Boys' name · peaked in 1977
Kareem name popularity since 1925
18,359 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Kareem (1.1% girls, 98.9% boys). Half of them were born in 1999 or earlier, so the typical Kareem is about 27 years old in 2026. Kareem peaked in 1977 as the #367 name for boys, and it ranked #702 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 18,359
- Named Kareem, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #702
- for boys in 2025 (383 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 98.9% boys
- 198 girls · 18,161 boys
- Most popular in
- New York
- 2.92× its national share
Peak year is the year Kareem made up the largest share of US boys, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Kareem births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year by count was 1980. Measured as a share of all babies, Kareem peaked in 1977.
- Steepest fall: Between 1980 and 1985, Kareem's share of baby boys fell by 41%, from 1 in 3,890 to 1 in 6,620.
Shaded on the chart. This compares Kareem's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Kareem.
Decade by decade
Babies named Kareem in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1930s | 0 | 0 | Under 5 |
| 1940s | 0 | 0 | Under 5 |
| 1950s | 0 | 0 | Under 5 |
| 1960s | 0 | 18 | Under 5 |
| 1970s | 119 | 2,967 | #380 |
| 1980s | 53 | 3,066 | #522 |
| 1990s | 16 | 3,168 | #601 |
| 2000s | 5 | 3,122 | #700 |
| 2010s | 5 | 3,382 | #732 |
| 2020–25 | 0 | 2,438 | #702 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000. "Under 5" means fewer than 5 boys got the name.
Generation fingerprint
27.2% of babies named Kareem from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Gen Z years (1997–2012). The full split by generation:
Where Kareem is most popular
The index compares Kareem's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Kareem.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| New York | 2.92× | 3,615 |
| New Jersey | 2.86× | 1,286 |
| Florida | 1.98× | 1,165 |
| Maryland | 1.83× | 456 |
| Pennsylvania | 1.80× | 1,495 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Kareem's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Kareem.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Kareem (1977).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data