Write about your first name: its meaning, significance, etymology, etc.

The above is one of the writing prompts this month on WordPress. It intrigues me as I’ve never really delved into the meaning of the name “Karen” before. So here goes.

I’ll start with present day. For some reason the name “Karen” has become synonymous as referring to an extraordinarily unpleasant person (I’m being tactful) and has quite a negative connotation. On social media people are constantly being attacked – “You’re such a Karen!” For the record, I do not consider myself to be either entitled or demanding. I also take offense that so many people are using my name to insult or hurt other women.

When I was growing up in Winnipeg it was not a common name. When I arrived in Mexico back in 2010 I met a couple of other Karens, although the pronunciation is different. But when I arrived in Leavenworth it seemed like everyone was named Karen.

I’ve done some research. Karen is a shorter version of the name Katherine. It originated from the Danes and the Greeks. It means “pure” or “innocent.” Okay, readers. If you know me personally you can stop laughing right now. Those two words probably best describe me when I was a newborn or an infant.

Then I found a reference to the Viking name Katrin which also means “pure” or “chaste.”

Next we have a biblical meaning. Keren-Happuch appears as the name of Job’s youngest daughter. The meaning here is “child of beauty.”

Then there are a group of indigenous people in southeast Asia on the Thailand-Burma border who are called Karen.

Here’s a rather unusual one. St. Karen is the patron saint of those suffering from miscarriages.

And I wonder what my parents were thinking when they chose the name “Karen” for me.