Karene
Feminine
Karene is Karen with a final e, and that one letter opens a second way to say it: KAIR-en, like Karen, or ka-REEN, like Irene and Doreen.
How old is the name Karene?
Karene first appears in US birth records in 1916 — 109 years ago. The typical Karene alive today was born around 1960, making them about 65 years old. About 400 people named Karene are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Karene most popular?
Karene peaked in 1942, reaching #2214 nationally. See the whole 1942 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Katherine to Karene
Our story of Karene
Karene came into the American record as a small variation on Karen, the Danish short form of Katherine that crossed to the United States and became one of its familiar names. The final e does something unexpected: it lets the name be said two ways. Read as Karen with a silent letter, it is KAIR-en; read the way English treats Irene and Doreen, it becomes ka-REEN, a softer and less familiar sound. The spelling holds both, and each family chooses.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Karene is Karen with a final e. Karen is the Danish short form of Katherine, whose first meaning is argued; nothing records whether Karene was meant as Karen or as a separate name said ka-REEN.
How the name formed
- Katherine
- KarenDanish
- Karene
Related forms: Karen · Karine
Pronouncing Karene
Two readings: KAIR-en, like Karen, or ka-REEN, like Irene. The family's choice settles it.
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
- 1916
- Most girls named
- 196317 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2214reached in 1942
- Change vs 1993
- 0.0%6 in 1997, from 6
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.
Karene in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Karen in Danish — related form
- Karine in French — related form
Karenes among us
people named Karene are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Karene sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Leads back to Karen and Katherine, names with long histories.
- Offers two pronunciations from one spelling.
- People will write Karen and say Karen unless told otherwise.
- Karen is also current slang for a demanding, complaining customer; said ka-REEN, Karene steps away from it, and said KAIR-en it does not.
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Karene
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Karenes are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 400 people named Karene are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Karene in 2025?
- Karene is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Karene with classmates?
- Karene will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More K names
The most-given names starting with K, all years combined.
Karen#1279 · Kimberly#302 · Kathleen#1150 · Katherine#186 · Kelly#851 · Kathryn#729 · Kayla#364 · Kathy#3249
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Karene? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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