Given name & surname
Karine
“one who is pure; virginal”·“little darling”
Karine is a variant of Karen. In Greek use, Karen carries the interpretation “one who is pure; virginal.” Karine is a variant of Carina. One Latin interpretation is “little darling.” Its derivation is not certain.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Karine is a variant of Karen. In Greek use, Karen carries the interpretation “one who is pure; virginal.” Karine is a variant of Carina. One Latin interpretation is “little darling.” Its derivation is not certain.
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Karine is a variant of Carina. A possible origin is Latin, although the derivation remains uncertain.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In Norwegian Bokmål usage, Karine developed from the Ancient Greek form Αἰκατερίνη.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1917. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Karine through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,212
- 0 boys · 1,212 girls
- Most popular year
- 1966
- 53 babies
- 2025
- 6
- #14,039 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +4%
- Steady
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 6 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 14,039 among girls’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for girls was 53 in 1966. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 3,848 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Karine’s family of names
In Norwegian Bokmål usage, Karine has a short form in RINE. In French usage, Karine shares a linguistic root with Karina. Karine has a related form in Karen.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Karine has relatives in 5 languages.
10 related names in 5 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 10
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Karinavariant · Norwegian Bokmål, French
- Karenvariant · English
- Carinavariant · Norwegian Bokmål
- Karinvariant · French, English
- Karrinelikely variant
- Karinnelikely variant
- Karynevariant · French, English
- Carinevariant · Norwegian Bokmål, French
Show 2 moreShow fewer
Spellings & scripts 2
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 Karine
- Karine Jean-PierreFrench-American political advisor and White House Press Secretary from 2022-2025born 1974
- Karine VanasseCanadian actressborn 1983
- Karine RubyFrench snowboarder (1978-2009)
- Karine ElharrarIsraeli politicianborn 1977
- Karine SergerieTaekwondo practitionerborn 1985
- Karine KazinianArmenian diplomat (1955–2012)
- Kariné PoghosyanArmenian pianist
- Karine ChemlaFrench mathematician and historian of mathematicsborn 1957
- Karine Laurent PhilippotFrench cross-country skierborn 1974
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Karine, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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