Kathleen — #1107 US girls' name
713,438 babies named Kathleen in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1951. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
More common than 94% of names given to girls today.
31% of everyone ever named Kathleen was born in this single decade.
26,716 babies were named Kathleen in 1951 — its busiest year on record.
What the Data Says About Kathleen
The Social Security Administration has registered 713,438 babies named Kathleen between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a girl's name, Kathleen currently holds the #1107 rank among girls for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1951, when 26,716 babies received it in a single year.
Decade-level aggregation shows that Kathleen performed strongest in the 1950s, accumulating 224,341 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Kathleen shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in New York, which accounts for 91,640 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by Pennsylvania and California. In total, SSA state-level files list Kathleen in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.
No etymological entry is currently available for Kathleen in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 713,438 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.
Kathleen at a glance
Outside the top 1,000Peak year
Current rank
Active since
Kathleen popularity over time — girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880
- Peak year (1951)
- 26,716
- Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
Currently ranks #1107 among girls.
713,438 total births across 145 years of SSA records. Peaked in 1951 with 26,716 births in a single year.
Kathleen popularity over time — boys
1,691 total births recorded since 1915 (Kathleen as boys' name)
Unisex use remains the minority pattern
The boys' variant of Kathleen accounts for 0% of total recorded use across both genders.
Kathleen by decade
Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance
- Peak decade
- 1950s
- 224,341 births that decade — 31% of Kathleen's all-time total
Kathleen decade highlights
- Peak decade 224,341 births
- Runner-up 152,981 births
- Modern era share 2010s + 2020s
- Decades tracked with recorded births
1950s was Kathleen's strongest decade
224,341 babies received the name during that ten-year window — about 31% of all-time use.
Kathleen by state
Where Kathleen concentrates geographically — total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | New York | | 91,640 | 12.8% |
| #2 | Pennsylvania | | 62,475 | 8.8% |
| #3 | California | | 60,914 | 8.5% |
| #4 | Illinois | | 48,671 | 6.8% |
| #5 | Ohio | | 40,548 | 5.7% |
| #6 | Massachusetts | | 39,411 | 5.5% |
| #7 | Michigan | | 38,748 | 5.4% |
| #8 | New Jersey | | 35,945 | 5.0% |
91,640 of 713,438 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Top 5 states
- New York 12.8% of nationwide
- Pennsylvania 8.8% of nationwide
- California 8.5% of nationwide
- Illinois 6.8% of nationwide
- Ohio 5.7% of nationwide
Recorded in 51 of 51 SSA jurisdictions
New York accounts for 12.8% of all recorded births nationwide — a relatively diffuse profile for this name.
Kathleen appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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Keep exploring Kathleen
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Data Sources
Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.