The pandemic brought us a lot of things – social distancing, masks, Tiger King and the sharp decline in popularity of one name in particular.
This once very popular name has now officially dropped off the top 100 list for the past five years, making it on the verge of extinction.
Since 2020, the name Karen hasn’t been given to one baby in Ireland, after it became synonymous with entitled, white, middle-class women.
Despite many of us knowing and loving a lot of Karens in our lives, the name spawned millions of memes all around the world and it appears to have turned Irish parents off it completely.
According to Urban Dictionary, "Karen is a pejorative term used in the United States and other English-speaking countries for a woman perceived as entitled or demanding beyond the scope of what is appropriate or necessary."
Karen is actually a Danish name, and is a diminutive of the more formal name, Katherine.
Interestingly, it actually means "pure".
In Ireland, the name was decreasing in popularity before it dropped off the top names list completely.
In 2019, three baby girls in Ireland were called Karen, five girls in 2018 and just four in 2016.
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By comparison, in 1991, 250 parents chose Karen for their baby girl and in 1988, 309 babies were given the name.
The name peaked in popularity at number 5 in the top 100 charts in 1977, after being given to 570 baby girls born that year.
By 2020, articles and memes flooded the internet telling people to "Stop being such a Karen" and thus the name disappeared from the charts.
However, like every trend, this one too will move on and there will no doubt be another name thrown into the mix very soon.
In fact, the names Jessica, Amanda and Emma are being mentioned by millennials as the names which might represent the ‘next Karen’ for that generation.
What do you think?
* This article was originally published on EveryMum.ie.
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