Katharine
Katharine was given to 27 girls in 2025, #4,934 among girls’ names; 41,241 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 28,100 Americans named Katharine and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (68% of everyone recorded); the median is 43 years old and half are between 33 and 58.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Katharine by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Katharine mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Katharine is “a female given name from Ancient Greek.” Its etymology gives the sense “pure” (katharos).
A variant spelling of Catherine, based on the folk etymology that it would derive from Greek καθαρός (katharos “pure”).
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Katharine?
#4,934 among girls’ names, 2025
Katharine fell from #2,146 in 2015 to #4,934 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 49.9 to 16.8 per million.
946 babies in 1982, the peak
Katharine peaked in 1982, when 946 girls were given it, #262 among girls’ names. The 27 births of 2025 are 3% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 27 | #4,934 | 0.02 |
| 2024 | 28 | #4,825 | 0.02 |
| 2023 | 34 | #4,236 | 0.02 |
| 2022 | 42 | #3,678 | 0.03 |
| 2021 | 31 | #4,451 | 0.02 |
| 2020 | 45 | #3,427 | 0.03 |
| 2019 | 66 | #2,638 | 0.04 |
| 2018 | 56 | #2,945 | 0.03 |
| 2017 | 73 | #2,476 | 0.04 |
| 2016 | 62 | #2,784 | 0.03 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 89 | #2,146 | 0.05 |
| 2014 | 89 | #2,147 | 0.05 |
| 2013 | 109 | #1,857 | 0.06 |
| 2012 | 110 | #1,844 | 0.06 |
| 2011 | 134 | #1,615 | 0.08 |
| 2010 | 127 | #1,674 | 0.07 |
| 2009 | 160 | #1,460 | 0.09 |
| 2008 | 191 | #1,305 | 0.10 |
| 2007 | 256 | #1,032 | 0.13 |
| 2006 | 293 | #907 | 0.15 |
| 2005 | 301 | #842 | 0.16 |
| 2004 | 323 | #790 | 0.18 |
| 2003 | 375 | #697 | 0.21 |
| 2002 | 286 | #809 | 0.16 |
| 2001 | 334 | #728 | 0.19 |
| 2000 | 362 | #669 | 0.20 |
| 1999 | 320 | #709 | 0.18 |
| 1998 | 453 | #548 | 0.26 |
| 1997 | 407 | #572 | 0.23 |
| 1996 | 432 | #541 | 0.25 |
| 1995 | 465 | #520 | 0.26 |
| 1994 | 542 | #467 | 0.30 |
| 1993 | 654 | #389 | 0.36 |
| 1992 | 708 | #362 | 0.38 |
| 1991 | 687 | #375 | 0.37 |
| 1990 | 647 | #401 | 0.34 |
| 1989 | 628 | #393 | 0.34 |
| 1988 | 755 | #327 | 0.42 |
| 1987 | 728 | #337 | 0.42 |
| 1986 | 907 | #275 | 0.53 |
| 1985 | 841 | #293 | 0.49 |
| 1984 | 852 | #284 | 0.51 |
| 1983 | 839 | #281 | 0.50 |
| 1982 | 946 | #262 | 0.56 |
| 1981 | 792 | #306 | 0.47 |
| 1980 | 572 | #397 | 0.34 |
| 1979 | 628 | #361 | 0.39 |
| 1978 | 422 | #467 | 0.28 |
| 1977 | 435 | #455 | 0.28 |
| 1976 | 367 | #494 | 0.25 |
| 1975 | 345 | #517 | 0.24 |
| 1974 | 344 | #505 | 0.23 |
| 1973 | 269 | #587 | 0.18 |
| 1972 | 309 | #539 | 0.20 |
| 1971 | 320 | #558 | 0.19 |
| 1970 | 409 | #491 | 0.23 |
| 1969 | 367 | #509 | 0.22 |
| 1968 | 370 | #504 | 0.23 |
| 1967 | 270 | #582 | 0.16 |
| 1966 | 300 | #544 | 0.18 |
| 1965 | 285 | #566 | 0.16 |
| 1964 | 289 | #584 | 0.15 |
| 1963 | 307 | #558 | 0.16 |
| 1962 | 291 | #578 | 0.15 |
| 1961 | 331 | #543 | 0.16 |
| 1960 | 304 | #562 | 0.15 |
| 1959 | 366 | #511 | 0.18 |
| 1958 | 405 | #474 | 0.20 |
| 1957 | 408 | #469 | 0.20 |
| 1956 | 405 | #456 | 0.20 |
| 1955 | 416 | #439 | 0.21 |
| 1954 | 322 | #492 | 0.17 |
| 1953 | 337 | #462 | 0.18 |
| 1952 | 359 | #453 | 0.19 |
| 1951 | 321 | #465 | 0.18 |
| 1950 | 373 | #414 | 0.22 |
| 1949 | 345 | #422 | 0.20 |
| 1948 | 334 | #435 | 0.20 |
| 1947 | 350 | #437 | 0.20 |
| 1946 | 300 | #447 | 0.19 |
| 1945 | 282 | #424 | 0.22 |
| 1944 | 256 | #454 | 0.19 |
| 1943 | 280 | #445 | 0.20 |
| 1942 | 259 | #462 | 0.19 |
| 1941 | 223 | #469 | 0.18 |
| 1940 | 160 | #544 | 0.14 |
| 1939 | 181 | #496 | 0.17 |
| 1938 | 164 | #529 | 0.15 |
| 1937 | 160 | #523 | 0.15 |
| 1936 | 182 | #475 | 0.17 |
| 1935 | 170 | #484 | 0.16 |
| 1934 | 167 | #500 | 0.16 |
| 1933 | 152 | #514 | 0.15 |
| 1932 | 177 | #496 | 0.17 |
| 1931 | 166 | #502 | 0.16 |
| 1930 | 205 | #469 | 0.18 |
| 1929 | 195 | #484 | 0.17 |
| 1928 | 201 | #483 | 0.17 |
| 1927 | 226 | #465 | 0.19 |
| 1926 | 214 | #473 | 0.18 |
| 1925 | 236 | #453 | 0.19 |
| 1924 | 265 | #429 | 0.21 |
| 1923 | 266 | #409 | 0.22 |
