# Karin (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/karin/  
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 | Danish |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /ˈkærɪn/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Karina |
| US babies named this | 28,731 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 199 / 28,532 (99% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 146, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Swedish Karin or Danish Karin, a medieval form of Katarina, ultimately from Ancient Greek Αἰκατερῑ́νη (Aikaterī́nē). See also Karen.

## 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 39 | 3,919 |
| 2011 | 29 | 4,863 |
| 2012 | 31 | 4,657 |
| 2013 | 37 | 4,042 |
| 2014 | 26 | 5,228 |
| 2015 | 29 | 4,788 |
| 2016 | 26 | 5,214 |
| 2017 | 30 | 4,630 |
| 2018 | 25 | 5,241 |
| 2019 | 17 | 6,875 |
| 2020 | 13 | 8,181 |
| 2021 | 13 | 8,258 |
| 2022 | 15 | 7,456 |
| 2023 | 11 | 9,292 |
| 2024 | 13 | 8,187 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 6 | 9,306 |
| 2002 | 9 | 7,346 |
| 2003 | 5 | 11,837 |
| 2004 | 6 | 10,674 |
| 2005 | 5 | 12,389 |
| 2006 | 9 | 8,392 |
| 2007 | 9 | 8,579 |
| 2011 | 6 | 11,569 |
| 2019 | 7 | 10,292 |
| 2020 | 7 | 10,081 |
| 2021 | 6 | 11,446 |
| 2022 | 15 | 6,008 |
| 2023 | 10 | 7,997 |
| 2024 | 8 | 9,422 |
| 2025 | 6 | 11,333 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 4 | 3,725 |
| 2005 | 5 | 3,382 |
| 2007 | 3 | 5,201 |
| 2008 | 11 | 2,150 |
| 2009 | 8 | 2,759 |
| 2010 | 13 | 1,993 |
| 2011 | 6 | 3,549 |
| 2012 | 6 | 3,681 |
| 2013 | 6 | 3,536 |
| 2014 | 4 | 4,684 |
| 2015 | 9 | 2,705 |
| 2016 | 5 | 4,096 |
| 2019 | 6 | 3,541 |
| 2020 | 4 | 4,535 |
| 2021 | 7 | 3,192 |

## In other languages

- Danish: Karin
- Estonian: Karin
- Finnish: Kaarina
- French: Karine
- German: Karin
- Hebrew: קרין, קארין
- Norwegian: Karin
- Swedish: Karin

## People named Karin

- Karin Kneissl, Austrian diplomat, journalist and politician
- Karin Dor, German actress (1938-2017)
- Karin Viard, French actress
- Karin Balzer, East German hurdler
- Karin Michaëlis, Danish journalist and author (1872–1950)
- Karin Schubert, German mainstream and pornographic actress (1944-)
- Karin Slaughter, American crime writer
- Karin Büttner-Janz, East German artistic gymnast (born 1952)
- Karin Baal, German actress (1940–2024)
- Karin Mortensen, Danish handball player
- Karin Moroder, cross-country skier
- Karin Metze, East German rower

## 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.