boy's name

Kareem

  • Origin Arabic
  • Gender Boy
  • Syllables 2
  • Letters 6
  • Popularity Top 1000 (US)
  • Births on record 20,915

the United States

#701

2025 births

Kareem is a boy's name with 2 syllables. In 2025 it was given to 383 babies in the United States, ranking #701. It is a well-established, commonly used name.

  • Kareem is a name of Arabic origin.
  • Peaked in 1980, when 480 babies were given the name.
  • It has been rising over the past decade.
  • Today about 1 in 8,656 babies in the United States is given this name.
  • First appears in US birth records in 1964.
  • 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.

Kareem over time

Births per decade in the United States, 1960s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.

3,387
'60 '70 '80 '90 '00 '10 '20
Show the numbers
Births named Kareem by decade in the United States
Decade Births
1960s 18
1970s 3,086
1980s 3,119
1990s 3,184
2000s 3,127
2010s 3,387
2020s (to 2025) 2,438

How popular is Kareem?

In 2025, Kareem was given to 383 babies in the United States, ranking #701 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.

Where Kareem is used

Canada #474 65 in 2024
England & Wales #493 79 in 2025
United States #701 383 in 2025
Ireland #819 4 in 2025
Scotland #914 3 in 2024
France #3,298 10 in 2022

The bar shows how near the top of each country's list the name sits, on a scale where #1 fills the row and #1,000 is a sliver. The figures beside it are the real rank and the babies recorded that year.

US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.

Names that peaked alongside Kareem

These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.

Parents who like Kareem also like

Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Kareem over the last century — the same taste, a different name.

Sibling names for Kareem

Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Kareem — the two things that make a sibling set grate.

Common questions about Kareem

How popular is the name Kareem?

In 2025, Kareem was given to 383 babies in the United States, ranking #701 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.

Is Kareem a girl's or a boy's name?

Kareem is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.

How many syllables are in Kareem?

Kareem has 2 syllables.

When was Kareem most popular?

Kareem peaked in 1980, when 480 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.

Is Kareem a good name?

That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Kareem currently ranks #474 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.