Kaitlyn
Kaitlyn was the 802nd most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 340 babies. Its best year was 2000, when it ranked 30th with 8,759 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 605 places. More babies were named Kaitlyn in the 1990s than in any other decade.
Meaning spelling of Caitlin (Irish Catherine) · Irish, French, Greek
Say it KAYT-lin /ˈkeɪtlɪn/
- Rank in 2025
- #802 girls, down 314 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 340girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20008,759 babies
- Total since 1880
- 166,921babies recorded
What does the name Kaitlyn mean?
Kaitlyn is one of the modern American spellings of Caitlin, which Wiktionary describes as the Irish equivalent of Catherine. Irish Caitlín came from Old French Cateline, reshaped with the Irish diminutive ending -ín. Catherine itself goes back to Greek Aikaterine, which DMNES calls of uncertain origin; the link with Greek katharos, pure, is a later association that DMNES rejects. US records show Kaitlyn from the early 1970s, with its peak around 2000.
Caitlín (Irish, “Catherine”)Αἰκατερίνη (Ancient Greek, “Katherine (origin uncertain)”)
How sure is this? Uncertain. Meaning only through Catherine, whose origin DMNES calls uncertain.
Other explanations you may read: Means 'pure' (Greek katharos). DMNES says Katherine is unrelated to that word..
Related names: Caitlin, Katelyn, Catherine, Kate, Katie.
See also: Irish names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Kaitlyn' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Wiktionary, entry 'Caitlín' (Irish section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Katherine', DMNES (Durham University)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (yob*.txt), team3 computation of first year recorded, US Social Security Administration (public domain)
Nicknames for Kaitlyn
The usual nicknames for Kaitlyn are Katie and Kait. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Kaitlyn in the last five years, 119 were named Katie, against 43 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Katie · also for Katherine, Kate, Kathryn | Traditional | #646 | 2,687 |
| Kait | Modern | — | — |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Kaitlyns go by each one.
Kaitlyn popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 232 since 1985.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #802 | 340 |
| 2020 | #488 | 624 |
| 2010 | #90 | 3,303 |
| 2000 | #30 | 8,759 |
| 1990 | #78 | 4,312 |
| 1980 | #1,727 | 65 |
| 1970 | — | — |
| 1960 | — | — |
| 1950 | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Kaitlyn, counting every spelling?
Kaitlyn is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #512 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #802 for Kaitlyn on its own. Together these spellings went to 593 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kaitlyn | 340 | #802 | 2,266 |
| Caitlyn | 71 | #2,492 | 502 |
| Caitlin | 78 | #2,333 | 450 |
| Kaitlynn | 41 | #3,676 | 246 |
| Kaitlin | 35 | #4,114 | 154 |
| Caitlynn | 11 | #8,971 | 55 |
| Kaytlyn | 6 | #14,061 | 53 |
| Kaytlin | — | — | 45 |
| Keitlyn | 11 | #9,166 | 35 |
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 Kaitlyn?
340 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Kaitlyn (0.09 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Kaitlyn 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 25 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Kaitlyn.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Kaitlyn?
About 164,300 people born in the US named Kaitlyn are alive today, with a median age of 26; half are between 20 and 31. That makes Kaitlyn mostly worn by children and young adults.
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.
Kaitlyn by state
How common Kaitlyn was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Mississippi (3.8×), New Jersey (1.8×), Maryland (1.8×), Indiana (1.6×), New York (1.5×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Kaitlyn: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Kaitlyn, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Kaitlyn · Sibling names for Kaitlyn
Questions about the name Kaitlyn
What does Kaitlyn mean?
Kaitlyn is usually explained as “spelling of Caitlin (Irish Catherine)”, but this is uncertain. Certainty: uncertain.
How popular is the name Kaitlyn?
Kaitlyn was the 802nd most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 340 babies. Its best year was 2000, when it ranked 30th with 8,759 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 605 places. More babies were named Kaitlyn in the 1990s than in any other decade.
Is Kaitlyn a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Kaitlyn in the US.
Where is Kaitlyn most popular?
In 2021–2025, Kaitlyn was most common in Mississippi (1.05 per 1,000 girls), followed by New Jersey and Maryland.