Given name & surname
Kareem
“a generous man”
Kareem is used as a given name and a surname. One Arabic interpretation is “a generous man.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Arabic interpretation is “a generous man.”
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 1964. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Kareem through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 18,359
- 18,161 boys · 198 girls
- Most popular year
- 1980
- 480 babies
- 2025
- 383
- #702 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +9%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 383 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 702 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 9.2% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 459 in 1980. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (40). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 13,237 as a first name in 2020; 1,493 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.
Kareem’s family of names
In English usage, Kareem has a related form in Karim. Kareem has a related form in Karim. Kareem has a related form in Karam.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 13
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Karimvariant · English, French
- Karamvariant
- Khareemvariant
- Kariemvariant
- Karymvariant
- Karreemlikely variant
- Kareamvariant
- Kharymvariant
Show 5 moreShow fewer
Spellings & scripts 1
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.
People named Kareem
- Kareem Abdul-JabbarAmerican basketball player (born 1947)
- Kareem Streete-ThompsonCaymanian athletics competitor (born 1973)
- Kareem RushAmerican basketball player (born 1980)
- Kareem CampbellAmerican skateboarderborn 1973
- Kareem AmerEgyptian Norwegian bloggerborn 1984
- Kareem MosesTrinidad and Tobago footballerborn 1990
- Kareem HuntAmerican football player (born 1995)
- Kareem JamarAmerican basketball player (born 1992)
- Kareem McKenzieplayer of American footballborn 1979
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Kareem, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Hakim
“one who is wise; intelligent”
>99% boys
Anwar
“surrounded by light” · “luminous”
98% boys · 2% girls
Abdul
“a servant of God”
>99% boys
Ashraf
“a distinguished man”
>99% boys
Rahman
“one who is full of compassion”
>99% boys
Âdem
Âdem is a masculine given name from Arabic, ultimately from Proto-Semitic. It is used in Turkish.
>99% boys
Kâzım
“to suppress (ire, anger)”
>99% boys
Katter
Katter is a surname from Arabic.
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