Given name & surname
Karam
“a generous man”
Karam is a variant of Kareem. One Arabic interpretation is “a generous man.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Karam is a variant of Kareem. One Arabic interpretation is “a generous man.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Arabic.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1977. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Karam through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,631
- 1,631 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2024
- 137 babies
- 2025
- 105
- #1,613 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +16%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 105 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,613 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 15.9% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (14). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,808 as a first name in 2020; 3,247 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Karam’s family of names
Karam has a related form in Kareem. In Persian usage, Karam is a Roman-alphabet rendering of کرم. In Greek usage, Karam is a transliteration of Καράμ.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 3
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 3
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Karam
- Karam GaberOlympic wrestlerborn 1979
- Karam HasanovAzerbaijani politicianborn 1969
- Karam Ali ShahPakistani politician (1934-2020)
- Karam SinghAuthor, historian and Sikh scholar (1884–1930)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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