Girls' name · since 1968
Caitlyn
Since 1968, U.S. Social Security records show 52,603 babies named Caitlyn, peaking in 1998. See the year-by-year trend, decade totals, and state rankings below, sourced from federal birth data.
- #568 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #2,496 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 52,603
- born since 1968
- 1990s
- peak decade
Yes -- Caitlyn is the #2496 most popular girls' name in the U.S. today, with 52,603 recorded since 1968.
Caitlyn has 52,603 recorded births among girls since 1968, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #2496 as of the latest data, more common than 86% of girls, busiest in the 1990s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1968 to 2025.
- #568 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #2,496 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 52,603 born since 1968
- 1990s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Caitlyn ranks #568 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #2,496 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 52,603 born since 1968, peaking in the 1990s.
- #568 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #2,496 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 52,603
- born since 1968
- 1990s
- peak decade
Caitlyn's 52,603 recorded births place it above 99.21% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Caitlyn compares
52,603 Top 4% higher than 96% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Caitlyn's all-time total is 140x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Caitlyn | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 52,603 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 2,937 | 21 | 19,840 |
Caitlyn's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Caitlyn's full recorded timeline at 1999, 55% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 45% in the earlier half -- a fairly even split across the full record. Its quietest year on record was 1968, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1998 peak of 2,937 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Caitlyn popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1968–2025
- Peak year (1998)
- 2,937
- Annual births at peak, across 58 years of records
Caitlyn popularity over time - boys
34 total births recorded since 1988 (Caitlyn as boys' name)
Caitlyn by decade
1990s is the heaviest window (21,991 births, 42% of the file).
1990s was Caitlyn's strongest decade.
21,991 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 42% of all-time use.
Caitlyn births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1960s 5
1960s
5 births
- 1970s 71
1970s
71 births
- 1980s 4,473
1980s
4,473 births
- 1990s
1990s
21,991 births
- 2000s
2000s
19,782 births
- 2010s 5,652
2010s
5,652 births
- 2020s 629
2020s
629 births
What this shows Peak: 1990s at 21,991 births (42% of all-time use).
How Caitlyn compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Caitlyn's total volume
Caitlyn by state
Where Caitlyn concentrates geographically, total births since 1968
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 4,519 | 8.6% |
| #2 | Texas | | 4,084 | 7.8% |
| #3 | New York | | 2,994 | 5.7% |
| #4 | Florida | | 2,663 | 5.1% |
| #5 | Pennsylvania | | 2,591 | 4.9% |
| #6 | Ohio | | 2,378 | 4.5% |
| #7 | Illinois | | 2,136 | 4.1% |
| #8 | New Jersey | | 1,691 | 3.2% |
4,519 of 52,603 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Caitlyn appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Caitlyn? ▼
Where does Caitlyn sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Caitlyn most popular? ▼
Where is Caitlyn most popular? ▼
How long has the name Caitlyn been used? ▼
What names are similar to Caitlyn? ▼
What to do with Caitlyn's data
- Caitlyn's decade-level peak was the 1990s (21,991 total births); usage has since declined to 629 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Caitlyns (4,519 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Caitlyn
Nearby Names Like Caitlyn
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Caitlyn
Compare Caitlyn side by side: Caitlyn vs Caitlin Caitlyn vs Cailyn Caitlyn vs Caitlynn
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Caitlyn
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Caitlyn: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1998)
Similar record span (~57 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1968–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Caitlyn draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.