Being a “Karen” isn’t just about your name– it’s a lifestyle.
In pop culture, the “Karen” trope has become such a meme that the once extremely popular name has fallen virtually nonexistent for babies born in the past few years.
We all know someone who always seems to need to speak to the manager at the store, and somehow needs to send their food back every time that they visit a restaurant. This attitude– entitled, judgmental, and constantly aggravated– is the core of what it means to be a Karen.
While anyone with such an attitude can qualify as a Karen, they’re stereotypically thought of as the average white soccer mom in their 40s or 50s. Even more specifically, the mental image of a Karen has short highlighted hair and usually dons a pair of expensive sunglasses atop her head.
Obviously, not everyone with the name Karen on their birth certificate has the same qualities as the fictional Karen. Every stereotype is a generalization, which applies to some and not others. Plenty of middle-aged moms would rather eat the wrong meal than send it back, and plenty of people in other demographics have a tendency to act entitled.
This infographic suggests that there might be at least some accuracy in the stereotype, seeing as the name Karen is truly most popular around upper middle class women in their 50s. Most interestingly, people named Karen tend to leave Yelp reviews lower than the rest of the population.
Make sure to send the sweet people named Karen in your life some extra love, and remind the people with “Karen” attitudes to take a deep breath, regardless of their name.