Karen () is a

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a ...

and occasional

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

. In

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

, it is a feminine given name derived from the name Catherine, and it is also found in modern

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, as well as in

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea ...

(particularly

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

). However, in other countries such as

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

and

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''O ...

, it is a masculine name deriving from Middle Iranian.

English

Karen entered the English language from Danish, where it has been a short form of "Katherine" since medieval times. It became popular in the English-speaking world in the 1940s. The name Karen was one of the top 10 names for girls born in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

during the 1950s and 1960s, peaking as the third most popular girl's name in 1965. Variants include Caren, Caryn,

Karena Karena is a given name. Notable people with the given name include: * Karena Chapman, Australian chemist *Karena Evans (born 1995), Canadian music video director and actress * Karena Johnson, British theatrical director and producer *Karena Lam (bo ...

, Karin, Karyn, and others. Due to its increasingly common derogatory use since 2017, the name has become significantly less popular in the United States in recent years.

Armenian

''Karen'' ( hy, Կարեն, ) is a common masculine given name. The masculine given name ''Karen'' derived from the

Parthia Parthia ( peo, 𐎱𐎼𐎰𐎺 ''Parθava''; xpr, 𐭐𐭓𐭕𐭅 ''Parθaw''; pal, 𐭯𐭫𐭮𐭥𐭡𐭥 ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Med ...

n name of House of Karen (or Caren), one of the seven aristocratic families of ancient Iran. Several Iranian princes named Karen are known before and after the Islamic period. The Karen house ruled the

Tabaristan Tabaristan or Tabarestan ( fa, طبرستان, Ṭabarestān, or mzn, تبرستون, Tabarestun, ultimately from Middle Persian: , ''Tapur(i)stān''), was the name applied to a mountainous region located on the Caspian coast of northern Iran. ...

region of Iran, which approximately corresponds to the current provinces of Gilan state and Mazandaran. The masculine given name Garen is a

Western Armenian Western Armenian ( Classical spelling: , ) is one of the two standardized forms of Modern Armenian, the other being Eastern Armenian. It is based mainly on the Istanbul Armenian dialect, as opposed to Eastern Armenian, which is mainly base ...

form of the

Eastern Armenian Eastern Armenian ( ''arevelahayeren'') is one of the two standardized forms of Modern Armenian, the other being Western Armenian. The two standards form a pluricentric language. Eastern Armenian is spoken in Armenia, Artsakh, Russia, as ...

''Karen''. The masculine given name ''Karen'' was mentioned by the prominent Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi (ca. 410–490s AD; Armenian: Մովսես Խորենացի) in his book '' History of Armenia''. ''Karen'' can also be a surname.

In East Asia

, ''Karen'' is a feminine given name. The name can be found in

. It may come from ("pretty, lovely"), (combining kanji meaning "flower" and "lotus or water lily")Behind the name – Karen (3)
/ref> or other meanings.

Notable people

First name

Surname

* Anna Karen (1936–2022), South African British actress *

James Karen James Karen (born Jacob Karnofsky; November 28, 1923 – October 23, 2018) was an American character actor of Broadway, film and television. Karen is known for his roles in ''Poltergeist'', ''The China Syndrome'', ''Wall Street'', ''The Return ...

(1923–2018), American actor *

Tom Karen Thomas Josef Derrick Paul Karen (born March 1926) is a British industrial designer of Czech descent. He was managing director and chief designer of Ogle Design from 1962 until 1999. He oversaw design of the Bush Radio TR130 radio, the Raleig ...

(born 1926), British industrial designer

West Asian people

Armenian people

* Karen Abrahamyan (born 1966), Armenian politician *

Karen Aghamyan Karen Aghamyan ( hy, Կարեն Գուրգենի Աղամյան; born in 1946) is an Armenian painter. He has served as President of the Artists' Union of Armenia since 1998. Background Born in Yerevan in 1946, he has been a member of the Artis ...

(born 1946), Armenian painter * Karen Akopyan (born 1992), Russian former football player * Karen Aleksanyan (born 1980), Armenian football midfielder * Karen Andreasyan (born 1977), Armenian human rights defender *

Karen Asatryan Karen Asatryan (born 21 December 1974) is an Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armeni ...

(born 1974), Armenian football player *

Karen Asrian Karen Asrian ( hy, Կարեն Ասրյան; 24 April 1980 – 9 June 2008) was an Armenian chess player. Awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1998, he was a three-time Armenian champion. Asrian was a member of the gold medal-winning Arm ...

(1980–2008), Armenian chess grandmaster *

Karen Brutents Karen may refer to: * Karen (name), a given name and surname * Karen (slang), a term and meme for a demanding woman displaying certain behaviors People * Karen people, an ethnic group in Myanmar and Thailand ** Karen languages or Karenic la ...

(1924–2017), Soviet statesman * Karen Demirchyan (1932–1999), Armenian politician * Karen Drambjan (1954–2011), Armenian-born Estonian lawyer, politician and activist *

Karen Jalavyan Karen Aghasi Jalavyan ( hy, Կարեն Աղասու Ջալավյան; born 25 January 1971), also known by his ''nom de guerre'' Kyokh ( hy, Քյոխ, link=no), is an Armenian military officer, colonel of the Artsakh Defence Army, commander of t ...

(born 1971), Armenian Colonel in Artsakh * Karen Kavaleryan (born 1961), Russian musician and composer * Karen Khachanov (born 1996), Russian tennis player of Armenian descent * Karen Khachaturian (1920–2011), Russian composer of Armenian descent * Karen Sargsyan (conductor) (born 1952), Armenian choirmaster * Karen Shakhnazarov (born 1952), Russian filmmaker, producer and screenwriter of Armenian descent

Surname

Iranian people

* Zarmihr Karen (died 558), Iranian nobleman and Sasanian governor of Zabulistan

East Asian people

* Karen Iwata (born 1998), Japanese singer * Karen Makishima (born 1976), Japanese politician * Karen Miyama (born 1996), Japanese actress * Karen Mok (born 1970), Hong Kong singer and actress * Karen Nun-Ira (born 1991), Japanese judoka *

Karen Tanaka Karen Tanaka (born April 7, 1961) is a Japanese composer. Biography Karen Tanaka was born in Tokyo where she started piano and composition lessons as a child. After studying composition with Akira Miyoshi and piano with Nobuko Amada at Toho G ...

(born 1961), Japanese composer * Karen Takizawa (born 1992), Japanese model, tarento and actress * Karen Yu (born 1980), Taiwanese politician

Fictional people

Live action

Animation

References

{{given name, type=both Armenian masculine given names Danish feminine given names Dutch feminine given names English feminine given names Finnish feminine given names German feminine given names Icelandic feminine given names Irish feminine given names Japanese feminine given names Norwegian feminine given names Scottish feminine given names Swedish feminine given names

English

Armenian

In East Asia

Notable people

First name

Surname

West Asian people

Armenian people

Surname

Iranian people

East Asian people

Fictional people

Live action

Animation

See also

References