Girls' name · since 1918
Cathy
Cathy has 170,303 recorded births since 1918 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1958 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #232 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #8,413 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 170,303
- born since 1918
- 1950s
- peak decade
Yes -- Cathy is the #8413 most popular girls' name in the U.S. today, with 170,303 recorded since 1918.
Cathy has 170,303 recorded births among girls since 1918, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #8413 as of the latest data, more common than 51% of girls, busiest in the 1950s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1918 to 2025.
- #232 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #8,413 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 170,303 born since 1918
- 1950s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Cathy ranks #232 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #8,413 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 170,303 born since 1918, peaking in the 1950s.
- #232 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #8,413 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 170,303
- born since 1918
- 1950s
- peak decade
Cathy's 170,303 recorded births place it above 99.67% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Cathy compares
170,303 Top 2% higher than 98% 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
Cathy's all-time total is 453x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Cathy | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 170,303 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 10,942 | 21 | 19,840 |
Cathy's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Cathy's full recorded timeline at 1972, 9% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 91% in the earlier half -- the name was more prevalent in its earlier era than it is today. Its quietest year on record was 1918, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1958 peak of 10,942 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Cathy popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1918–2025
- Peak year (1958)
- 10,942
- Annual births at peak, across 108 years of records
Cathy popularity over time - boys
343 total births recorded since 1945 (Cathy as boys' name)
Cathy by decade
1950s is the heaviest window (82,719 births, 49% of the file).
1950s was Cathy's strongest decade.
82,719 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 49% of all-time use.
Cathy births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1910s 13
1910s
13 births
- 1920s 118
1920s
118 births
- 1930s 578
1930s
578 births
- 1940s 15,550
1940s
15,550 births
- 1950s
1950s
82,719 births
- 1960s
1960s
51,624 births
- 1970s 12,943
1970s
12,943 births
- 1980s 3,662
1980s
3,662 births
- 1990s 1,565
1990s
1,565 births
- 2000s 916
2000s
916 births
- 2010s 484
2010s
484 births
- 2020s 131
2020s
131 births
What this shows Peak: 1950s at 82,719 births (49% of all-time use).
How Cathy 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 Cathy's total volume
Cathy by state
Where Cathy concentrates geographically, total births since 1918
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 14,552 | 8.5% |
| #2 | Ohio | | 11,203 | 6.6% |
| #3 | New York | | 10,715 | 6.3% |
| #4 | Illinois | | 9,931 | 5.8% |
| #5 | Texas | | 9,539 | 5.6% |
| #6 | Pennsylvania | | 9,487 | 5.6% |
| #7 | Michigan | | 7,640 | 4.5% |
| #8 | Indiana | | 6,759 | 4.0% |
14,552 of 170,303 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Cathy appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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When was Cathy most popular? ▼
Where is Cathy most popular? ▼
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What to do with Cathy's data
- Cathy's decade-level peak was the 1950s (82,719 total births); usage has since declined to 131 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Cathys (14,552 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 Cathy
Nearby Names Like Cathy
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Cathy
Compare Cathy side by side: Cathy vs Catherine Cathy vs Catalina Cathy vs Cathleen
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Cathy
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Cathy: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1958)
Similar record span (~107 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, 1918–2025 (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 Cathy 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.