girl's name
Karina
kuh-REE-nuh
- Origin Scandinavian
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 69,847
the United States
#749
2025 births
Karina means pure or beloved depending on which parent it takes, and neither has a settled meaning — Catherine's Greek original was never derived, and the Latin route gives a different sense entirely. English spelling cannot tell the two apart.
- Karina is a name of Scandinavian origin.
- Peaked in 1995, when 3,001 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 9,133 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1956.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Karina over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1950s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1950s | 51 |
| 1960s | 686 |
| 1970s | 2,876 |
| 1980s | 8,486 |
| 1990s | 22,724 |
| 2000s | 17,090 |
| 2010s | 7,376 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 2,428 |
What Karina means
Karina means pure if taken from Catherine, or beloved if taken from the Latin carus. The two parents are unrelated and neither reading is fully established.
Where Karina comes from
Karina reaches modern use by two routes. One runs through Katarina and Catherine, whose Greek original Aikaterine has never been securely derived — the pure gloss came from a later association with katharos, clean. The other runs through the Latin carus, dear, which gives Cara and the Italian cara. Scandinavian and Slavic use favors the first, Italian and Spanish the second, and English spelling cannot tell them apart.
Karina in use
Karina peaked in the United States in 1995, when 3,001 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It charts in six of the seven markets we track — 749th in the United States on 363 births, 822nd in Scotland, 875th in England and Wales on 40, 938th in Canada, 947th in Ireland and 2834th in France on 10 — across 69,847 lifetime births.
How popular is Karina?
In 2025, Karina was given to 363 babies in the United States, ranking #749 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Karina is used
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 Karina
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Karina also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Karina over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Karina
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Karina in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Karina
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Karina — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Karina
What does the name Karina mean?
Pure through Catherine, or beloved through the Latin carus. Neither is settled.
Does Catherine mean pure?
Not originally. That came from a later association with the Greek katharos.
Is it Karina or Carina?
Both are used; the K-spelling is Scandinavian and Slavic, the C-spelling Italian and Spanish.
How popular is Karina?
749th in the United States, and it charts in five of our six markets.
Is Karina a girl's or a boy's name?
Karina is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Karina?
Karina has 3 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Karina?
Karina is usually shortened to Kari.
Is Karina a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Karina currently ranks #749 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.