What Is South Dakota’s ‘Karen’ Quotient?

Just a generation ago, it was the third most popular name for newborn girls in the United States.

But a lot has changed since the 1960s.

Now the word 'Karen' is so much more than just a name, it's become the identifier for some of the worst behavior in the world around us.

Get our free mobile app

Over the past couple of years, we've seen so many viral videos of outraged women, typically in retail settings, displaying a major amount of attitude, that the 'Karen' moniker has now officially become part of the Urban Dictionary vernacular: 

Middle-aged woman, typically blonde, makes solutions to others' problems an inconvenience to her although she isn't even remotely affected.

And while there is no shortage of people behaving badly in public these days, the whole 'Karen' thing is a uniquely American thing if for no other reason than we have more than the world's share of them - literally and figuratively.

According to research from Bionic, the United States is home to 1,584,764 Karens, more than five times the number in the next closest country, England (282,743).

And while you'll find plenty of Karens in the U.S. (for now), that's not the case in South Dakota, where we have the fifth-fewest Karens in all of the 50 states.

STATES WITH THE MOST KARENS

1. California
2. Texas
3. New York
4. Florida
5. Pennsylvania
6. Illinois
7. Ohio
8. Michigan
9. Missouri
10. Maryland
11. North Carolina
12. Georgia
13. Massachusetts
14. Virginia
15. New Jersey
16. Washington
17. Wisconsin
18. Minnesota
19. Indiana
20. Colorado
21. Arizona
22. Tennessee
23. Nevada
24. Oregon
25. Kentucky
26. South Carolina
27. Connecticut
28. Alabama
29. Louisiana
30. Iowa
31. Oklahoma
32. Kansas
33. Utah
34. Arkansas
35. Nebraska
36. New Hampshire
37. West Virginia
38. Mississippi
39. Idaho
40. New Mexico
41. Maine
42. Hawaii
43. Rhode Island
44. Montana
45. Delaware
46. South Dakota
47. North Dakota
48. Vermont
49. Alaska
50. Wyoming

If the current trends continue, it won't just be the Mount Rushmore State that has a 'Karen' deficiency going forward.

Last year, only 325 newborn girls were named Karen, making it the 831st most popular name among babies, according to the Social Security Administration. That’s a drop of more than 170 spots from 2019.

Now might be a good time to give your favorite Karen a hug.

They could sure use one!