Karam
Masculine · “generosity”
Karam is generosity in Arabic — one of the central virtues of pre-Islamic Arab honor culture, and a word that survived the change of religion untouched.
How old is the name Karam?
Karam first appears in US birth records in 1977 — 48 years ago. The typical Karam is a kid of about 8 — this name's wave is very recent. About 1,600 people named Karam are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Karam most popular?
Karam peaked in 2024, reaching #1371 nationally. Today it ranks #1609, 238 places below that high. See the whole 2024 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From karam to Karam
The story of Karam
Karam and Karim are long-established across the Arabic-speaking world, and the Punjabi Karam — from the same Arabic root, meaning grace or a good deed — is used in Sikh and Punjabi naming. Arab and South Asian emigration brought both to America, where Karam appears in the registers and is in current use.
Meaning
generosity, nobility
From the Arabic karam, 'generosity' or 'nobility of character', from a root that also gives karim, 'generous', one of the ninety-nine names of God. Generosity toward guests was the defining virtue of pre-Islamic Arab honor. The word is ordinary and the meaning undisputed.
How the name formed
- karam
- Karam
Related forms: كرم · Karam · Karim
Pronouncing Karam
KAH-rahm
Two syllables, stress on the first. Arabic rolls the r; the vowels are fuller than English gives them.
Nicknames for Karam
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1977
- Most boys named
- 2024137 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1371reached in 2024
- Change vs 2024
- −23.4%105 in 2025, from 137
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Karam in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- كرم in Arabic — transliteration
- Karam in Punjabi — same name
- Karim in Arabic — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Illinois.
Karams among us
people named Karam are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 16,267 born in 2025 was named Karam
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Tyjuan test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Karam's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Tyjuan climbed just as high around 1979, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Tyjuan's path sketches the road Karam is walking now.
Karam sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Karam is headed
Karam looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 21% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Karam beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Karam in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The generosity meaning is transparent, undisputed and thoroughly admirable.
- It is genuine in both Arabic and Punjabi naming.
- Two clean syllables with no pronunciation risk in English.
- Karim is the commoner related form internationally.
- It is close in sound to the unrelated English word 'caramel'.
- It is very short and can be swallowed by a long surname.
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Karam
Masculine · #1609 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Karams are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,600 people named Karam are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Karam in 2025?
- Karam ranks #1609 among US boy names in 2025, with 105 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Karam?
- About 1 in every 16,267 US boys born in 2025 was named Karam — 105 in all.
- Will my child share the name Karam with classmates?
- Karam will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Karam
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Zade#1609 · Valen#1609 · Cristobal#1609 · Keagan#1609 · Phineas#1609 · Cru#1609 · Steve#1609 · Destin#1609
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Karam? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Karam and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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