Karyme
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "fortune" or "wealth".
Name Census estimates that about 2,106 living Americans carry the first name Karyme. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Karyme today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Karyme births was 2003 (251 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Karyme. 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
2.1K
~ 1 in 162,751 Americans
Peak year
2003
251 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,686
Tracked since 1996
Census
Karyme in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,490 people with the first name Karyme, which placed it at #9,356 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
#9,356
National first-name rank
People counted
1.5K
1,490 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
97.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Karyme
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Karyme is Hispanic at 97.4%. The next largest groups are White (2.2%) and Black (0.3%). 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 Karyme 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 Karyme at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino97.4% · 1,452
- White2.2% · 33
- Black or African American0.3% · 4
- Two or more races0.1% · 1
Popularity
Karyme: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Karyme from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 1,519 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Karyme 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 Karyme during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Karymes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 13 states and territories. Texas, California, Arizona recorded the most babies named Karyme, while New York, New Jersey, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 124 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Karyme
The name Karyme has its roots in the ancient Greek language, tracing back to the 5th century BCE. It is derived from the Greek word "karymos," which means "fruit of the carob tree." The carob tree, native to the Mediterranean region, was highly valued in ancient Greek culture for its nutritious pods and its significance in various myths and legends.
Karyme was a relatively uncommon name in ancient Greece, but it carried a symbolic association with fertility, abundance, and the blessings of nature. The name's connection to the carob tree also suggested qualities of resilience and endurance, as the tree was known for its ability to thrive in arid environments.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Karyme can be found in the writings of the Greek historian Herodotus, who lived in the 5th century BCE. In his work "The Histories," he mentions a woman named Karyme who was a prominent figure in the city of Miletus, known for her wisdom and influence in local affairs.
During the Byzantine era, between the 4th and 15th centuries CE, the name Karyme gained some popularity among Greek Christians. It was often bestowed upon girls born during the autumn season, when the carob trees would be bearing their fruits, as a way to celebrate the natural cycle of life and the abundance of the harvest.
One notable figure in history who bore the name Karyme was a Byzantine noblewoman from the 11th century CE. Karyme Doukas was a member of the influential Doukas family and was known for her philanthropy and patronage of the arts. She founded several monasteries and contributed to the construction of churches in Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul).
In the 14th century CE, there was a Karyme Laskarina, a member of the Laskaris dynasty, who played a significant role in the political affairs of the Byzantine Empire. She was a skilled diplomat and negotiator, often acting as a mediator between warring factions.
Another figure of historical significance was Karyme Notaras, a Greek noblewoman from the 15th century who lived during the final years of the Byzantine Empire. She was renowned for her courage and determination in defending her homeland against the Ottoman invasion, inspiring many to resist the advancing Ottoman forces.
While the name Karyme fell out of widespread use after the fall of the Byzantine Empire, it continued to be passed down through generations in certain regions of Greece, particularly in areas with strong ties to the ancient Greek heritage and traditions.
People
Karyme + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Karyme 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
Karyme: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Karyme?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,106 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Karyme 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 162,751 US residents.
Is Karyme a common name?
We classify Karyme as "Rare". It ranks above 93.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,134 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Karyme most popular?
The single biggest year for Karyme was 2003, when 251 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Karyme is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Karyme in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,490 people with the name Karyme, or 0.49 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,356 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 Karyme 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 Karyme?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Karyme appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,494 people counted with this name, 99.5% 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 Karyme?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Karyme is Hispanic at 97.4%. The next largest groups are White (2.2%) and Black (0.3%). 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 Karyme most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Karyme in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.4% (1,452 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 Karyme in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Karyme a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Karyme 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 Karyme still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Karyme 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 Karyme 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 named Karyme?
Want to know how many Americans are named Karyme? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.