Kathleen
Kathleen was given to 201 girls in 2025, #1,156 among girls’ names; 715,336 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 501,000 Americans named Kathleen and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (70% of everyone recorded); the median is 68 years old and half are between 57 and 75.
Kathleen is the #36 most common first name among living American women and girls, by this estimate.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Kathleen by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Kathleen mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Kathleen is “a female given name from Irish.”
Anglicization of Caitlín, an Irish equivalent of the English Catherine.
/ˈkæθˌlin/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Kathleen?
#1,156 among girls’ names, 2025
Kathleen fell from #824 in 2015 to #1,156 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 0.19 to 0.13 per 1,000.
26,749 babies in 1951, the peak
Kathleen peaked in 1951, when 26,749 babies were given it (26,716 girls, #10 among girls’ names). The 201 births of 2025 are under 1% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 201 | #1,156 | 0.13 |
| 2024 | 223 | #1,100 | 0.14 |
| 2023 | 248 | #1,023 | 0.15 |
| 2022 | 228 | #1,097 | 0.14 |
| 2021 | 262 | #987 | 0.16 |
| 2020 | 253 | #1,005 | 0.16 |
| 2019 | 280 | #944 | 0.17 |
| 2018 | 306 | #885 | 0.18 |
| 2017 | 314 | #873 | 0.18 |
| 2016 | 341 | #838 | 0.19 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 341 | #824 | 0.19 |
| 2014 | 422 | #674 | 0.24 |
| 2013 | 432 | #660 | 0.25 |
| 2012 | 427 | #662 | 0.24 |
| 2011 | 451 | #632 | 0.26 |
| 2010 | 495 | #596 | 0.28 |
| 2009 | 542 | #564 | 0.30 |
| 2008 | 704 | #448 | 0.37 |
| 2007 | 779 | #422 | 0.41 |
| 2006 | 878 | #371 | 0.46 |
| 2005 | 934 | #339 | 0.51 |
| 2004 | 1,002 | #316 | 0.55 |
| 2003 | 1,096 | #284 | 0.60 |
| 2002 | 1,208 | #262 | 0.67 |
| 2001 | 1,337 | #237 | 0.74 |
| 2000 | 1,585 | #204 | 0.87 |
| 1999 | 1,630 | #192 | 0.92 |
| 1998 | 1,739 | #171 | 1.0 |
| 1997 | 1,742 | #175 | 1.0 |
| 1996 | 2,107 | #152 | 1.2 |
| 1995 | 2,280 | #139 | 1.3 |
| 1994 | 2,430 | #130 | 1.4 |
| 1993 | 2,742 | #118 | 1.5 |
| 1992 | 3,135 | #108 | 1.7 |
| 1991 | 3,371 | #102 | 1.8 |
| 1990 | 3,670 | #92 | 1.9 |
| 1989 | 3,596 | #90 | 2.0 |
| 1988 | 3,927 | #75 | 2.2 |
| 1987 | 4,165 | #72 | 2.4 |
| 1986 | 4,129 | #68 | 2.4 |
| 1985 | 4,087 | #68 | 2.4 |
| 1984 | 3,985 | #71 | 2.4 |
| 1983 | 3,923 | #73 | 2.3 |
| 1982 | 3,949 | #77 | 2.3 |
| 1981 | 3,776 | #82 | 2.3 |
| 1980 | 3,857 | #82 | 2.3 |
| 1979 | 3,641 | #84 | 2.3 |
| 1978 | 3,743 | #79 | 2.4 |
| 1977 | 3,649 | #80 | 2.4 |
| 1976 | 3,405 | #82 | 2.3 |
| 1975 | 3,545 | #80 | 2.4 |
| 1974 | 3,953 | #76 | 2.7 |
| 1973 | 4,250 | #68 | 2.9 |
| 1972 | 5,097 | #57 | 3.4 |
| 1971 | 6,154 | #53 | 3.7 |
| 1970 | 7,410 | #45 | 4.2 |
| 1969 | 8,299 | #42 | 4.9 |
| 1968 | 8,729 | #40 | 5.3 |
| 1967 | 9,209 | #40 | 5.6 |
| 1966 | 10,491 | #37 | 6.2 |
| 1965 | 11,778 | #34 | 6.7 |
| 1964 | 13,231 | #30 | 7.0 |
| 1963 | 13,547 | #28 | 7.0 |
| 1962 | 14,188 | #29 | 7.2 |
| 1961 | 15,395 | #29 | 7.6 |
| 1960 | 16,085 | #27 | 8.0 |
| 1959 | 17,629 | #23 | 8.7 |
| 1958 | 19,205 | #21 | 9.5 |
| 1957 | 19,742 | #21 | 9.7 |
| 1956 | 21,377 | #17 | 10.6 |
| 1955 | 22,014 | #17 | 11.3 |
| 1954 | 22,455 | #14 | 11.6 |
| 1953 | 23,731 | #14 | 12.6 |
| 1952 | 25,767 | #11 | 13.9 |
| 1951 | 26,716 | #10 | 14.8 |
| 1950 | 25,706 | #10 | 15.0 |
| 1949 | 26,357 | #9 | 15.4 |
| 1948 | 23,257 | #10 | 13.7 |
| 1947 | 22,095 | #11 | 12.5 |
| 1946 | 18,760 | #16 | 11.9 |
| 1945 | 13,802 | #19 | 10.6 |
| 1944 | 13,004 | #20 | 9.8 |
| 1943 | 12,153 | #22 | 8.7 |
| 1942 | 10,696 | #24 | 7.9 |
| 1941 | 7,160 | #36 | 5.9 |
| 1940 | 5,697 | #40 | 5.0 |
| 1939 | 4,656 | #48 | 4.2 |
| 1938 | 4,228 | #58 | 3.8 |
| 1937 | 3,743 | #61 | 3.5 |
| 1936 | 3,352 | #67 | 3.2 |
| 1935 | 3,353 | #71 | 3.2 |
| 1934 | 3,279 | #74 | 3.1 |
| 1933 | 3,121 | #77 | 3.1 |
| 1932 | 2,945 | #83 | 2.8 |
| 1931 | 2,799 | #87 | 2.6 |
| 1930 | 3,074 | #84 | 2.7 |
| 1929 | 2,941 | #89 | 2.6 |
