Meaning: Its source is Katarina, a Scandinavian name meaning "Pure."

Languages: This girl's name is used in German, Dutch, English, Polish, Norwegian, Swedish and Danish.

Nicknames: Kari

Variant Forms: Karina

Popularity: The name Karin ranked 546th in popularity for females of all ages in a sample of the 1990 US Census.

Narrative: This Danish variation of Katarina was introduced to America by Scandinavian settlers. It was adopted by Americans of all nationalities, reaching the zenith of its popularity in the middle of the twentieth century.

One commentator believes its popularity rose and fell with that of sound-alike names Sharon and Darren, citing the name's many alternate spellings as evidence of the popularity of the ''-ren'' sound.