Cathryn
Cathryn was given to 8 girls in 2025, #11,131 among girls’ names; 16,332 Americans have been recorded with it since 1882 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 11,200 Americans named Cathryn and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (69% of everyone recorded); the median is 56 years old and half are between 35 and 70.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Cathryn by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Cathryn mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Cathryn is “a female given name from Ancient Greek, of rare usage, variant of Catherine.”
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Cathryn?
#11,131 among girls’ names, 2025
Cathryn fell from #2,748 in 2015 to #11,131 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 35.9 to 5.0 per million.
368 babies in 1956, the peak
Cathryn peaked in 1956, when 368 girls were given it, #484 among girls’ names. The 8 births of 2025 are 2% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 8 | #11,131 | under 0.01 |
| 2024 | 17 | #6,682 | 0.01 |
| 2023 | 13 | #8,140 | 0.01 |
| 2022 | 16 | #7,043 | 0.01 |
| 2021 | 29 | #4,637 | 0.02 |
| 2020 | 20 | #5,898 | 0.01 |
| 2019 | 39 | #3,808 | 0.02 |
| 2018 | 25 | #5,192 | 0.01 |
| 2017 | 38 | #3,931 | 0.02 |
| 2016 | 40 | #3,796 | 0.02 |
Every recorded year (143)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 64 | #2,748 | 0.04 |
| 2014 | 58 | #2,933 | 0.03 |
| 2013 | 53 | #3,086 | 0.03 |
| 2012 | 55 | #3,053 | 0.03 |
| 2011 | 61 | #2,845 | 0.03 |
| 2010 | 59 | #2,910 | 0.03 |
| 2009 | 48 | #3,420 | 0.03 |
| 2008 | 96 | #2,108 | 0.05 |
| 2007 | 91 | #2,181 | 0.05 |
| 2006 | 84 | #2,272 | 0.04 |
| 2005 | 113 | #1,742 | 0.06 |
| 2004 | 107 | #1,781 | 0.06 |
| 2003 | 102 | #1,822 | 0.06 |
| 2002 | 103 | #1,751 | 0.06 |
| 2001 | 124 | #1,509 | 0.07 |
| 2000 | 154 | #1,264 | 0.08 |
| 1999 | 130 | #1,358 | 0.07 |
| 1998 | 107 | #1,550 | 0.06 |
| 1997 | 135 | #1,290 | 0.08 |
| 1996 | 155 | #1,170 | 0.09 |
| 1995 | 144 | #1,189 | 0.08 |
| 1994 | 147 | #1,196 | 0.08 |
| 1993 | 141 | #1,228 | 0.08 |
| 1992 | 152 | #1,157 | 0.08 |
| 1991 | 183 | #1,008 | 0.10 |
| 1990 | 157 | #1,108 | 0.08 |
| 1989 | 154 | #1,085 | 0.08 |
| 1988 | 177 | #949 | 0.10 |
| 1987 | 146 | #1,053 | 0.08 |
| 1986 | 161 | #981 | 0.09 |
| 1985 | 163 | #952 | 0.09 |
| 1984 | 155 | #945 | 0.09 |
| 1983 | 157 | #944 | 0.09 |
| 1982 | 134 | #1,070 | 0.08 |
| 1981 | 142 | #1,017 | 0.09 |
| 1980 | 135 | #1,054 | 0.08 |
| 1979 | 131 | #1,057 | 0.08 |
| 1978 | 135 | #1,009 | 0.09 |
| 1977 | 126 | #1,046 | 0.08 |
| 1976 | 106 | #1,123 | 0.07 |
| 1975 | 118 | #1,022 | 0.08 |
| 1974 | 104 | #1,115 | 0.07 |
| 1973 | 116 | #1,012 | 0.08 |
| 1972 | 145 | #877 | 0.10 |
| 1971 | 174 | #805 | 0.10 |
| 1970 | 197 | #749 | 0.11 |
| 1969 | 178 | #754 | 0.11 |
| 1968 | 165 | #779 | 0.10 |
| 1967 | 201 | #683 | 0.12 |
| 1966 | 187 | #718 | 0.11 |
| 1965 | 168 | #764 | 0.10 |
| 1964 | 194 | #748 | 0.10 |
| 1963 | 219 | #680 | 0.11 |
| 1962 | 212 | #709 | 0.11 |
| 1961 | 236 | #673 | 0.12 |
| 1960 | 255 | #633 | 0.13 |
| 1959 | 272 | #602 | 0.13 |
| 1958 | 318 | #543 | 0.16 |
| 1957 | 303 | #550 | 0.15 |
| 1956 | 368 | #484 | 0.18 |
| 1955 | 335 | #503 | 0.17 |
| 1954 | 347 | #478 | 0.18 |
| 1953 | 321 | #480 | 0.17 |
| 1952 | 351 | #455 | 0.19 |
| 1951 | 336 | #452 | 0.19 |
| 1950 | 320 | #450 | 0.19 |
| 1949 | 292 | #469 | 0.17 |
| 1948 | 265 | #500 | 0.16 |
| 1947 | 248 | #534 | 0.14 |
| 1946 | 160 | #626 | 0.10 |
| 1945 | 135 | #626 | 0.10 |
| 1944 | 122 | #674 | 0.09 |
| 1943 | 127 | #673 | 0.09 |
| 1942 | 113 | #702 | 0.08 |
| 1941 | 94 | #729 | 0.08 |
| 1940 | 81 | #787 | 0.07 |
| 1939 | 61 | #899 | 0.06 |
| 1938 | 72 | #831 | 0.07 |
| 1937 | 72 | #810 | 0.07 |
| 1936 | 75 | #780 | 0.07 |
| 1935 | 85 | #730 | 0.08 |
| 1934 | 93 | #694 | 0.09 |
| 1933 | 84 | #709 | 0.08 |
| 1932 | 78 | #765 | 0.07 |
| 1931 | 84 | #736 | 0.08 |
| 1930 | 94 | #718 | 0.08 |
| 1929 | 97 | #712 | 0.09 |
| 1928 | 80 | #800 | 0.07 |
| 1927 | 125 | #644 | 0.10 |
| 1926 | 114 | #682 | 0.10 |
| 1925 | 110 | #704 | 0.09 |
| 1924 | 135 | #644 | 0.11 |
| 1923 | 132 | #640 | 0.11 |
| 1922 | 128 | #648 | 0.11 |
