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Kari

Origin: Norwegian (Earlier roots undetermined) — Variant of Katrine · derivative of Katherine

Girl's name · #2087 in the US (2025) · Retro

Popularity over time

Kari reached #127 in 1976 and has faded to #2087 since. About 60,000 girls have carried it since 1934.

Across the states

See where Kari is more common.

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 14 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Around the world

See how Kari ranks in other countries and regions.

#222 in Norway (2025).

Famous Karis

Kari Wahlgren — American voice actress
Kari Byron — Television host, artist, ''MythBusters'' build team member
Kari Wuhrer — American actress (born 1967)
Kari Aalvik Grimsbø — Norwegian female handball goalkeeper
Kari Traa — Norwegian freestyle skier

In stories & tradition

Kari Kamiya — Digimon Adventure (anime series)
Kari — Peer Gynt
Kari al'Thor — The Wheel of Time (novel series)

What Karis become

Among 1,027 notable people named Kari:

Political leaders appear 1.87× more often than among typical names — e.g. Kari Lake, American journalist and politician, head of Voice of America (born 1969).

Spellings & nicknames

Together with its spelling variants Carrie (#2726) and Khari (#3051), Kari would rank around #1129 with about 210 births last year — the newborns split about 44/30/26 across Kari, Carrie, and Khari.

Similar names: Carrie · Melinda · Cara · Mariyah · Jenny · Charity

Browse more girl names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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