The name "Karen" has been widely adopted by the internet to describe a stereotypical demanding, nosey middle-class, middle-aged baby boomer or Gen X, white woman with a short, choppy bob style haircut who complains and always asks to "see the manager."
This term was widely adopted back in 2020, when a woman called the police during a disagreement over the requirement for her dog to be leashed in an area of Central Park.
Since then, in similar viral videos, women have been dubbed as "Karens," but some have noted how the term, in certain circumstances, can be misogynistic, with one judge at an employment tribunal calling the “pejorative” slang term "borderline racist, sexist and ageist."
Now there's a new name Gen Z is using to describe the Millennial equivalent - but what name has been chosen?
Well, after much debate online with suggestions such as Jennifer, Ashley, Lisa, and Amanda, the name was ultimately decided as the Karen successor is... Jessica.
The two names share a similar trend in that Karen was the third and fourth most popular girls' name in both the UK and the US back in the 1960s, and meanwhile, two to three decades later, Jessica was a popular name in the 1980s and 90s when Millennials were born.
Although, this is a question that has been making the rounds online for the past few years, with people questioning which name will take the unfortunate baton.
TikToker @wouldyakindly predicted that Jesscia would be chosen, as she showed the US baby name charts with Jessica, along with Lisa and Jennifer being popular in the decades after the 60s.
"I'm guessing it is going to be Jessica because I don't know I feel like Jen seems nice, if she goes by Jennifer, probably not that nice. Jessica will mess you up, Jess is gonna fight somebody if she gets angry," the creator said.
But another question is, what would be the male Baby Boomer, Gen X and Millennial equivalent?
There is one clear standout if we're looking at popular baby boy names through the decades, as Michael tops the list from the 60s to the 90s, with Christopher in second place.
Elsewhere from Indy100, 'David' takes over 'Karen' as the UK's biggest complainer, and Woman sobs over $300 haircut that makes her look like a ‘Karen’.
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