Kate
Kate was given to 576 girls in 2025, #522 among girls’ names; 86,076 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 70,000 Americans named Kate and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (81% of everyone recorded); the median is 24 years old and half are between 16 and 40.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Kate by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Kate mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Kate is “a diminutive of the female given name Katherine and related names, also used as a formal given name.”
/keɪt/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Kate?
#522 among girls’ names, 2025
Kate fell from #222 in 2015 to #522 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 0.83 to 0.36 per 1,000.
2,550 babies in 2007, the peak
Kate peaked in 2007, when 2,550 girls were given it, #136 among girls’ names. The 576 births of 2025 are 23% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 576 | #522 | 0.36 |
| 2024 | 572 | #533 | 0.35 |
| 2023 | 640 | #480 | 0.40 |
| 2022 | 695 | #456 | 0.42 |
| 2021 | 758 | #415 | 0.46 |
| 2020 | 765 | #412 | 0.47 |
| 2019 | 989 | #324 | 0.59 |
| 2018 | 1,163 | #285 | 0.68 |
| 2017 | 1,170 | #274 | 0.68 |
| 2016 | 1,389 | #234 | 0.78 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1,477 | #222 | 0.83 |
| 2014 | 1,620 | #208 | 0.91 |
| 2013 | 1,738 | #185 | 1.0 |
| 2012 | 1,643 | #192 | 0.93 |
| 2011 | 1,791 | #175 | 1.0 |
| 2010 | 1,490 | #208 | 0.84 |
| 2009 | 1,989 | #159 | 1.1 |
| 2008 | 2,421 | #139 | 1.3 |
| 2007 | 2,550 | #136 | 1.3 |
| 2006 | 2,441 | #142 | 1.3 |
| 2005 | 2,404 | #141 | 1.3 |
| 2004 | 2,218 | #147 | 1.2 |
| 2003 | 2,055 | #161 | 1.1 |
| 2002 | 1,667 | #193 | 0.93 |
| 2001 | 1,626 | #200 | 0.90 |
| 2000 | 1,397 | #225 | 0.77 |
| 1999 | 1,400 | #229 | 0.79 |
| 1998 | 1,139 | #272 | 0.64 |
| 1997 | 894 | #323 | 0.51 |
| 1996 | 811 | #344 | 0.46 |
| 1995 | 718 | #364 | 0.41 |
| 1994 | 752 | #351 | 0.42 |
| 1993 | 785 | #335 | 0.43 |
| 1992 | 839 | #324 | 0.46 |
| 1991 | 979 | #288 | 0.52 |
| 1990 | 1,038 | #270 | 0.55 |
| 1989 | 1,080 | #249 | 0.59 |
| 1988 | 1,153 | #230 | 0.65 |
| 1987 | 1,449 | #191 | 0.83 |
| 1986 | 1,442 | #186 | 0.84 |
| 1985 | 1,491 | #179 | 0.87 |
| 1984 | 1,553 | #178 | 0.92 |
| 1983 | 1,333 | #199 | 0.80 |
| 1982 | 1,341 | #202 | 0.79 |
| 1981 | 1,397 | #192 | 0.84 |
| 1980 | 1,329 | #197 | 0.80 |
| 1979 | 1,260 | #208 | 0.78 |
| 1978 | 998 | #243 | 0.65 |
| 1977 | 828 | #290 | 0.54 |
| 1976 | 530 | #388 | 0.36 |
| 1975 | 477 | #423 | 0.33 |
| 1974 | 352 | #500 | 0.24 |
| 1973 | 275 | #579 | 0.19 |
| 1972 | 257 | #611 | 0.17 |
| 1971 | 225 | #682 | 0.14 |
| 1970 | 294 | #598 | 0.17 |
| 1969 | 224 | #663 | 0.13 |
| 1968 | 195 | #695 | 0.12 |
| 1967 | 172 | #751 | 0.10 |
| 1966 | 179 | #738 | 0.11 |
| 1965 | 203 | #690 | 0.12 |
| 1964 | 211 | #713 | 0.11 |
| 1963 | 207 | #707 | 0.11 |
| 1962 | 218 | #698 | 0.11 |
| 1961 | 220 | #706 | 0.11 |
| 1960 | 208 | #708 | 0.10 |
| 1959 | 173 | #775 | 0.09 |
| 1958 | 156 | #806 | 0.08 |
| 1957 | 163 | #790 | 0.08 |
| 1956 | 108 | #969 | 0.05 |
| 1955 | 121 | #885 | 0.06 |
| 1954 | 101 | #965 | 0.05 |
| 1953 | 117 | #866 | 0.06 |
| 1952 | 101 | #922 | 0.05 |
| 1951 | 112 | #847 | 0.06 |
| 1950 | 107 | #856 | 0.06 |
| 1949 | 111 | #838 | 0.06 |
| 1948 | 109 | #838 | 0.06 |
| 1947 | 120 | #791 | 0.07 |
| 1946 | 89 | #881 | 0.06 |
| 1945 | 76 | #864 | 0.06 |
| 1944 | 89 | #810 | 0.07 |
| 1943 | 102 | #771 | 0.07 |
| 1942 | 101 | #755 | 0.07 |
| 1941 | 111 | #672 | 0.09 |
| 1940 | 94 | #718 | 0.08 |
| 1939 | 107 | #656 | 0.10 |
| 1938 | 95 | #706 | 0.09 |
| 1937 | 81 | #757 | 0.08 |
| 1936 | 95 | #685 | 0.09 |
| 1935 | 105 | #636 | 0.10 |
| 1934 | 94 | #692 | 0.09 |
| 1933 | 83 | #715 | 0.08 |
| 1932 | 97 | #689 | 0.09 |
| 1931 | 99 | #671 | 0.09 |
| 1930 | 111 | #652 | 0.10 |
| 1929 | 122 | #624 | 0.11 |
