Kariem
A masculine Arabic name meaning "generous" or "noble".
Name Census estimates that about 147 living Americans carry the first name Kariem. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kariem today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kariem births was 1975 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kariem. 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
147
~ 1 in 2,331,662 Americans
Peak year
1975
13 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
2021 SSA rank
#13,095
Tracked since 1972
Census
Kariem in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 171 people with the first name Kariem, which placed it at #42,203 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
#42,203
National first-name rank
People counted
171
171 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
71.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kariem
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kariem is Black at 71.3%. The next largest groups are White (19.3%) and Hispanic (4.1%). 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 Kariem 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 Kariem at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American71.3% · 122
- White19.3% · 33
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 7
- Two or more races3.5% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 3
Popularity
Kariem: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kariem from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 68 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kariem 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 Kariem during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kariems live
Origin
Meaning and history of Kariem
The name Kariem is believed to have its origins in the Arabic language. It is derived from the root word "karim," which means "generous" or "noble." The name likely emerged in the Middle East region during the early days of Islam, around the 7th century AD.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kariem can be found in the Quran, the holy book of Islam. The name is mentioned as one of the attributes of Allah, the Islamic deity, who is described as "Al-Kariem," meaning "The Most Generous" or "The Most Noble."
In the historical context, the name Kariem was often given to individuals who were known for their generosity, nobility, and kindness. It was a name that carried a sense of respect and admiration within the Arab and Islamic cultures.
One of the earliest known individuals to bear the name Kariem was Kariem ibn Abi Al-Jaid, who lived in the 8th century AD and was a renowned Islamic scholar and poet from Basra, present-day Iraq.
Throughout history, several notable figures have carried the name Kariem. One of the most prominent was Kariem Al-Bustani (1856-1924), a renowned Lebanese writer, intellectual, and language reformer who played a significant role in the revival of the Arabic language and literature.
Another notable individual was Kariem Amin (1890-1959), an Egyptian writer, historian, and philosopher who made significant contributions to the study of Islamic history and culture.
In the realm of sports, Kariem Abdul-Jabbar (born 1947) is a legendary American basketball player who played for the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the NBA and was known for his signature skyhook shot.
Kariem Belguendouz (born 1979) is an Algerian professional boxer who has competed in multiple weight classes and won several international titles, including the WBC International super-bantamweight and WBO Inter-Continental bantamweight championships.
While the name Kariem has its roots in the Arab and Islamic cultures, it has transcended geographical and cultural boundaries over time, with individuals from various backgrounds adopting it as a first name.
People
Kariem + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kariem 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
Kariem: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kariem?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 147 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kariem 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 2,331,662 US residents.
Is Kariem a common name?
We classify Kariem as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 154 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kariem most popular?
The single biggest year for Kariem was 1975, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kariem is about 39 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kariem in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 171 people with the name Kariem, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #42,203 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 Kariem 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 Kariem?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kariem appears almost entirely male. Of the 172 people counted with this name, 100.0% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Kariem?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kariem is Black at 71.3%. The next largest groups are White (19.3%) and Hispanic (4.1%). 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 Kariem most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Kariem in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.3% (122 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 Kariem in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kariem a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kariem in the SSA data are male. 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 Kariem still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kariem 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 Kariem 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 Kariem?
You can see how many people share the name Kariem on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.