Kari

“Variant of Katrine — derivative of Katherine”

Girl's name · #2076 in the US (2025) · Retro

Kari has appeared in US records since 1934 — best rank #127 (1976) · 59,696 babies named Kari all-time · 1 in 17,000 girls born in 2025.

Around the world: about 1 in 1,100 girls in Norway (2025).

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

Famous Karis

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

In stories & tradition

Kari Kamiya — Digimon Adventure · Digimon Adventure 02
Kari — Peer Gynt
Kari al'Thor — The Wheel of Time

What Karis become

Among 998 notable people named Kari:

Political leaders appear 1.91× more often than among typical names — e.g. Kari Lake, American journalist and politician, head of Voice of America (born 1969).

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