| 1922 | 291 | #382 | 0.24 |
| 1921 | 329 | #370 | 0.27 |
| 1920 | 349 | #351 | 0.29 |
| 1919 | 353 | #341 | 0.31 |
| 1918 | 372 | #334 | 0.32 |
| 1917 | 357 | #330 | 0.33 |
| 1916 | 336 | #334 | 0.32 |
| 1915 | 344 | #319 | 0.35 |
| 1914 | 290 | #307 | 0.38 |
| 1913 | 236 | #309 | 0.38 |
| 1912 | 261 | #279 | 0.47 |
| 1911 | 148 | #326 | 0.35 |
| 1910 | 157 | #307 | 0.40 |
| 1909 | 144 | #299 | 0.41 |
| 1908 | 155 | #283 | 0.46 |
| 1907 | 122 | #316 | 0.38 |
| 1906 | 133 | #288 | 0.45 |
| 1905 | 121 | #306 | 0.41 |
| 1904 | 109 | #309 | 0.40 |
| 1903 | 126 | #278 | 0.48 |
| 1902 | 89 | #334 | 0.34 |
| 1901 | 106 | #294 | 0.44 |
| 1900 | 141 | #273 | 0.47 |
| 1899 | 104 | #287 | 0.45 |
| 1898 | 125 | #270 | 0.48 |
| 1897 | 145 | #228 | 0.62 |
| 1896 | 151 | #225 | 0.63 |
| 1895 | 145 | #229 | 0.62 |
| 1894 | 140 | #224 | 0.63 |
| 1893 | 128 | #233 | 0.60 |
| 1892 | 123 | #238 | 0.58 |
| 1891 | 117 | #224 | 0.63 |
| 1890 | 119 | #226 | 0.63 |
| 1889 | 119 | #211 | 0.67 |
| 1888 | 108 | #223 | 0.60 |
| 1887 | 110 | #191 | 0.75 |
| 1886 | 90 | #210 | 0.62 |
| 1885 | 78 | #223 | 0.59 |
| 1884 | 86 | #203 | 0.67 |
| 1883 | 79 | #191 | 0.70 |
| 1882 | 82 | #175 | 0.76 |
| 1881 | 68 | #182 | 0.74 |
| 1880 | 76 | #172 | 0.84 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Katharine a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Katharine has been given almost only to girls: 11 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Katharine: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Katharine, and how old are they?
28,100 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 68% of the 41,241 Americans ever recorded as Katharine. The median Katharine alive today is 43 years old; half are between 33 and 58.
The 2020 Census counted 29,372 people named Katharine (29,342 women and girls, 30 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 29,332 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 | 1,140 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 5,080 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 5,600 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 11,100 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 4,380 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 746 |
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 Katharine born?
The states with the most babies named Katharine are New York, California and Pennsylvania, with 31% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 3,698 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| California | 3,609 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Pennsylvania | 2,792 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Massachusetts | 1,872 | not ranked | 1.8× |
| Illinois | 1,867 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Texas | 1,675 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Ohio | 1,615 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| New Jersey | 1,483 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Michigan | 1,135 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Virginia | 1,106 | not ranked | 1.2× |
Where Katharine is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Katharine is most over-represented in Connecticut: since 1910 it was given 2.0 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 Katharine 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 1,408,167 babies since 1880, Katharine is the third most given (2.9% of them). In 2025 it was given to 27 of their 2,702 babies (<1%), again the third most given.
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 Katharine
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 Katharine and names like it
- Compare Katharine and CatherineBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1980sKatharine peaked in 1982.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Katharine since 1910.
- Ancient Greek namesWiktionary’s origin for Katharine: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1982The year the most babies were named Katharine.
- The names of the MillennialsMost people named Katharine alive today were born 1981-1996.
- Names starting with KMost given first.