Kari
A girls’ name of Scandinavian origin, meaning pure; a form of Katherine.
Kari by the numbers
Kari was given to 153 American babies in 2017, the most recent full year we hold.
Its American peak was 2,220 babies in 1982, so it is a 1980s name that has since fallen a long way.
Other names that come from Katherine
Like Kari, each of these traces back to Katherine: a form of it, a name built from it, or a son or daughter of it. Not always the same sex.
- Katiepure; a diminutive of Katherine770 in the US (2017)
- Katelynpure; a modern variant of Katherine760 in the US (2017)
- Kathrynpure; variant spelling of Katherine744 in the US (2017)
- Kitdiminutive of Christopher or Katherine413 in England and Wales (2025)
- Kaelynpure; a modern variant of Katelyn or Katherine332 in the US (2017)
- Kathleenpure; a form of Katherine310 in the US (2017)
- Katrinavariant of Katherine; pure or unsullied193 in the US (2017)
- Katerinapure; a form of Katherine167 in the US (2017)
Spelled almost the same
Other names in the records within a letter or two of Kari. Close spellings are not always related names, but they are usually worth seeing together.
Sounds like Kari
Names that are said the same way as Kari, however they are written. Sounding alike does not mean they share a history.
- Carriefree woman; a form of Caroline128 in the US (2017)
- Cariflows like water or flowing8 in England and Wales (2025)
- Karriedear one; a form of Carrie or Kara14 in the US (2017)
- Kariepure; a form of Karen or Carey11 in the US (2017)
- Kaurikauri tree of new zealand10 in the US (2017)
- Cariea form of carla or caroline, free woman
Other names that mean purity
Like Kari, each of these has purity in its meaning. Different names, different histories, the same idea.
Names about as common as Kari
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