I have several Karens in my family who are all proud of the name and each equally frustrated and annoyed by the association. I’m all for the use of [name_f]Karen[/name_f] these days.
I wish people would think of how making a negative out of a name can hurt people before they do so.
You could try [name_f]Karina[/name_f] or [name_u]Charon[/name_u] as an alternative.
Associations aside, it’s dated and boring.
my mom has a friend named [name_f]Karen[/name_f] and she’s a lovely lady, so I’ve always thought of the name [name_f]Karen[/name_f] as a cute name. I also had an Aunt named [name_f]Karen[/name_f] but her name was pronounced Kar-Han
I know a [name_f]Karin[/name_f], but it’s pronounced differently to [name_f]Karen[/name_f] so it actually feels ok, Kah-rin not Kah-run
I say [name_f]Karen[/name_f] is kair-rin. 
fascinating different pronunciations across the world 
I also love [name_f]Carrie[/name_f] but don’t pronounce it like [name_u]Carey[/name_u]
How about [name_f]Cara[/name_f]? That can be care-uh
Carina is nice. 
Karen does seem kind of dated (it’s my grandma’s name), but I think it’s really pretty. You could even spell it with a C if you wanted to. [name_f]Caren[/name_f].
What about [name_u]Kerry[/name_u] that kind of sounds like caring?
You could even go for [name_u]Kerry[/name_u] [name_u]Wren[/name_u] to get both of the elements you liked?
Not into nickname-names.
I didn’t realise [name_u]Kerry[/name_u] was nn? It’s Irish meaning dark-haired
It sounds like a diminutive to me, & even if it isn’t in reality, most people would read it as one. 
I see, over here it’s a well esablished name always fun to learn how things are different in different places