Karo
A Persian name meaning "maker" or "doer".
Name Census estimates that about 104 living Americans carry the first name Karo. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Karo today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Karo births was 2008 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Karo. 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 Karo with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
104
~ 1 in 3,295,715 Americans
Peak year
2008
9 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#13,211
Tracked since 1983
Census
Karo in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 470 people with the first name Karo, which placed it at #21,552 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
#21,552
National first-name rank
People counted
470
470 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
76.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Karo
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Karo is White at 76.0%. The next largest groups are Black (10.4%) and Hispanic (8.7%). 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 Karo 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 Karo at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.0% · 357
- Black or African American10.4% · 49
- Hispanic or Latino8.7% · 41
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.3% · 11
- Two or more races2.1% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 2
Popularity
Karo: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Karo from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 36 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Karo remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Karo 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 Karo during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Karos live
Origin
Meaning and history of Karo
The name Karo has its origins in the Finnish language and culture. It is believed to have derived from the Finnish word "kaari," meaning "arch" or "curve." This connection suggests that the name may have initially been associated with concepts of beauty, grace, or the natural world.
In Finnish mythology, the name Karo is sometimes linked to the god Ukko, who was associated with the sky, thunder, and rain. However, there is no definitive evidence of the name appearing in ancient Finnish texts or religious scriptures.
The earliest recorded examples of the name Karo date back to the 18th century in Finland. One notable bearer of the name was Karo Hämäläinen (1725-1795), a Finnish farmer and landowner who played a role in the Finnish peasant uprising against Swedish rule in the late 18th century.
Another historical figure was Karo Koskinen (1858-1924), a Finnish politician and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of Finland from 1924 to 1925. He was instrumental in shaping Finland's policies during the country's early years of independence.
In the realm of arts and culture, Karo Munch (1892-1968) was a Norwegian actress and dancer who achieved fame in the early 20th century for her performances in various theatrical productions and films.
Karo Halonen (1911-1971) was a Finnish painter and graphic artist known for his landscapes and depictions of Finnish rural life. His works are celebrated for their vivid colors and expressive brushwork.
Lastly, Karo Araquistain (1886-1959) was a Spanish politician, writer, and intellectual who played a significant role in the Spanish Civil War. He served as the Minister of Labor in the Republican government during the conflict.
These examples showcase the diverse backgrounds and accomplishments of individuals who bore the name Karo throughout history, spanning various fields and cultures.
People
Karo + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Karo 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
Karo: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Karo?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 104 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Karo 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 3,295,715 US residents.
Is Karo a common name?
We classify Karo as "Very Rare". It ranks above 65.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 106 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Karo most popular?
The single biggest year for Karo was 2008, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Karo is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Karo in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 470 people with the name Karo, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #21,552 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 Karo 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 Karo?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Karo leans strongly male. 388 people counted with this name were male (83.4%), compared with 77 female bearers (16.6%). 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 Karo?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Karo is White at 76.0%. The next largest groups are Black (10.4%) and Hispanic (8.7%). 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 Karo most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Karo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.0% (357 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 Karo in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Karo a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Karo 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 Karo still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Karo 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 Karo 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 Americans are named Karo?
See how many people share the name Karo on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.