| 1921 | 148 | #594 | 0.12 |
| 1920 | 118 | #665 | 0.10 |
| 1919 | 113 | #655 | 0.10 |
| 1918 | 142 | #596 | 0.12 |
| 1917 | 142 | #567 | 0.13 |
| 1916 | 119 | #619 | 0.11 |
| 1915 | 136 | #549 | 0.14 |
| 1914 | 102 | #553 | 0.13 |
| 1913 | 81 | #567 | 0.13 |
| 1912 | 60 | #641 | 0.11 |
| 1911 | 47 | #626 | 0.11 |
| 1910 | 39 | #682 | 0.10 |
| 1909 | 31 | #719 | 0.09 |
| 1908 | 40 | #593 | 0.12 |
| 1907 | 31 | #680 | 0.10 |
| 1906 | 19 | #849 | 0.06 |
| 1905 | 26 | #701 | 0.09 |
| 1904 | 18 | #856 | 0.07 |
| 1903 | 19 | #791 | 0.07 |
| 1902 | 18 | #822 | 0.07 |
| 1901 | 23 | #663 | 0.10 |
| 1900 | 17 | #924 | 0.06 |
| 1899 | 19 | #731 | 0.08 |
| 1898 | 23 | #680 | 0.09 |
| 1897 | 18 | #741 | 0.08 |
| 1896 | 30 | #554 | 0.13 |
| 1895 | 24 | #624 | 0.10 |
| 1894 | 13 | #860 | 0.06 |
| 1893 | 13 | #829 | 0.06 |
| 1892 | 23 | #581 | 0.11 |
| 1891 | 12 | #803 | 0.06 |
| 1890 | 8 | #1,019 | 0.04 |
| 1889 | 18 | #602 | 0.10 |
| 1888 | 11 | #800 | 0.06 |
| 1887 | 8 | #873 | 0.05 |
| 1885 | 9 | #752 | 0.07 |
| 1884 | 9 | #741 | 0.07 |
| 1883 | 14 | #524 | 0.12 |
| 1882 | 5 | #931 | 0.05 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Cathryn a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Cathryn has been recorded only for girls: SSA lists no boys with the name in 143 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Cathryn: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Cathryn, and how old are they?
11,200 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 69% of the 16,332 Americans ever recorded as Cathryn. The median Cathryn alive today is 56 years old; half are between 35 and 70.
The 2020 Census counted 11,957 people named Cathryn (11,950 women and girls, 7 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 11,961 born in the U.S. The Census count matches that prediction to within 1%.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 521 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 4,140 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 2,210 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 2,400 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 1,550 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 417 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Cathryn born?
The states with the most babies named Cathryn are California, Texas and New York, with 35% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 1,405 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Texas | 1,152 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| New York | 836 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Illinois | 775 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Pennsylvania | 689 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Ohio | 637 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Michigan | 514 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Florida | 378 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Georgia | 377 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| New Jersey | 243 | not ranked | 0.5× |
Where Cathryn is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Cathryn is most over-represented in Texas: since 1910 it was given 1.1 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Cathryn with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 494,829 babies since 1880, Cathryn is the second most given (3.3% of them). In 2025 it was given to 8 of their 434 babies (1.8%), the third most given that year.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Cathryn
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
| Name | Recorded | 1880-2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Kathryn | 456,515 |
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Cathryn and names like it
- Compare Cathryn and KathrynBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1950sCathryn peaked in 1956.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Cathryn since 1910.
- The top names of 1956The year the most babies were named Cathryn.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Cathryn alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with CMost given first.