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.

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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!

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