Karen Allen
There are approximately 1,184 people named Karen Allen living in the United States today. That makes this name combination rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 289,488 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Karen with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Allen. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and ancestry information.
Expected bearers
1,184
1 in 289,488
Named Karen
724K
Alive today
Named Allen
561K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 724K
Rarity: Very Common
Gender: Female
Peak year: 1957
Average age: 62
Estimated bearers: 561K
Rarity: Very Common
Census rank: #33
Per 100K: 163.61
Top ancestry: White (67.6%)
First name trend
Karen: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Karen. The peak year was 1957 with 40,667 births. The average person named Karen today is 62 years old.
Babies born per year
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Allen surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Allen, from the 2010 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 67.6%.
- White67.6%
- Black or African American26.2%
- Hispanic or Latino2.5%
- Two or more races2.4%
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9%
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5%
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Karen has a living-bearer frequency of 0.2112% of the US population, based on 723,738 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
The surname Allen appears at a rate of 163.61 per 100,000 residents in the 2010 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.1636%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 1,184 people with the full name Karen Allen. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Karen
Related
Other people with the surname Allen
FAQ
Karen Allen: questions and answers
How many people are named Karen Allen?
We estimate approximately 1,184 people in the United States share the full name Karen Allen. That works out to about 1 in 289,488 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.2112%) with the surname frequency (163.61 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Karen Allen?
We classify Karen Allen as "Rare". About 1 in 289,488 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Karen a male or female name?
Karen is predominantly female. Out of 990,595 total SSA registrations, 0.3% were male and 99.7% were female. See the full Karen profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2010 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.