# Karim (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/karim/  
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 |
| Origin | Arabic |
| Meaning | “noble”, “generous” |
| Pronunciation | /kəˈɹiːm/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Kareem |
| US babies named this | 6,944 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 6,886 / 58 (1% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 1,321, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Arabic كَرِيم (karīm, “noble, generous”).

## What it means

Karim is grouped under noble.

## 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 8 | 6,045 |
| 1973 | 8 | 6,328 |
| 1975 | 10 | 5,727 |
| 1978 | 6 | 9,028 |
| 1979 | 11 | 5,922 |
| 1980 | 5 | 11,115 |
| 1983 | 5 | 11,024 |
| 2011 | 5 | 18,156 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 141 | 1,238 |
| 2012 | 155 | 1,177 |
| 2013 | 162 | 1,121 |
| 2014 | 180 | 1,076 |
| 2015 | 179 | 1,091 |
| 2016 | 236 | 914 |
| 2017 | 193 | 1,044 |
| 2018 | 180 | 1,092 |
| 2019 | 192 | 1,063 |
| 2020 | 212 | 1,000 |
| 2021 | 194 | 1,089 |
| 2022 | 328 | 772 |
| 2023 | 376 | 707 |
| 2024 | 305 | 821 |
| 2025 | 198 | 1,084 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 40 | 767 |
| 2012 | 50 | 671 |
| 2013 | 38 | 804 |
| 2014 | 51 | 659 |
| 2015 | 55 | 633 |
| 2016 | 42 | 774 |
| 2017 | 36 | 861 |
| 2018 | 51 | 675 |
| 2019 | 36 | 844 |
| 2020 | 48 | 699 |
| 2021 | 58 | 632 |
| 2022 | 75 | 524 |
| 2023 | 61 | 598 |
| 2024 | 75 | 519 |
| 2025 | 66 | 585 |

## People named Karim

- Karim Benzema, French footballer (born 1987)
- Karim Khan zand, founder of the Zand Dynasty (1751–1779)
- Karim Findi, author, writer, journalist
- Karim Ziani, Algerian and French footballer
- Karim Matmour, Algerian and French footballer
- Karim Rekik, Dutch association football player (born 1994)
- Karim Ahmad Khan, British lawyer, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court
- Karim Onisiwo, Austrian association football player
- Karim Hafez, Egyptian association football player
- Karim Rashid, American industrial designer (born 1960)
- Karim Guédé, footballer
- Karim Khalili, Afghan politician

## 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.