Kari (name)
Kari is either a male or female given name, or a surname.
Given name
In Finland, Kari is a male name, which was particularly popular in the 1940s and 1950s. The name is derived from the Greek Makarios (or Macarius).
In Norway, Kari is a popular female name. This name is diminutive of Katharine, meaning "pure". The corresponding Swedish and German name is Karin.
In Iceland and Faroe Islands, Kári is a male name, based on a Scandinavian god of wind of the same name. The corresponding Norwegian male name is Kåre or Kaare.
Surname
Kari is a popular surname in South India. In Andhra Pradesh the village of Karivari Palem is named after the surname; in the village Inkollu,Gangavaram almost 60% families have this surname. Kari can also be spelt Kahri.
Kari is also a Finnish surname, meaning a small island, islet, or an underwater rock. There are currently 2242 holders of the name (2015).[1]
Famous people named Kari
Females with the given name
- Kari Anderson (born 1982), Scottish cricketer
- Kari Berg (born 1986), Swedish singer and actress
- Kari Bøge (born 1950), Norwegian author
- Kari Bremnes (born 1956), Norwegian singer
- Kari Byron (born 1974), American television host and artist
- Kari Corbett (born 1984), Scottish actress
- Kari Diesen (1914–1987), Norwegian singer and actress
- Kari Aalvik Grimsbø (born 1985), Norwegian handball player
- Kari Jobe (born 1981), American singer
- Kari Kjønaas Kjos (born 1962), Norwegian politician
- Kari Mette Johansen (born 1979), Norwegian handball player
- Kari Matchett (born 1970), Canadian actress
- Kari Nissena, American actress
- Kari Ann Peniche (born 1984), American model
- Kari Rueslåtten (born 1973), Norwegian singer
- Kari Storækre (born 1950), Norwegian television personality
- Kari Swenson (born 1962), American biathlete
- Kari Sylwan (born 1940), Swedish actress, ballerina and choreographer
- Kari Traa (born 1974), Norwegian skier
- Kari Wahlgren (born 1977), American voice actress
- Kari Wuhrer (born 1967), American actress
Males with the given name
- Kari Arkivuo, Finnish footballer
- Kari Aronpuro, Finnish poet
- Kari Eloranta, Finnish footballer and ice hockey player
- Kari Enqvist, Finnish physicist and writer
- Kari Hotakainen, Finnish writer
- Kári P. Højgaard, Faroese politician
- Kari Härkönen, Finnish skier
- Kari Jalonen, Finnish ice hockey coach
- Kari Kairamo, former CEO of Nokia
- Kari Korhonen, Finnish cartoonist
- Kari Korhonen, Finnish mycologist
- Kari Kriikku, Finnish clarinet player
- Kari Kuivalainen, Finnish musician
- Kari Lehtonen, Finnish NHL Goaltender for the Dallas Stars
- Kari Makkonen, Finnish ice hockey player
- Kari Mannerla, Finnish game designer
- Kari Mäkinen, Archbishop of Turku
- Kari Peitsamo, Finnish musician
- Kari Rajamäki, Finnish politician
- Kari Ristanen, Finnish skier
- Kári Stefánsson, Icelandic founder of deCODE genetics
- Kari Suomalainen, Finnish cartoonist
- Kari Takko, Finnish ice hockey goalkeeper
- Kari Tapio, Finnish singer
- Kari Tiainen, Finnish motorcycle rider
- Kari S. Tikka, Finnish legal scholar
- Kari Ukkonen, Finnish footballer
- Kari Uotila, Finnish politician
- Kari Väänänen, Finnish actor and director
- Kari Ylianttila, Finnish ski-jumper
People with the surname
- Dagur Kári, Icelandic filmmaker
- Jarkko Kari, Finnish mathematician
- Sax Kari, born Isaac Toombs, American R&B musician and promoter
- Tamla Kari, British actress
- Tommi Kari, Finnish footballer
People with the nickname
- Sundaram Karivardhan, Indian motor sports promoter
Fictional and mythological characters
- Kári, son of Fornjót, the personification of wind in Norse mythology
- Kari Grandi, Finnish advertising character
- Hikari "Kari" Kamiya, a character in Digimon media
- Kari Nordmann, Norwegian placeholder name
- Kari Ragnarsson, a character in the book Snow-walker by Catherine Fisher