Karder
A given name possibly derived from the Catalan surname Carder, meaning "maker of cards" or "comber of wool".
Name Census estimates that about 325 living Americans carry the first name Karder. It is a predominantly male name (96.0% of registrations). The average person named Karder today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Karder births was 2014 (37 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Karder. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
325
~ 1 in 1,054,629 Americans
Peak year
2014
37 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2023 SSA rank
#9,339
Tracked since 2005
Gender
Gender distribution for Karder
Karder leans heavily male at 96.0% of total registrations, but 13 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Karder as a male name
- Ranked #9,339 in 2023
- 8 male births in 2023
- Peak: 2014 (30 births)
Karder as a female name
- Ranked #14,648 in 2019
- 6 female births in 2019
- Peak: 2014 (7 births)
Popularity
Karder: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Karder from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 240 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Karder by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Karder during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Karders live
Origin
Meaning and history of Karder
The name Karder has its origins in the ancient Sumerian language, which dates back to the 4th millennium BC in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq). It is derived from the Sumerian word "kar," meaning "to shine" or "to radiate," and "der," meaning "eternal" or "everlasting." The combination of these two words suggests that Karder may have been a name associated with the concept of eternal radiance or perpetual brilliance.
The earliest recorded use of the name Karder can be traced back to cuneiform inscriptions found in the ancient city of Uruk, one of the oldest cities in Mesopotamia. These inscriptions, dating back to around 3000 BC, mention a high-ranking official or priest named Karder, who was believed to have played a significant role in the religious and cultural life of the city.
Karder is also mentioned in several ancient Sumerian mythological texts and religious scriptures. One notable reference is found in the Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the earliest known literary works dating back to around 2100 BC. In this epic, Karder is depicted as a wise and powerful figure who guides the hero Gilgamesh on his journey of self-discovery.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Karder. One of the earliest was Karder of Lagash, a ruler of the Sumerian city-state of Lagash, who lived around 2400 BC and was renowned for his military conquests and architectural achievements. Another notable figure was Karder the Scribe, a renowned scholar and writer who lived in Babylon around 1800 BC and is credited with compiling many of the ancient Sumerian texts and literary works.
During the Neo-Babylonian period (626-539 BC), a high priest named Karder served in the temple of Marduk, the patron deity of Babylon. His name is inscribed on several clay tablets and temple records, indicating his influential role in the religious and cultural life of the city.
In the 5th century AD, a philosopher and mathematician named Karder lived in the city of Alexandria, Egypt. He is known for his contributions to the study of geometry and his work on the concept of irrational numbers.
Another notable figure was Karder the Traveler, an explorer and merchant who lived during the 9th century AD and is believed to have traveled extensively throughout the Middle East and parts of Asia. His accounts of his travels and encounters with various cultures and civilizations have been preserved in several manuscripts and have provided valuable insights into the world of that era.
People
Karder + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Karder as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Karder: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Karder?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 325 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Karder going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,054,629 US residents.
Is Karder a common name?
We classify Karder as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 328 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Karder most popular?
The single biggest year for Karder was 2014, when 37 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Karder is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Karder in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Karder a male name?
Yes, 96.0% of people registered as Karder in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Karder still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Karder in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Karder can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have the name Karder?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Karder on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.