Karine
Feminine diminutive of Karen, a French name derived from Katherine, meaning "pure".
Name Census estimates that about 1,061 living Americans carry the first name Karine. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Karine today is around 41 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Karine births was 1966 (53 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Karine. 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 Karine with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 323,048 Americans
Peak year
1966
53 babies that year
Average age
41
years old
2023 SSA rank
#9,935
Tracked since 1917
Census
Karine in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,850 people with the first name Karine, which placed it at #4,721 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
#4,721
National first-name rank
People counted
3.9K
3,850 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
76.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Karine
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Karine is White at 76.4%. The next largest groups are Black (10.1%) and Hispanic (8.4%). 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 Karine 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 Karine at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.4% · 2,943
- Black or African American10.1% · 387
- Hispanic or Latino8.4% · 322
- Two or more races2.6% · 99
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.5% · 97
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Popularity
Karine: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Karine from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 209 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
Karine 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 Karine during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Karines live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. California, New York, Illinois recorded the most babies named Karine, while Texas, New Jersey, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 60 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Karine
The given name Karine is derived from the Armenian name Կարինե (Karine). It has its origins in the Armenian language and culture, dating back to ancient times. The name is likely derived from the Armenian word "կար" (kar), meaning "rock" or "stone," and may have been associated with strength and resilience.
In Armenian mythology and folklore, there are references to strong female figures bearing the name Karine. Some historical records suggest that the name was popular among Armenian nobility and royalty, as it symbolized power and endurance.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Karine dates back to the 4th century AD, when an Armenian princess named Karine lived during the reign of King Arshak II. Another notable historical figure was Karine the Younger, a 9th-century Armenian princess and daughter of Prince Ashot I Bagratuni.
In the Middle Ages, the name Karine was relatively common among Armenian communities. A famous bearer of the name was Karine of Cilicia, a 13th-century Armenian queen and the wife of King Hetoum I of Cilician Armenia (born around 1216, died after 1285).
During the Renaissance period, the name Karine gained popularity in Europe, particularly in France and Italy, due to the influence of Armenian communities in those regions. One notable figure was Karine Arnaoutzian, a 16th-century Armenian poet and writer (born around 1540, died after 1600).
In more recent times, the name Karine has been carried by several notable individuals, including Karine Polwart, a Scottish folk singer and songwriter (born 1970); Karine Ruby, a French actress and comedian (born 1978); and Karine Ferri, a French model and television presenter (born 1982).
While the name Karine has its roots in Armenian culture, it has gained popularity across various regions and cultures, particularly in Europe and the Middle East. Its enduring use throughout history reflects its association with strength, resilience, and cultural significance.
People
Karine + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Karine 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
Karine: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Karine?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,061 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Karine 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 323,048 US residents.
Is Karine a common name?
We classify Karine as "Rare". It ranks above 90.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,206 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Karine most popular?
The single biggest year for Karine was 1966, when 53 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Karine 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 Karine in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,850 people with the name Karine, or 1.27 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,721 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 Karine 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 Karine?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Karine appears almost entirely female. Of the 3,848 people counted with this name, 99.6% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Karine?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Karine is White at 76.4%. The next largest groups are Black (10.1%) and Hispanic (8.4%). 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 Karine most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Karine in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.4% (2,943 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 Karine in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Karine a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Karine 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 Karine still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Karine 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 Karine 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 Karine?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.