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Karriem

Masculine · Arabic roots · “generous”

Karriem is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 512 boys against 5 girls since 1880.

1966high 1975
Rare todaygiven to only a few children a year
rare

Karriem is the Arabic Karim, 'generous', in an American spelling. The Detroit drummer and producer Karriem Riggins has carried this exact form through both jazz and hip-hop.

How old is the name Karriem?

Karriem first appears in US birth records in 1966 — 59 years ago. The typical Karriem alive today was born around 1977, making them about 48 years old. About 500 people named Karriem are estimated to be alive in the US today.

When was the name Karriem most popular?

Karriem peaked in 1975, reaching #1228 nationally. See the whole 1975 chart.

Compare this nameMore “K” names

Lists built from the same records:

I

Where it comes from

The story of Karriem

Karim is an ordinary Arabic adjective, 'generous, noble', and a given name used across the Muslim world. English writes it several ways: Karim, Kareem, and Karriem, which doubles the r. Arabic marks a doubled consonant with a small sign called a shadda, and Karim carries none, so the double r is an English spelling choice and changes nothing in the sound. The Detroit musician Karriem Riggins, a jazz drummer who also produces hip-hop, is the best-known bearer of this form.

Meaning

generous, noble (Arabic)

Karim is Arabic for 'generous' or 'noble', and with the article, al-Karim, it is one of the names of God in Islam. Karriem is an English spelling of the same name.

How the name formed

  1. karimArabic adjective
  2. Karimgiven name
  3. Karriem

Related forms: Karim · Kareem · Kerim · Karima

Pronouncing Karriem

kah-REEM

Stress on the second syllable, which rhymes with team, as in Kareem.

II

What the data says

The long climb, and where it stands now

BOYS NAMED · 1966–20254824048519662021

US babies named Karriem per year from 1966 to 2025
AVERAGE RANK BY DECADE#1#10#100#1000#12281960s2020s

The same years in position rather than babies

First recorded
1966
Most boys named
197548 — the highest on record
Peak rank
#1228reached in 1975
Change vs 2020
0.0%5 in 2021, from 5
Karriem sits in the rare tail. Its best year on record was 1975, with 48 boys. Today it is given to few enough children that it does not enter the ranked charts at all.

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.

Karriem in other languages

The same name elsewhere

  • Karim in Arabic — same name
  • Kareem in English — spelling variant
  • Kerim in Turkish — related form
  • Karima in Arabic — related form

Karriems among us

500

people named Karriem are estimated to be alive in the US today

Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method

III

Is it right for you

Fashion outlook

Karriem 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

Practical strengths
  • A clear, documented meaning, 'generous', from a widespread Arabic name.
  • Sounds exactly like Kareem, which most Americans already say correctly.
  • A well-known bearer of this exact spelling in American music.
What to consider
  • It will usually be written Kareem or Karim, and the double r will need spelling out.
  • Nearly every Karriem is a boy; for a girl, the Arabic feminine is Karima, and a girl named Karriem would share the spelling almost entirely with boys.

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Karriem

Masculine · Arabic roots

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Frequently asked

How many Karriems are there in the world?
No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Karriem are estimated to be alive in the US today.
How popular is the name Karriem in 2025?
Karriem is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
Will my child share the name Karriem with classmates?
Karriem will almost certainly be the only one in school.

More K names

The most-given names starting with K, all years combined.

Kenneth#294 · Kevin#221 · Kyle#508 · Keith#800 · Karl#1585 · Kaleb#295 · Kurt#2258 · Kelly#1867

Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Karriem? See the current top 100.

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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology

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