Karem
Karem is an Arabic given name meaning "generous" or "noble".
Name Census estimates that about 350 living Americans carry the first name Karem. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 64.4% of registrations being female. The average person named Karem today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Karem births was 1993 (26 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Karem. 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 Karem with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
350
~ 1 in 979,298 Americans
Peak year
1993
26 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2016 SSA rank
#7,875
Tracked since 1973
Census
Karem in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,294 people with the first name Karem, which placed it at #10,355 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
#10,355
National first-name rank
People counted
1.3K
1,294 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
66.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Karem
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Karem is Hispanic at 66.8%. The next largest groups are White (23.1%) and Black (7.6%). 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 Karem 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 Karem at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino66.8% · 864
- White23.1% · 299
- Black or African American7.6% · 98
- Two or more races1.3% · 17
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Karem
Karem is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 362 total registrations, 129 (35.6%) were male and 233 (64.4%) were female.
Karem as a male name
- Ranked #7,875 in 2016
- 10 male births in 2016
- Peak: 1993 (10 births)
Karem as a female name
- Ranked #14,212 in 2010
- 7 female births in 2010
- Peak: 1993 (16 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Karem on both sides of the split. Of the 1,294 people counted with this name, 263 were male (20.3%) and 1,031 were female (79.7%).
Popularity
Karem: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Karem from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 115 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
Karem 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 Karem during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Karems live
Origin
Meaning and history of Karem
The name Karem has its origins in the Arabic language and culture. It is derived from the Arabic word "kareem," which means "generous" or "noble." This name gained popularity in the Middle East during the early Islamic era, around the 7th century AD.
In Arabic tradition, the name Karem was often given to boys in the hope that they would grow up to embody the virtues of generosity and nobility. It was a name that carried a significant cultural and religious meaning, reflecting the values of hospitality and kindness that were highly prized in the Arab world.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Karem can be found in the works of renowned Arab poets and scholars from the 8th and 9th centuries. These literary works often celebrated the virtues associated with the name, praising individuals who embodied these qualities.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Karem. One of the most famous was Karem ibn Abi Layla (714-796 AD), a prominent Islamic scholar and jurist from Kufa, Iraq. He was widely respected for his knowledge of Islamic law and his contributions to the development of Islamic jurisprudence.
Another well-known figure with the name Karem was Karem Khan Zand (1705-1779), the founder of the Zand dynasty in Persia (present-day Iran). He was a skilled military leader and administrator who managed to unite much of Persia under his rule during a period of political instability.
In the realm of literature, Karem al-Shami (1866-1938) was a renowned Syrian novelist and playwright. He was a pioneer of the modern Arabic novel and played a significant role in the literary renaissance of the Arab world during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Karem Khalil (1908-1976) was an Egyptian actor and comedian who achieved great popularity in the Arab world for his comedic performances in films and stage plays. He is considered a legend in the history of Egyptian cinema and is still celebrated for his contributions to the art of comedy.
Lastly, Karem Mahmoud (1945-2018) was a prominent Egyptian actor and director. He had a successful career spanning over five decades and was known for his versatility in portraying a wide range of characters in both dramatic and comedic roles.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have carried the name Karem throughout history, each leaving their mark in their respective fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of cultural and artistic traditions in the Arab world.
People
Karem + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Karem 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
Karem: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Karem?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 350 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Karem 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 979,298 US residents.
Is Karem a common name?
We classify Karem as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 362 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Karem most popular?
The single biggest year for Karem was 1993, when 26 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Karem is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Karem in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,294 people with the name Karem, or 0.43 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,355 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 Karem 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 Karem?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Karem on both sides of the split. Of the 1,294 people counted with this name, 263 were male (20.3%) and 1,031 were female (79.7%). 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 Karem?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Karem is Hispanic at 66.8%. The next largest groups are White (23.1%) and Black (7.6%). 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 Karem most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Karem in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.8% (864 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 Karem in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Karem a female name?
Yes, 64.4% of people registered as Karem 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 Karem still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Karem 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 Karem 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 Karem as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.