Given name & surname · also Turkish
Kerim
Kerim is a masculine given name from Ottoman Turkish, ultimately from Arabic. It is used in Turkish.
Meaning & origin
Where it comes from
Kerim comes from Ottoman Turkish, and ultimately from Arabic.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
How it developed
From Ottoman Turkish كریم (Kerîm), from Arabic كَرِيم; its root is Arabic ك ر م.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1969. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Kerim through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 396
- 396 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2016
- 38 babies
- 2025
- 23
- #4,476 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −18%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 23 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 4,476 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 18.0% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 38 in 2016. In 2025, Florida had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (5). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 465 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.
Kerim’s family of names
Kerim may belong to the same name family as KERRIM. This is a tentative spelling connection.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
People named Kerim
- Kerim AlajbegovićBosnia and Herzegovina footballer (born 2007)
- Kerim KerimovSoviet rocket scientist (1917–2003)
- Kerim FreiTurkish association football player (born 1993)
- Kerim ÇalhanoğluTurkish-German association football player (born 2002)
- Karim Berdikhan of the Golden Horde1370–1414
- Kerim ZenginTurkish association football player (born 1985)
- Kerim AvcıTurkish association football player (born 1989)
- Kerim TekinTurkish singer (1975–1998)
- Kerim LechnerAustrian musicianborn 1989
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Kerim, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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“tower”
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Yehya
Yehya is a given name from Arabic.
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“praise”
>99% boys
Ehsan
“favor, kindness, beneficence”
>99% boys