Kari vs Liv
Kari and Livcompared on official birth-registration statistics and Namewise's recorded data. This page states what each name's record shows — it never picks a winner or scores one name against the other.
Head to head
Ranks are only compared within one published list and one year. Two ranks from different years, from a boys' and a girls' list, or from different registrars are not comparable, so they are not placed side by side.
Norway · Girls
In 2025, Kari was ranked #222 and Liv #73 among girls in Norway.
England and Wales · Girls
In 2024, Kari was ranked #5891 and Liv #2771 among girls in England and Wales.
Kari and Liv over time
Kari and Liv appear together in 2 published lists, across 98 years of shared records. Neither was ahead in more lists than the other.
The order between them changed and held in one of those lists — a change in that published list, never a claim that one name displaced the other.
Each reached its own highest recorded position first in 1 of the lists they share.
Counted list by list. Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale in the same year, so those comparisons are real — but positions from different lists are not, so nothing here is combined into an overall standing.
How this pair is related
The relationship kinds these two qualify for, each under its own stated rule. Every one is drawn from a list they both appear in.
- Repeatedly exchanged positions
Kari and Liv changed places 10 times in Norway · Girls between 1945 and 2025, ending at #222 and #73.
- Closest over the longest run
Across 81 shared years in Norway · Girls, Kari and Liv averaged 49.9 places apart, ending at #222 and #73.
- Longest-running competitions
Kari and Liv were both ranked in Norway · Girls for 81 years, from 1945 to 2025, ending at #222 and #73.
- Peaked in the same years
Both reached their highest recorded position in Norway · Girls within 2 years — Kari #3 in 1946, Liv #3 in 1945.
List by list
Norway · Girls81 shared years, 1945–2025
Kari held the stronger position in 49 of those years, Liv in 32.
Highest recorded here: Kari #3 in 1946, Liv #3 in 1945.
The order between them never changed and held in this list.
Most recent shared year, 2025: Kari #222, Liv #73.
England and Wales · Girls17 shared years, 1996–2024
Kari held the stronger position in 2 of those years, Liv in 15.
Highest recorded here: Kari #2167 in 2000, Liv #1117 in 2011.
The order changed in 2002: Liv moved ahead. In 2001 they stood at #2167 and #3912; by 2002 that had become #2868 and #2105.
Most recent shared year, 2024: Kari #5891, Liv #2771.
Two names moving past each other in a ranking is a fact about the ranking. Namewise does not claim one name displaced the other, that families chose between them, or that either influenced the other — none of that is in this data.
Side by side
| Field | Kari | Liv |
|---|---|---|
| Record type | Official statistical record (evidence-only) | Editorially researched profile |
| Gender usage | female | female |
| Meaning | Not yet recorded | Traditionally traced to an Old Norse name (Hlif) commonly interpreted as 'protection'. In modern Scandinavian usage the name is also strongly associated with the everyday word for 'life', though that is a separate word, not the historical root. |
| Origin | Not yet recorded | Old Norse, used in Norwegian, Swedish and Danish tradition |
| Pronunciation | Not yet recorded | /liːv/ |
| Syllables | 2 | 1 |
| Common variants / nicknames | Not yet recorded | Not yet recorded |
| Recorded regional usage | GB-ENW, IE, NO | GB-ENW, GB-SCT, IE, NO |
| Most recent popularity observation | Norway · Girls #222 (2025) | Norway · Girls #73 (2025) |
| Pronunciation clarity (demonstration score) | Not yet recorded | 90/100 |
| Spelling simplicity (demonstration score) | 95/100 | 95/100 |
| International familiarity (demonstration score) | 100/100 | 100/100 |
| Data Confidence | medium | medium |
What the data shows
- Liv has a recorded origin (Old Norse, used in Norwegian, Swedish and Danish tradition); Kari does not have one recorded yet.
- Kari has 2 syllables, compared with 1 for Liv.
- A meaning is recorded for Liv; Kari doesn't have one written yet.
- Both names have recorded usage in GB-ENW, IE, NO.
How each name got here
Kari
Popularity journey
First recorded1945
First recorded at #4 among girls in Norway in 1945 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Norway · Girls
Highest recorded1945–2025
Highest recorded position: #3 among girls in Norway, in 1946 (recorded 1945–2025).
Norway · Girls
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #222 among girls in Norway, in 2025.
Norway · Girls
Liv
Popularity journey
First recorded1945
First recorded at #3 among girls in Norway in 1945 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Norway · Girls
Highest recorded1945–2025
Highest recorded position: #3 among girls in Norway, in 1945 (recorded 1945–2025).
Norway · Girls
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #73 among girls in Norway, in 2025.
Norway · Girls