Karene
A feminine name of unknown origin, possibly a variant of Karen.
Name Census estimates that about 342 living Americans carry the first name Karene. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Karene today is around 61 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Karene births was 1963 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Karene. 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
342
~ 1 in 1,002,206 Americans
Peak year
1963
17 babies that year
Average age
61
years old
1997 SSA rank
#12,866
Tracked since 1916
Census
Karene in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 606 people with the first name Karene, which placed it at #17,943 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
#17,943
National first-name rank
People counted
606
606 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
53.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Karene
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Karene is White at 53.6%. The next largest groups are Black (31.4%) and Hispanic (7.9%). 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 Karene 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 Karene at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White53.6% · 325
- Black or African American31.4% · 190
- Hispanic or Latino7.9% · 48
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.5% · 27
- Two or more races1.8% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 5
Popularity
Karene: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Karene from the 1910s through to the 1990s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 113 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Karene 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 Karene during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Karenes live
Origin
Meaning and history of Karene
The name Karene finds its origins in the ancient Greek language, tracing back to the early Byzantine era around the 5th century AD. It is believed to be a feminine form of the Greek name "Karinos," which means "pure" or "virtuous." The name was particularly prevalent in regions of modern-day Greece and Turkey, where Greek culture and influence were strong during the Byzantine period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Karene can be found in the writings of the Byzantine historian Procopius of Caesarea, who lived in the 6th century AD. He mentions a woman named Karene in his work "The Secret History," which details the court scandals and intrigues of the reign of Emperor Justinian I.
During the Byzantine era, the name Karene was often associated with piety and virtue, reflecting the values of the Eastern Orthodox Christian faith that was dominant in the region at the time. As such, it was not uncommon for women of noble or influential families to bear this name as a symbol of their devotion to the faith.
In the 9th century AD, a prominent figure named Karene lived in the Byzantine Empire. She was the wife of the influential military commander and statesman Bardas, who served as the regent during the reign of Emperor Michael III. Karene was known for her intelligence and influence in the imperial court.
Another notable bearer of the name was Karene of Anjou, who lived in the 12th century AD. She was a member of the powerful Angevin dynasty and was married to William I of Scotland, becoming the Queen Consort of Scotland from 1165 until her death in 1199.
In the 14th century, Karene de Beaumont was a French noblewoman and the wife of John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster and a son of King Edward III of England. She played a significant role in the political affairs of the time and was known for her patronage of the arts and literature.
Over the centuries, the name Karene has maintained its Greek roots and associations with purity and virtue, although its popularity has waxed and waned across different regions and cultures. While not as widely used today as some other names, it remains a relatively uncommon and distinctive choice, carrying with it a rich historical legacy.
People
Karene + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Karene 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
Karene: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Karene?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 342 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Karene 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 1,002,206 US residents.
Is Karene a common name?
We classify Karene as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 501 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Karene most popular?
The single biggest year for Karene was 1963, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Karene is about 61 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Karene in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 606 people with the name Karene, or 0.20 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,943 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 Karene 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 Karene?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Karene leans strongly female. 586 people counted with this name were female (96.7%), compared with 20 male bearers (3.3%). 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 Karene?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Karene is White at 53.6%. The next largest groups are Black (31.4%) and Hispanic (7.9%). 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 Karene most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Karene in the 2020 Census, accounting for 53.6% (325 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 Karene in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Karene a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Karene 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 Karene still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Karene 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 Karene 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 are called Karene?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.