If you start hearing the name Karen a lot less, it’s not because the world has fewer complainers
You may start hearing the name Karen a lot less — but not because fewer irate women are demanding to “speak to the manager.”
The maligned moniker is among 10 baby names that have seen a significant decrease over the years, according to the global naming records website NameKun
A name that was once No. 1 in the 1960s and ’70s, Karen fell to 4,844th place last year, with only four babies being named with the moniker, as reported on the site Tyla.
Names that were popular between the 1950s and 1970s are being used remarkably less in modern times, either falling out of the top 1,000 or becoming extremely rare for new babies — and some dropping by more than 90% from their mid-20th-century peak.
Neville and Galvin, for example, are used so little these days that they may be considered nearly extinct for newborns.
Sometimes, there are cultural moments that can affect a name’s popularity.
The name Karen now has a social stigma to it, developed in recent years as a slang term and meme to mostly refer to middle-class white women who feel wronged — and want everyone to know it.
Lauren was in fifth place back in 1996 — with 6,299 babies with the name — but it fell in 2024 to 934th place, with just 34 Laurens born that year.
According to BabyCenter, as of the time of writing, Lauren is ranked No. 477 in popularity in 2025 in the U.S.
Commentary site The Bump reported Neville ranked No. 21,752 overall and No. 10,563 for boys in 2024, the Daily Mail reported.
10 baby names at risk of going extinct
- Lauren
- Karen
- Sheila
- Brenda
- Gladys
- Galvin
- Roderick
- Gary
- Neville
- Dale