# Karan (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/karan/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys and girls |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | “karna” |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 4,962 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 1,512 / 3,450 (70% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 818, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Derived from Sanskrit कर्ण (karṇa, “Karna”). Doublet of Karna.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 10 | 6,676 |
| 1986 | 5 | 11,750 |
| 1987 | 11 | 6,525 |
| 1988 | 9 | 8,014 |
| 1989 | 10 | 7,702 |
| 1991 | 6 | 12,211 |
| 1992 | 12 | 7,255 |
| 1994 | 7 | 11,098 |
| 1995 | 10 | 8,381 |
| 1996 | 7 | 11,139 |
| 1997 | 5 | 14,855 |
| 1999 | 13 | 7,455 |
| 2000 | 5 | 16,239 |
| 2003 | 6 | 14,760 |
| 2004 | 9 | 11,154 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 28 | 3,735 |
| 2012 | 34 | 3,273 |
| 2013 | 30 | 3,541 |
| 2014 | 19 | 4,974 |
| 2015 | 23 | 4,350 |
| 2016 | 17 | 5,431 |
| 2017 | 16 | 5,662 |
| 2018 | 18 | 5,208 |
| 2019 | 16 | 5,684 |
| 2020 | 12 | 6,822 |
| 2021 | 16 | 5,668 |
| 2022 | 9 | 8,650 |
| 2023 | 16 | 5,791 |
| 2024 | 16 | 5,778 |
| 2025 | 12 | 7,005 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 4 | 3,594 |
| 2010 | 3 | 5,707 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 19 | 1,303 |
| 2012 | 20 | 1,270 |
| 2013 | 18 | 1,339 |
| 2014 | 16 | 1,486 |
| 2015 | 17 | 1,442 |
| 2016 | 14 | 1,704 |
| 2017 | 12 | 1,923 |
| 2018 | 8 | 2,445 |
| 2019 | 23 | 1,152 |
| 2020 | 18 | 1,379 |
| 2021 | 16 | 1,516 |
| 2022 | 12 | 1,879 |
| 2023 | 16 | 1,533 |
| 2024 | 20 | 1,322 |
| 2025 | 8 | 2,664 |

## People named Karan

- Karan Brar, American actor
- Karan Ashley, American actress

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.