Karim
An Arabic name meaning "generous" or "noble". Fewer than a thousand Polish men carry it and most people here have never met one, with only a handful of boys given it each year now.
Karim Pronunciation
Karim is pronounced KAH-reem (/ˈkarim/).
What Karim means
Where Karim comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Karim comes from Arabic, where the word karīm means generous and noble. In Muslim tradition, Al-Karim, "the Generous," is counted among the ninety-nine names of God, which gave the everyday name a footing in prayer. A boy called Karim answered to a word already spoken over the faithful.
In Poland the name keeps its shape. There are no diminutives. No Polish ending softens it on a school register, and the form on an official document at the urząd stays the two blunt syllables. A teacher reading the list says roughly what a speaker in Cairo would say.
The meaning sits close to the surface. Generous and noble are the plain sense of the Arabic root itself, not a gloss added long after. To be named Karim is to answer, each time, to szlachetny and hojny.
How many people are named Karim
1 in 23665 men in Poland is named Karim. 902 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #1000 among male names.
Karim's popularity over time
5 boys were given the name in 2025, ranking #933 among newborns. It has been falling steadily since 2000.
Where parents choose Karim
Karim is most popular in West Pomeranian, 288% above the national average (5 boys born 2019–2025), followed by Lower Silesian (+233%) and Masovian (+85%). It is least common in Lesser Poland and Greater Poland, 42% and 39% below average respectively.
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West Pomeranian
+288%1 in 16,885 babies
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Lower Silesian
+233%1 in 19,642 babies
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Masovian
+85%1 in 35,427 babies
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Lesser Poland
−42%1 in 113,458 babies
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Greater Poland
−39%1 in 107,622 babies
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West Pomeranian+288% 5 born1 in 16,885 babies+288%
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Lower Silesian+233% 8 born1 in 19,642 babies+233%
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Masovian+85% 10 born1 in 35,427 babies+85%
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Pomeranian+78% 4 born1 in 36,830 babies+78%
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Subcarpathian+9% 2 born1 in 60,283 babies+9%
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Greater Poland−39% 2 born1 in 107,622 babies−39%
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Lesser Poland−42% 2 born1 in 113,458 babies−42%
Karim as a middle name
Karim is a first name for 902 men in Poland and a middle name for another 181, an 83/17 split. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 506th, between Giovanni (181) and Magnus (181).
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#504 Eustachy182
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#505 Giovanni181
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#506 Karim181
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#507 Magnus181
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#508 Sean181