feminine form.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Karaline can be found in the writings of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato, who lived from 428 BCE to 348 BCE. In his dialogues, Plato mentions a character named Karaline, although little is known about her significance or role.
During the Byzantine era, which spanned from the 4th to the 15th century CE, the name Karaline gained some popularity among the Greek-speaking population of the Byzantine Empire. Historical records from this period indicate the existence of a few notable individuals bearing the name.
One such individual was Karaline of Trebizond, a Byzantine noblewoman who lived in the 13th century. She was the daughter of the Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos and played a significant role in the political intrigues of the time.
In the 15th century, another notable figure named Karaline emerged in the form of Karaline of Antioch, a Christian mystic and writer from the city of Antioch, located in present-day Turkey. Her writings on spiritual matters and her ascetic lifestyle gained her a reputation among the faithful of her time.
During the Renaissance period, the name Karaline found its way into the literary works of several renowned authors. One notable example is the character Karaline, who appears in the play "The Taming of the Shrew" by William Shakespeare, written around 1592.
In the 18th century, a French noblewoman named Karaline de Bourbon-Condé, born in 1720, gained notoriety for her involvement in the political and social affairs of the time. She was a member of the powerful Bourbon dynasty and played an influential role in the court of King Louis XV.
Moving into the 19th century, Karaline Herschel, a German-born astronomer and the sister of the famous astronomer William Herschel, made significant contributions to the field of astronomy. She was born in 1750 and is credited with the discovery of several comets and deep-sky objects.
While the name Karaline has its roots in ancient Greek culture, it has been adopted and used throughout various regions and cultures over the centuries, with each instance adding to its rich history and significance.
People
Karaline + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Karaline as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Karaline: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Karaline?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 754 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Karaline going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 454,581 US residents.
Is Karaline a common name?
We classify Karaline as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 765 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Karaline most popular?
The single biggest year for Karaline was 2014, when 40 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Karaline is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Karaline in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 644 people with the name Karaline, or 0.21 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,227 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Karaline in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Karaline?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Karaline appears almost entirely female. Of the 639 people counted with this name, 99.2% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Karaline?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Karaline is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.4%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Karaline most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Karaline in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.1% (574 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Karaline in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Karaline a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Karaline in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Karaline still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Karaline in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Karaline can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Karaline?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Karaline on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.