Kari
About Kari
Kari and all her many sisters, from Carrie to Carey to Kerry and onward, originated for the most part as short forms of either Catherine Katherine or one of the Charles feminizations such as Carol or Caroline.
The Kari spelling may feel particularly contemporary and flexible in terms of its derivation.
As of October 2026, Kari ranked #2087 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #127 in 1976.
Editor's take: The name Kari is a girl's name of English, Scandinavian, Norwegian origin meaning "pure; free man".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #1,832 | 111 | 62.1 |
| 2015 | #1,825 | 114 | 63.9 |
| 2016 | #1,979 | 101 | 57 |
| 2017 | #1,640 | 132 | 76.5 |
| 2018 | #1,558 | 139 | 81.7 |
| 2019 | #1,534 | 141 | 84 |
| 2020 | #1,480 | 145 | 89.7 |
| 2021 | #1,547 | 136 | 82.9 |
| 2022 | #1,630 | 130 | 79.3 |
| 2023 | #1,767 | 116 | 72.3 |
| 2024 | #1,841 | 109 | 67.3 |
| 2025 | #2,087 | 90 | 56 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Kari.
Famous Karis
- Kari Rueslåtten
Norwegian singer
- Kari Traa
Norwegian skier
- Kari Samantha Wührer
American actress
- Kari Wahlgren
American voice actress
- Kari Anderson
American actress
- Kari Berg
Swedish/Norwegian singer/model/actress
- Kari Bremnes
Norwegian singer
- Kari Elizabeth Byron
American TV personality ("MythBusters")
- Kari Corbett
Scottish actress
- Kari Brooke Jobe
American singer
- Kari Matchett
Canadian actress
Kari in pop culture
- Hikari "Kari" Kamiya
character on animated series "Digimon"
- Kari McKeen
babysitter in movie "The Incredibles"