Karee
A feminine name derived from the biblical name Karen, meaning "pure".
Name Census estimates that about 767 living Americans carry the first name Karee. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 89.9% of registrations being female. The average person named Karee today is around 41 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Karee births was 1958 (55 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Karee. 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
767
~ 1 in 446,877 Americans
Peak year
1958
55 babies that year
Average age
41
years old
2022 SSA rank
#13,300
Tracked since 1953
Census
Karee in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 841 people with the first name Karee, which placed it at #14,106 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
#14,106
National first-name rank
People counted
841
841 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
58.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Karee
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Karee is White at 58.3%. The next largest groups are Black (29.6%) and Two or More Races (5.2%). 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 Karee 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 Karee at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White58.3% · 490
- Black or African American29.6% · 249
- Two or more races5.2% · 44
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 34
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 9
Gender
Gender distribution for Karee
Karee leans heavily female at 89.9% of total registrations, but 85 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Karee as a male name
- Ranked #13,300 in 2022
- 5 male births in 2022
- Peak: 1996 (9 births)
Karee as a female name
- Ranked #14,649 in 2019
- 6 female births in 2019
- Peak: 1958 (55 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Karee leans strongly female. 715 people counted with this name were female (84.7%), compared with 129 male bearers (15.3%).
Popularity
Karee: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Karee from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 163 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Karee 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 Karee during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Karees live
Origin
Meaning and history of Karee
The name Karee traces its origins to the Sanskrit language, which was spoken in ancient India. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "kari," meaning "elephant." The earliest known references to this name can be found in ancient Hindu texts and scriptures, where it was used to describe individuals with a strong and powerful presence, akin to that of an elephant.
In the centuries that followed, the name Karee gained popularity across various regions of the Indian subcontinent, particularly in areas where the Hindu religion and culture held sway. It was embraced by families from diverse social and economic backgrounds, reflecting the reverence for elephants in Hindu mythology and folklore.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Karee can be found in the 12th century, when a Hindu scholar and philosopher named Karee Nath rose to prominence in the court of the Chaulukya dynasty, which ruled parts of present-day Gujarat and Rajasthan. Karee Nath was renowned for his contributions to the fields of logic, epistemology, and metaphysics, and his works continue to be studied and revered by scholars to this day.
Another notable historical figure with the name Karee was Karee Khan, a military commander who served under the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in the 17th century. Karee Khan played a pivotal role in several battles and campaigns, earning recognition for his strategic acumen and bravery on the battlefield.
In the realm of literature, the 18th century saw the emergence of Karee Narayana, a celebrated poet and playwright from the southern Indian state of Kerala. His works, which explored themes of love, spirituality, and social commentary, have left an indelible mark on the cultural heritage of the region.
Moving into the modern era, the name Karee gained further recognition through the accomplishments of Karee Charan Ghosh, a pioneering figure in the field of Indian classical music. Born in 1861, Ghosh was instrumental in reviving and popularizing the Hindustani music tradition, and his contributions paved the way for future generations of musicians and artists.
Throughout its long and storied history, the name Karee has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, each leaving their unique mark on the cultural and intellectual landscape of the Indian subcontinent. While its origins can be traced back to ancient times, the name continues to resonate with many, serving as a testament to the enduring influence of Sanskrit and Hindu traditions.
People
Karee + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Karee 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
Karee: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Karee?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 767 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Karee 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 446,877 US residents.
Is Karee a common name?
We classify Karee as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 841 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Karee most popular?
The single biggest year for Karee was 1958, when 55 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Karee is about 41 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Karee in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 841 people with the name Karee, or 0.28 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,106 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 Karee 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 Karee?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Karee leans strongly female. 715 people counted with this name were female (84.7%), compared with 129 male bearers (15.3%). 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 Karee?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Karee is White at 58.3%. The next largest groups are Black (29.6%) and Two or More Races (5.2%). 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 Karee most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Karee in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.3% (490 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 Karee in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Karee a female name?
Yes, 89.9% of people registered as Karee 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 Karee still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Karee 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 Karee 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 share the name Karee?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.