Karan
Of Indian origin meaning accomplished or successful.
Name Census estimates that about 3,884 living Americans carry the first name Karan. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 69.7% of registrations being female. The average person named Karan today is around 50 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Karan births was 1956 (170 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Karan. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Karan with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Karan was once a predominantly female name but has become increasingly popular for boys in recent decades.
People living today
3.9K
~ 1 in 88,248 Americans
Peak year
1956
170 babies that year
Average age
50
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,760
Tracked since 1936
Census
Karan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 7,019 people with the first name Karan, which placed it at #3,124 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
#3,124
National first-name rank
People counted
7.0K
7,019 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
45.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Karan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Karan is Asian/Pacific Islander at 45.6%. The next largest groups are White (44.0%) and Black (5.1%). 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 Karan 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 Karan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander45.6% · 3,203
- White44.0% · 3,088
- Black or African American5.1% · 357
- Two or more races2.8% · 198
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 140
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 33
Gender
Gender distribution for Karan
Karan is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 4,950 total registrations, 1,500 (30.3%) were male and 3,450 (69.7%) were female.
Karan as a male name
- Ranked #5,760 in 2024
- 16 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1995 (78 births)
Karan as a female name
- Ranked #11,154 in 2004
- 9 female births in 2004
- Peak: 1956 (170 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Karan on both sides of the split. Of the 7,018 people counted with this name, 3,488 were male (49.7%) and 3,530 were female (50.3%).
Popularity
Karan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Karan from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 1,316 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Karan 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 Karan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Karans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 26 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Karan, while West Virginia, Virginia, Idaho recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 84 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Karan
The name Karan has its roots in the Sanskrit language, originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "karan," which means "cause" or "reason." The name has been in use for centuries, with records of its existence dating back to ancient Hindu texts and scriptures.
One of the earliest references to the name Karan can be found in the epic Hindu poem, the Mahabharata. In this ancient text, Karan is the name of one of the central characters, a mighty warrior and the son of the charioteer Adhiratha and the celestial nymph Kunti. The story of Karan is a tragic one, as he is unaware of his royal lineage and faces many challenges and hardships throughout his life.
In Hindu mythology, Karan is also associated with the deity Kartikeya, the god of war and the son of the god Shiva and the goddess Parvati. This association has contributed to the name's popularity among Hindu communities.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Karan. One of the earliest recorded examples is Karan, a Jain monk who lived in the 8th century CE. He is credited with writing several important Jain texts and is considered a significant figure in the Jain tradition.
Another prominent Karan was Karan Singh, an Indian diplomat and politician who served as the Maharaja of Kashmir from 1925 to 1952. He was born in 1919 and played a crucial role in the integration of Kashmir into the Indian Union.
In the realm of literature, Karan Nagarkar was a renowned Indian novelist and playwright who lived from 1942 to 2019. His works, including the acclaimed novel "Cuckold," explored the complexities of Indian society and culture.
Karan Johar, born in 1972, is a celebrated Indian film director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his contributions to the Hindi film industry, often referred to as Bollywood.
Karan Brar, born in 1999, is an American actor of Indian descent, best known for his role as Ravi Ross in the Disney Channel series "Jessie" and its spinoff "Bunk'd."
The name Karan has maintained its popularity across various regions and cultures, particularly in India and among the Indian diaspora around the world. Its rich historical and cultural significance has contributed to its enduring appeal as a given name for individuals from diverse backgrounds.
People
Karan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Karan 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
Karan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Karan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,884 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Karan 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 88,248 US residents.
Is Karan a common name?
We classify Karan as "Rare". It ranks above 95.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,950 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Karan most popular?
The single biggest year for Karan was 1956, when 170 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Karan is about 50 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Karan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 7,019 people with the name Karan, or 2.32 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,124 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 Karan 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 Karan?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Karan on both sides of the split. Of the 7,018 people counted with this name, 3,488 were male (49.7%) and 3,530 were female (50.3%). 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 Karan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Karan is Asian/Pacific Islander at 45.6%. The next largest groups are White (44.0%) and Black (5.1%). 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 Karan most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Karan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 45.6% (3,203 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 Karan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Karan a female name?
Yes, 69.7% of people registered as Karan 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 Karan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Karan 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 Karan 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 many people have the name Karan?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Karan, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.