Given name & surname
Karri
“a joyous song; a small, strong woman”·“of the wind”·“one with curly hair”
Karri is a variant of Karoline. In English use, Karoline carries the interpretation “a joyous song; a small, strong woman.” In Finnish use, Karri has a related form in Kari. Interpretations include “of the wind” and “one with curly hair”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Karri is a variant of Karoline. In English use, Karoline carries the interpretation “a joyous song; a small, strong woman.” In Finnish use, Karri has a related form in Kari. Interpretations include “of the wind” and “one with curly hair”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Karri is a form of Kari. Kari comes from Karelian, and ultimately from Ancient Greek.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1953. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Karri through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 4,499
- 6 boys · 4,493 girls
- Most popular year
- 1976
- 202 babies
- 2025
- 14
- #11,405 for girls · #11,335 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −2%
- Steady
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 8 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 11,405 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 13.2% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 202 in 1976. It also appeared in 6 birth records for boys in 2025. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 4,052 as a first name in 2020; 651 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.
Karri’s family of names
Karri has a related form in Karoline. In Finnish usage, Karri has a related form in Kari. In Greek usage, Karri as a surname is a transliteration of Καρρή.
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 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 Karri
- Karri RämöFinnish ice hockey playerborn 1986
- Karri HietamäkiFinnish cross-country skierborn 1969
- Karri TurnerAmerican actressborn 1966
- Karri KiviFinnish ice hockey player and coachborn 1970
- Karri WillmsCanadian female curler and coachborn 1969
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Karri, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Cari
“from the river” · “from the fort on the hill”
18% boys · 82% girls
Kateri
Kateri is a feminine given name from Mohawk. It is used in French.
>99% girls
Cori
“from the hollow; of the churning waters”
7% boys · 93% girls
Carrie
“a joyous song; a small, strong woman” · “from the river”
>99% girls
Kami
“a loving man”
5% boys · 95% girls
Kiri
“resembling the amaranth flower” · “resembling the mountains”
4% boys · 96% girls
Karima
“one who is generous and noble”
>99% girls
Candy
“a queen” · “one who is white and glowing”
>99% girls