Kareem
Top 1000
About Kareem
A favorite Muslim name, Kareem first appeared on the US Top 1000 list in 1972 (jumping in at Number 405!), coinciding with the early career of basketball great turned writer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (born Lewis Alcindor). It has continued to chart every year since.
Derived from the Arabic karuma, meaning "to be generous", the name encourages charitable and honorabe behaviour. Also transcribed as Karim, it is significant in Islamic tradition, al-Karīm being one of the 99 names of Allah.
Pronounced kah-REEM.
As of October 2026, Kareem ranked #702 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #367 in 1977.
Editor's take: The name Kareem is a boy's name of Arabic origin meaning "noble, generous".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #751 | 315 | 164 |
| 2015 | #732 | 334 | 174.3 |
| 2016 | #709 | 345 | 181.8 |
| 2017 | #700 | 352 | 190.2 |
| 2018 | #699 | 346 | 190.5 |
| 2019 | #672 | 386 | 215.1 |
| 2020 | #639 | 419 | 242.7 |
| 2021 | #696 | 382 | 218.4 |
| 2022 | #672 | 406 | 232.5 |
| 2023 | #626 | 442 | 258.4 |
| 2024 | #677 | 403 | 233.9 |
| 2025 | #702 | 383 | 224.2 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Kareem.
- Ryszard
- Kamil
- Mirando
- Alysanne
- Manolo
- Haruka
- Aahil
- Deion
- Tarek
- Hikari
- Ganesha
- Mikasa
- Aziz
- Makeda
- Nasser
- Régine
- Akane
- Akiva
- Alexandros
- Drago
Kareem on lists
Famous Kareems
- Kareem Abdul
Jabbar (born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, Jr), American basketball player
- Kareem Rush
American basketball player
- Kareem Salama
American country music singer
- Kareem Martin
American NFL player
- Kareem Kelly
American NFL player