# Kari (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/kari/  
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 | girls |
| Origin | Swedish |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /ˈkɑː.ɹi/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 60,627 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 931 / 59,696 (98% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 101, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Norwegian Kari, diminutive of Katrine.

## 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 89 | 2,150 |
| 2012 | 112 | 1,816 |
| 2013 | 113 | 1,811 |
| 2014 | 111 | 1,832 |
| 2015 | 114 | 1,826 |
| 2016 | 101 | 1,979 |
| 2017 | 132 | 1,640 |
| 2018 | 139 | 1,560 |
| 2019 | 141 | 1,534 |
| 2020 | 146 | 1,471 |
| 2021 | 136 | 1,548 |
| 2022 | 130 | 1,631 |
| 2023 | 116 | 1,768 |
| 2024 | 109 | 1,845 |
| 2025 | 90 | 2,087 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 5 | 13,289 |
| 2011 | 14 | 6,101 |
| 2012 | 10 | 7,846 |
| 2014 | 5 | 13,078 |
| 2015 | 10 | 7,771 |
| 2016 | 13 | 6,531 |
| 2017 | 22 | 4,533 |
| 2018 | 26 | 4,055 |
| 2019 | 26 | 4,061 |
| 2020 | 33 | 3,375 |
| 2021 | 43 | 2,889 |
| 2022 | 31 | 3,657 |
| 2023 | 41 | 3,034 |
| 2024 | 45 | 2,853 |
| 2025 | 23 | 4,470 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 5 | 2,868 |
| 2003 | 4 | 3,594 |
| 2004 | 4 | 3,725 |
| 2006 | 7 | 2,781 |
| 2007 | 5 | 3,667 |
| 2008 | 4 | 4,524 |
| 2010 | 6 | 3,533 |
| 2011 | 3 | 5,785 |
| 2012 | 4 | 4,838 |
| 2013 | 3 | 5,742 |
| 2016 | 3 | 5,785 |
| 2018 | 3 | 5,666 |
| 2019 | 4 | 4,686 |
| 2022 | 3 | 5,669 |
| 2024 | 3 | 5,891 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 3 | 4,685 |
| 2019 | 3 | 4,702 |
| 2024 | 3 | 5,119 |

## People named Kari

- Kari Wahlgren, American voice actress
- Kari Wuhrer, American actress (b. 1967)
- Kari Hotakainen, Finnish writer
- Kari Matchett, Canadian actress
- Kari Arkivuo, Finnish footballer (b.1983)
- Kari Lehtonen, Finnish ice hockey player
- Kari Lake, American journalist and politician, head of Voice of America (born 1969)
- Kari Tapio, Finnish singer (1945-2010)
- Kari Ylianttila, Finnish ski jumper
- Kari Skogland, Canadian screenwriter
- Kari Ristanen, cross-country skier
- Kari Eloranta, Finnish former ice hockey player

## 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.