Total births
29,923
Girls' name · since 1896
Cathleen
29,923 babies named Cathleen in U.S. Social Security records since 1896, with the highest year being 1958. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #8463
- among girls today
- 29,923
- born since 1896
- 1950s
- peak decade
- 52%
- more common than other girls
29,923 babies have been named Cathleen since 1896, making it today's #8463 girls' name.
Social Security Administration records show Cathleen recorded 29,923 times among girls since 1896, holding rank #8463 nationally today, ahead of 52% of girls, peaking in the 1950s. This profile derives year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1896 to 2025.
- #8463 among girls today
- 29,923 born since 1896
- 1950s peak decade
- 52% more common than other girls
Data updated Jun 2026
The verdict
Cathleen is currently the #8463 girls' name in America, more common than 52% of girls - 29,923 born since 1896, peaking in the 1950s.
- #8463
- among girls today
- 29,923
- born since 1896
- 1950s
- peak decade
- 52%
- more common than other girls
Cathleen vs. every other girls name in current SSA rankings
#8463
of 17,726 girls in use
More common than 52% of names given to girls today.
1950s
Peak decade
32% of everyone ever named Cathleen was born in this single decade.
1958
Single peak year
1,159 babies were named Cathleen in 1958 - its busiest year on record.
How Cathleen compares
29,923 Top 5% higher than 95% of 17,726 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
Cathleen's all-time total is 78x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Cathleen | Median girls name (Emerly) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 29,923 | 382 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 1,159 | 48 | 19,840 |
Cathleen's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Cathleen's full recorded timeline at 1962, 44% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 56% in the earlier half -- a fairly even split across the full record. Its quietest year on record was 1901, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1958 peak of 1,159 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Cathleen at a glance
Outside the top 1,000Peak year
1958
Current rank
#8,463
Active since
1896
Cathleen popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1896–2025
- Peak year (1958)
- 1,159
- Annual births at peak, across 130 years of records
Cathleen popularity over time - boys
10 total births recorded since 1953 (Cathleen as boys' name)
Cathleen by decade
Total births in each ten-year window, peak vs trough at a glance
1950s was Cathleen's strongest decade.
9,464 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 32% of all-time use.
Cathleen births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1890s 16
1890s
16 births
- 1900s 124
1900s
124 births
- 1910s 345
1910s
345 births
- 1920s 641
1920s
641 births
- 1930s 599
1930s
599 births
- 1940s 3,541
1940s
3,541 births
- 1950s
1950s
9,464 births
- 1960s
1960s
8,289 births
- 1970s 3,461
1970s
3,461 births
- 1980s 1,760
1980s
1,760 births
- 1990s 956
1990s
956 births
- 2000s 461
2000s
461 births
- 2010s 202
2010s
202 births
- 2020s 64
2020s
64 births
What this shows Peak: 1950s at 9,464 births (32% of all-time use).
How Cathleen 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 Cathleen's total volume
Cathleen vs 15 similarly-sized girls names
Cathleen by state
Where Cathleen concentrates geographically, total births since 1896
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | New York | | 4,159 | 13.9% |
| #2 | California | | 3,782 | 12.6% |
| #3 | Illinois | | 2,137 | 7.1% |
| #4 | Pennsylvania | | 1,688 | 5.6% |
| #5 | Ohio | | 1,612 | 5.4% |
| #6 | New Jersey | | 1,357 | 4.5% |
| #7 | Massachusetts | | 1,330 | 4.4% |
| #8 | Michigan | | 1,326 | 4.4% |
New York share of Cathleen's total US births 13.9%
Even split
4,159 of 29,923 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 49 reporting states.
Cathleen appears in 49 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Cathleen? ▼
Cathleen has been given to 29,923 babies in the U.S. since 1896, according to SSA data. Among girls, it ranks #8463 as of the latest data. 1,159 babies were born in 1958, its single highest year.
When was Cathleen most popular? ▼
Cathleen was most popular in the 1950s decade with 9,464 total births. The single peak year was 1958.
Where is Cathleen most popular? ▼
The top states for the name Cathleen are New York (4,159 births), California (3,782 births), Illinois (2,137 births).
How long has the name Cathleen been used? ▼
The SSA has tracked Cathleen since 1896 -- 130 years through the most recent 2025 data.
What names are similar to Cathleen? ▼
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Catherine, Cathy, Catalina, Cathryn, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.
What to do with Cathleen's data
- Cathleen's decade-level peak was the 1950s (9,464 total births); usage has since declined to 64 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- New York records the most Cathleens (4,159 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. New York names
- Weighing it against an alternative? Put two names side by side. Compare names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Cathleen
Nearby Names Like Cathleen
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Cathleen
Catherine Girl
#322 667,789 births
Cathy Girl
#5993 170,303 births
Catalina Girl
#128 33,009 births
Cathryn Girl
#6650 16,332 births
Catharine Girl
#12162 12,994 births
Compare Cathleen side by side: Cathleen vs Catherine Cathleen vs Cathy Cathleen vs Catalina
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Cathleen
Data Sources
Data as of June 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, 1896–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Cite this page
NameAlmanac Editorial. "Cathleen: #8463 Girls' Name - 29,923 Births, Peak 1958." NameAlmanac. Accessed via https://namealmanac.com/name/cathleen. Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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 Cathleen 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 June 2026.