A new chart has confirmed that most Karens in America really are middle-aged, with its popularity as a baby name peaking in the 1950s and 60s.
Data from the Social Security Administration and collated by the Baby Center chronicles the rise and fall in popularity of the female baby name dating from 1880 to 2018 in the US.
It was at its most popular in the 1950s and 60s – the era of the baby boomer – meaning that today a typical Karen can expect to be in her 50s or 60s.
The name ‘Karen’ has become synonymous in recent months with the image of a privileged, middle-class white woman becoming embroiled in racist incidents.
The name Karen peaked in popularity in 1956, when 19,953 US babies per every million born were given the name
The data reveals the name was fairly rare in the US in the early 1900s, but slowly began to rise in popularity to a high in the 50s and 60s.
In every year between 1951 and 1968, Karen ranked in the top 10 of all female baby names in America, SSA data shows.
The name peaked in popularity in 1956, when 19,953 US babies per every million born were given the name, according to the Baby Center.
The SSA reveals that Karen was the seventh most popular name given to newborn baby girls that year.
Its popularity continued through the 60s, and in 1965 it was the third most popular name, even though less babies overall were named Karen.
The name has steadily fallen out of favor ever since the 1950s and 60s, with the SSA finding that by 2018 the name had fallen to number 635 in the ranking of most popular names.
Just 468 Karens were born that year in the US, making up just 0.025 percent of all newborn girls.
And it does not seem like the trend is likely to change anytime soon given the current negative associations with the name.
The term ‘Karen’ has taken off this year as numerous videos have done the rounds on social media of entitled, middle-aged white women making racist comments or using their privilege to get a desired outcome from a situation.
Other examples have seen entitled white women refusing to wear masks in public places where mandates are in place to slow the spread of the virus.
While the women derided in the social media videos are not necessarily named Karen and don’t all fall into the baby boomer bracket, the name has fast become a symbol of this type of behavior.
Central Park Karen
One of the most notorious examples was the white woman dubbed ‘Central Park Karen’, after she called police on birdwatcher who asked her to put her dog on a leash in May.
Amy Cooper, 41, was caught on camera putting on a hysterical voice as she calling the cops on 57-year-old black man Christian Cooper (no relation).
Ms Cooper was fired from her senior position at a New York investment firm and shamed by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio after the incident went viral on social media.
She was charged with falsely reporting an incident in the third degree in July.
But former Marvel Comics editor Christian has not cooperated with the prosecutor’s investigation, and says he believes the woman has suffered enough.
One of the most notorious examples was the white woman dubbed ‘Central Park Karen’ who was fired from her senior position at a New York investment firm and shamed by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio following an incident that went viral on social media the same weekend as Floyd’s death
Sacramento Karen
Over in Sacramento, another white woman was dubbed a ‘Karen’ after she twice called a black woman the n-word during an argument in a convenience store in June.
The shocking footage showed the unidentified middle-aged woman making the racial slur at a younger black woman during a shouting match in a California 7-Eleven.
The black woman then dares her to use the racist term again, which she then does, causing the black woman to punch the ‘Karen’ in the face.
Over in Sacramento, another white woman was dubbed a ‘Karen’ after she twice called a black woman the n-word during a fight in a convenience store
Costco Karen
A woman dubbed ‘Costco Karen’ sat on the floor of the superstore, refused to move and declared ‘I have constitutional rights!’ after she was asked to put on a face mask in July.
Shocking video of the confrontation, believed to have unfolded at the returns desk of a Costco in Hillsboro, Oregon, shows an employee asking an older woman to wear a mask in the store to follow its coronavirus policy.
The woman had a face mask dangling from one ear but refused to put it on completely to cover her mouth.
‘Costco Karen’ made a stand in in a branch of the superstore in Hillsboro, Oregon, in June when she sat on the floor after she was asked to put on a mask by an employee