Cataleya
Cataleya was the 238th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 1,314 babies. Its best year was 2024, when it ranked 236th with 1,315 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 199 places. More babies were named Cataleya in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Meaning Origin not documented
Say it kat-uh-LAY-uh /ˌkætəˈleɪə/
- Rank in 2025
- #238 girls, up 149 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 1,314girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20241,315 babies
- Total since 1880
- 11,955babies recorded
What does the name Cataleya mean?
Cataleya became known as a name through the action film Colombiana (2011), whose heroine is named after the cattleya orchid, the national flower of Colombia. The orchid genus Cattleya was named after the English plant collector William Cattley. Wiktionary has no entry for the given name, and the name has no older history. Spellings such as Cattaleya and Kataleya are also used.
How sure is this? Not documented. The film-and-orchid link is widely reported but is not documented in a dictionary source; needs confirmation.
Related names: Kataleya, Cattleya.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Cattleya', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (usage history only), US Social Security Administration
Nicknames for Cataleya
The usual nicknames for Cataleya are Cat.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cat | Modern | — | — |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Cataleyas go by each one.
Cataleya popularity since 1880
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #238 | 1,314 |
| 2020 | #387 | 806 |
| 2010 | — | — |
| 2000 | — | — |
| 1990 | — | — |
| 1980 | — | — |
| 1970 | — | — |
| 1960 | — | — |
| 1950 | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Cataleya, counting every spelling?
Cataleya is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #154 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #238 for Cataleya on its own. Together these spellings went to 2,221 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cataleya | 1,314 | #238 | 5,714 |
| Kataleya | 674 | #459 | 2,506 |
| Cattaleya | 145 | #1,479 | 537 |
| Kattaleya | 33 | #4,302 | 183 |
| Kataleyah | 33 | #4,301 | 133 |
| Cataleyah | 16 | #6,900 | 82 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Cataleya?
1,314 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Cataleya (0.36 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Cataleya born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 6 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Cataleya.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Cataleya?
About 11,900 people born in the US named Cataleya are alive today, with a median age of 6; half are between 3 and 10. That makes Cataleya a young name: most people with it are children.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Cataleya by state
How common Cataleya was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in New Mexico (4.0×), Nevada (2.4×), Texas (2.2×), California (2.1×), Arizona (2.1×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Mississippi, Kentucky, Alabama.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Cataleya: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Cataleya, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Cataleya · Sibling names for Cataleya
Questions about the name Cataleya
How popular is the name Cataleya?
Cataleya was the 238th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 1,314 babies. Its best year was 2024, when it ranked 236th with 1,315 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 199 places. More babies were named Cataleya in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Is Cataleya a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Cataleya in the US.
Where is Cataleya most popular?
In 2021–2025, Cataleya was most common in New Mexico (2.80 per 1,000 girls), followed by Nevada and Texas.