The Baby Name Wizard

Reader Contributions

Contribute to, or edit, this collection of community wisdom on the name Kari!

Comments and insights on the name Kari: | Edit

The name "Kari" can be pronounced 2 different ways. The most common way to pronounce "Kari" is the same way you pronounce "Carrie". The other way to say it would rhyme with "sorry" CAR-EE. My name is pronounced just like "Carrie".

Personal experiences with the name Kari: | Edit

My name is Kari and when I was little people always joked around and made me carry things, because my name is Kari. (Kari and carry are said the same way) Also they come up with silly nick names.

My name is Kari and I have always had a miserable time with people mispronouncing it. (The monologue by the babysitter in the bonus tracks of "The Incredibles" sums it up well.) My (Norwegian) grandmother used to say it the Norwegian way, and I can't stand being called "Carrie", "Kerry", "Cory", etc. I used to tell people that the first syllable, Kar, should be pronounced like "the vehicle that you drive" -- this worked well until I visited Massachusetts, and they all said "You mean like a CAH?"

Nicknames for Kari: | Edit

Care Bear
Kare

Meanings and history of the name Kari: | Edit

Norwegian diminutive of Katherine/Karin. Norwegian pronunciation is KAHR-ee.

Famous real-life people named Kari: | Edit

Kari Byron, American artist and television personality
Kari Matchett, Canadian actress
Kari Michaelson, actress ("Gimme a Break!")
Kari Wührer, American actress

Kari in song, story & screen: | Edit

Kari (KAHR-ee) McKeon, babysitter who must deal with baby Jack's superpowers in the movie "The Incredibles"
Kari Nordmann, the Norwegian equivalent of the "placeholder names" Jane Doe or Jane Q. Public.
"Kari Waits for Me", a very pretty song performed by the Easy Riders in the 1958 film "The Windjammer".