| 1928 | 131 | #616 | 0.11 |
| 1927 | 151 | #578 | 0.13 |
| 1926 | 164 | #548 | 0.14 |
| 1925 | 173 | #544 | 0.14 |
| 1924 | 222 | #468 | 0.18 |
| 1923 | 225 | #458 | 0.19 |
| 1922 | 234 | #444 | 0.19 |
| 1921 | 289 | #398 | 0.23 |
| 1920 | 255 | #415 | 0.21 |
| 1919 | 309 | #368 | 0.27 |
| 1918 | 302 | #378 | 0.26 |
| 1917 | 322 | #351 | 0.30 |
| 1916 | 318 | #346 | 0.30 |
| 1915 | 339 | #326 | 0.34 |
| 1914 | 311 | #297 | 0.41 |
| 1913 | 257 | #298 | 0.41 |
| 1912 | 260 | #281 | 0.47 |
| 1911 | 216 | #264 | 0.52 |
| 1910 | 206 | #271 | 0.52 |
| 1909 | 183 | #265 | 0.53 |
| 1908 | 191 | #251 | 0.57 |
| 1907 | 184 | #255 | 0.58 |
| 1906 | 196 | #223 | 0.66 |
| 1905 | 183 | #234 | 0.63 |
| 1904 | 213 | #207 | 0.77 |
| 1903 | 202 | #209 | 0.77 |
| 1902 | 213 | #200 | 0.81 |
| 1901 | 196 | #204 | 0.82 |
| 1900 | 297 | #180 | 1.0 |
| 1899 | 219 | #188 | 0.94 |
| 1898 | 297 | #169 | 1.1 |
| 1897 | 267 | #167 | 1.1 |
| 1896 | 303 | #154 | 1.3 |
| 1895 | 262 | #162 | 1.1 |
| 1894 | 328 | #133 | 1.5 |
| 1893 | 323 | #132 | 1.5 |
| 1892 | 345 | #126 | 1.6 |
| 1891 | 305 | #127 | 1.6 |
| 1890 | 352 | #116 | 1.8 |
| 1889 | 362 | #105 | 2.0 |
| 1888 | 360 | #107 | 2.0 |
| 1887 | 331 | #102 | 2.3 |
| 1886 | 335 | #100 | 2.3 |
| 1885 | 309 | #97 | 2.3 |
| 1884 | 344 | #87 | 2.7 |
| 1883 | 294 | #90 | 2.6 |
| 1882 | 293 | #87 | 2.7 |
| 1881 | 267 | #86 | 2.9 |
| 1880 | 299 | #79 | 3.3 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Kate a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Kate has been given almost only to girls: 89 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Kate: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Kate, and how old are they?
70,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 81% of the 86,076 Americans ever recorded as Kate. The median Kate alive today is 24 years old; half are between 16 and 40.
The 2020 Census counted 86,820 people named Kate (86,617 women and girls, 203 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 67,194 born in the U.S. The Census count is 29% above that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 511 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 2,190 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 7,360 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 17,700 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 28,800 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 13,500 |
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 Kate born?
The states with the most babies named Kate are Texas, California and Florida, with 31% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 77 | #436 | 0.8× |
| California | 55 | #587 | 0.9× |
| Florida | 36 | #510 | 0.7× |
| New York | 28 | #597 | 1.1× |
| North Carolina | 28 | #394 | 0.8× |
| Utah | 27 | #166 | 2.3× |
| Georgia | 22 | #520 | 0.8× |
| Louisiana | 20 | #218 | 1.0× |
| Ohio | 19 | #548 | 0.7× |
| Missouri | 15 | #405 | 0.8× |
Where Kate is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Kate is most over-represented in Utah: since 1910 it was given 2.3 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 Kate 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 371,055 babies since 1880, Kate is the second most given (23% of them). In 2025 it was given to 576 of their 1,229 babies (47%), the 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 Kate
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
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 Kate and names like it
- Compare Kate and KatieBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2000sKate peaked in 2007.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Kate since 1910.
- The top names of 2007The year the most babies were named Kate.
- The names of Generation ZMost people named Kate alive today were born 1997-2012.
- Names starting with KMost given first.