| 1928 | 3,151 | #82 | 2.7 |
| 1927 | 3,265 | #83 | 2.7 |
| 1926 | 3,277 | #83 | 2.8 |
| 1925 | 3,503 | #81 | 2.9 |
| 1924 | 3,663 | #76 | 2.9 |
| 1923 | 3,754 | #70 | 3.1 |
| 1922 | 3,466 | #80 | 2.9 |
| 1921 | 3,419 | #83 | 2.8 |
| 1920 | 3,158 | #91 | 2.6 |
| 1919 | 2,587 | #101 | 2.3 |
| 1918 | 2,629 | #99 | 2.3 |
| 1917 | 2,358 | #101 | 2.2 |
| 1916 | 2,154 | #104 | 2.1 |
| 1915 | 1,940 | #104 | 2.0 |
| 1914 | 1,475 | #110 | 1.9 |
| 1913 | 1,179 | #110 | 1.9 |
| 1912 | 985 | #118 | 1.8 |
| 1911 | 663 | #126 | 1.6 |
| 1910 | 622 | #131 | 1.6 |
| 1909 | 527 | #136 | 1.5 |
| 1908 | 527 | #132 | 1.6 |
| 1907 | 440 | #149 | 1.4 |
| 1906 | 412 | #143 | 1.4 |
| 1905 | 386 | #152 | 1.3 |
| 1904 | 362 | #147 | 1.3 |
| 1903 | 352 | #149 | 1.3 |
| 1902 | 325 | #159 | 1.2 |
| 1901 | 272 | #169 | 1.1 |
| 1900 | 321 | #171 | 1.1 |
| 1899 | 230 | #184 | 1.0 |
| 1898 | 306 | #163 | 1.2 |
| 1897 | 250 | #173 | 1.1 |
| 1896 | 259 | #169 | 1.1 |
| 1895 | 192 | #196 | 0.82 |
| 1894 | 168 | #205 | 0.75 |
| 1893 | 170 | #196 | 0.80 |
| 1892 | 149 | #208 | 0.70 |
| 1891 | 113 | #228 | 0.61 |
| 1890 | 105 | #239 | 0.55 |
| 1889 | 87 | #252 | 0.49 |
| 1888 | 67 | #286 | 0.38 |
| 1887 | 50 | #302 | 0.34 |
| 1886 | 43 | #321 | 0.30 |
| 1885 | 38 | #333 | 0.29 |
| 1884 | 27 | #387 | 0.21 |
| 1883 | 21 | #418 | 0.19 |
| 1882 | 22 | #384 | 0.20 |
| 1881 | 13 | #477 | 0.14 |
| 1880 | 21 | #358 | 0.23 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Kathleen a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Kathleen has been given almost only to girls: 1,691 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Kathleen: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Kathleen, and how old are they?
501,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 70% of the 715,336 Americans ever recorded as Kathleen. The median Kathleen alive today is 68 years old; half are between 57 and 75.
The 2020 Census counted 547,321 people named Kathleen (547,043 women and girls, 278 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 550,101 born in the U.S. The Census count is 1% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 40,900 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 296,000 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 89,500 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 53,900 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 16,400 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 3,830 |
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 Kathleen born?
The states with the most babies named Kathleen are New York, Pennsylvania and California, with 30% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 91,796 | #1,370 | 1.5× |
| Pennsylvania | 62,523 | #539 | 1.4× |
| California | 60,976 | #1,387 | 1.1× |
| Illinois | 48,699 | #884 | 1.3× |
| Ohio | 40,561 | #769 | 1.1× |
| Massachusetts | 39,451 | #541 | 1.9× |
| Michigan | 38,756 | #1,016 | 1.2× |
| New Jersey | 35,961 | #1,270 | 1.7× |
| Wisconsin | 26,902 | not ranked | 1.6× |
| Minnesota | 21,350 | not ranked | 1.4× |
Where Kathleen is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Kathleen is most over-represented in Massachusetts: since 1910 it was given 1.9 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 Kathleen 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 757,209 babies since 1880, Kathleen is the most given (94% of them). In 2025 it was given to 201 of their 239 babies (84%), again the 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 Kathleen
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 Kathleen and names like it
- Compare Kathleen and CathleenBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1950sKathleen peaked in 1951.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Kathleen since 1910.
- Irish namesWiktionary’s origin for Kathleen: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1951The year the most babies were named Kathleen.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Kathleen alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with KMost given first.