We've all heard the name popularly assigned to women who are a nuisance in public, make a scene, demand to see the manager, and absolutely refuse to accept responsibility for anything: Karen.
Since around 2018, when the name was established as an insult, thousands of videos have gone viral that feature angry women in coffee shops, disgruntled that they have to wait in line, women refusing to wear a mask during the pandemic, women making racist and derogatory comments to people of color in public spaces, and much more.
Recently, however, the point was made on TikTok that "Karen" was selected for a specific group of women. Though Karen has been loosely applied to any woman who has a public freakout, asks to speak to the manager, and has a particular haircut up to this point, it was technically supposed to be used for women who are also Boomers and maybe elder Gen-Xers.
So, the question was asked: if a Millennial woman behaved badly, what would her name be?
"Karen" was derived from a popular name for girls born in the 1950s and 1960s, so it would stand to reason that a Millennial name would be drawn from the most popular girls' names of the 1980s and 1990s.
TikToker @junkmotherjess, whose first name is Jessica, came forward to complain about the online consensus:
"Somebody said, 'What's the Millennial name equivalent for a Karen?'"
"All of the comments said, 'Jessica.'"
"One of them even said, 'Jessica, and I just know she's a nurse."
"I want you guys to know that you can go f**k [yourselves]."
You can watch the TikTok here:
Though TikToker @junkmotherjess said she had seen many comments on another video suggesting Jessica, her comments section resoundingly said "Ashley."
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The Ashleys of the comment section felt @junkmotherjess's pain at seeing their name suggested over and over.
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There were a few other suggestions for a Millennial Karen, as well.
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Though Jessica might be pretty high on the list of possibilities for the Millennial edition of Karen, it seems the jury might still be out on this one.
Many votes came in for Ashley, Amanda, and Jennifer, all of which were incredibly popular names throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, giving them the same resonance Karen carried in the decades before.
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