After years of online debate, Gen Z has finally reached a verdict on what to call the male version of a “Karen,” a label that had long been almost exclusively associated with women.
In recent years, Gen Z has also moved away from the term “Karen” for women, replacing it with a new name that better fits the generation’s stereotype for rude, obnoxious, or disrespectful behavior. And according to Gen Z, men are no exception.
Highlights
- Gen Z has officially settled the long-running debate over what to call the male version of a “Karen,” and the internet has plenty of opinions.
- The decision was influenced by real complaint data and viral online behavior, though not everyone agrees with the outcome.
- Social media users are fiercely divided, with some arguing that the label “Karen” is already gender-neutral, while others are pushing rival names into the debate.
With a name now seemingly decided for the male counterpart, social media has lit up with amused and hilarious reactions, as users continue to debate and offer their own alternative picks.
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For those unfamiliar with the term’s slang usage, “Karen” has been widely used for years after first gaining traction on social media around 2018.
It is typically used to describe middle-aged women who display entitled or confrontational behavior.
Common traits associated with the stereotype include being disrespectful toward retail and service workers and, at times, exhibiting racist behavior toward strangers.
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Classic phrases linked to the trope include, “I want to speak to the manager,” “Do you know who I am?”, “You just lost a customer for life,” and “I’m a paying customer.”
Beyond behavioral traits, the stereotype has also been associated with certain physical characteristics, such as a short bob haircut, high-contrast blonde or platinum streaks, and oversized sunglasses.
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As the millennial-era term “Karen” began to feel outdated to Gen Z, the generation reportedly chose the name “Jessica” as the new millennial counterpart to the once-viral meme.
Phrases now commonly associated with this moniker include “Thanks, Jessica” and “Not today, Jessica,” often used dismissively to call out similar entitled behavior.
The new male slang name was chosen based on a compilation of the most common male names associated with complaints on review site Trustpilot
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Now, according to data, Gen Z has settled on “David” as the brand-new male counterpart to “Karen.”
The name was selected after Trustpilot released a list of names that left the highest number of one-star reviews since the site launched in 2007, with “David” topping the chart among male reviewers.
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The data also suggested that men complained more than women this year, with only one woman’s name, Sarah, appearing in the top 10 at the No. 7 spot.
The remaining nine names on the list belonged to men, with “David” emerging as the most frequently recurring.
However, social media users were quick to push back on the choice, offering their own alternatives ranging from “Darren,” a playful mashup of David and Karen, to “Richard,” “Steve,” and “Ray,” with some even jokingly opting for “Dick.”
One amused netizen quipped, “I'm a little confused; in this particular case, does the manager have to be a woman?”
“David” has emerged as Gen Z’s top pick for “Karen’s” male counterpart, beating out other frequently suggested names such as “Ken,” “Kevin,” and “Chad”
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Another user joked, “What is hilarious is my boys are Darren and Dylan which are both in the list of suggestions....and I totally agree. I literally have 2 karens in my immediate family to contend with!!!!!”
A third added more bluntly, “Be a good person, stay in your lane - problem solved.”
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Coincidentally, just as the name Karen peaked in popularity in the mid-1960s, David was one of the most common male names of the same era, making it a direct generational counterpart to the original Gen X Karen stereotype.
David ranked as the second most popular male name of the 1960s overall and held the No. 1 spot in 1960, 1961, and 1963, before being overtaken by Michael for the remainder of the decade.
In Gen Z discourse, the name David has also become associated with rigid, formal entitlement and a classic “I’d like to speak to your manager” attitude, traits long tied to the Karen stereotype.
Back in 2020, Dr. Apryl Williams, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan and a Fellow at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard, told Fatherly that names like Greg and Terry would occasionally surface in online attempts to find a male equivalent of “Karen.”
The name David also shares a coincidental connection with Karen, as both were among the most popular baby names during the 1960s
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At the time, however, the most popular pick was “Ken,” which sparked an entire “Kenaissance,” complete with viral “Ken and Karen” couple memes due to the similarity between the names.
However, following the release of Barbie in 2023, starring Ryan Gosling as Ken, the name’s cultural association shifted more toward the blockbuster film than the internet meme.
Image credits: Tima Miroshnichenko/Pexels (Not the actual photo)
Other close contenders to “David” over the years have included Kevin, Chad, and Brad, with the latter two often associated with younger, wealthy, or frat-style entitlement, making them especially popular among Gen Z’s slang picks.
While some argue that “Karen” is a gender-neutral term that can apply to anyone exhibiting entitled behavior, it appears that “David” has taken the crown for now, at least until the internet crowns a new substitute.
“Choose a name that is less common. David is too common of a name,” wrote one disagreeing netizen
