Kate
Kate was the 522nd most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 576 babies. Its best year was 1880, when it ranked 79th; the most babies were born in 2007 (2,550). Over the last ten years it has moved down 300 places. More babies were named Kate in the 2000s than in any other decade.
Meaning pet form of Katherine · English, Greek
Say it KAYT /keɪt/
- Rank in 2025
- #522 girls, down 110 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 576girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20072,550 babies
- Total since 1880
- 86,076babies recorded
What does the name Kate mean?
Kate is a pet form of Katherine, long used as a name in its own right. DMNES says Katherine comes from Greek Aikaterinē, of uncertain origin, and that its link with Greek katharos, "pure", is a later association that changed the spelling. Saint Catherine of Alexandria made the name very popular in medieval Europe; Shakespeare's Kate in The Taming of the Shrew is a famous bearer.
Αἰκατερίνη (Ancient Greek, “Katherine (origin uncertain)”)
How sure is this? Well established. Kate is clearly a pet form; Katherine's own origin is uncertain.
Other explanations you may read: Katherine means 'pure'.
Related names: Katherine, Katie, Kat, Kathryn.
See also: Greek names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Kate', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources (ed. S. L. Uckelman), Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Katherine', DMNES, Durham University
- Dictionary.com Unabridged (based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary), with Collins English Dictionary, s.v. 'Kate', Dictionary.com / Random House / HarperCollins
Nicknames for Kate
The usual nicknames for Kate are Katie. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Kate in the last five years, 83 were named Katie, against 162 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Katie · also for Katherine, Kaitlyn, Kathryn | Traditional | #646 | 2,687 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Kates go by each one.
Kate popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 89 since 1902.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #522 | 576 |
| 2020 | #412 | 765 |
| 2010 | #208 | 1,490 |
| 2000 | #225 | 1,397 |
| 1990 | #270 | 1,038 |
| 1980 | #197 | 1,329 |
| 1970 | #598 | 294 |
| 1960 | #708 | 208 |
| 1950 | #857 | 107 |
| 1940 | #718 | 94 |
| 1930 | #652 | 111 |
| 1920 | #415 | 255 |
| 1910 | #271 | 206 |
| 1900 | #180 | 297 |
| 1890 | #116 | 352 |
| 1880 | #79 | 299 |
How popular is Kate, counting every spelling?
Kate is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #517 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #522 for Kate on its own. Together these spellings went to 587 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kate | 576 | #522 | 3,241 |
| Cate | 11 | #8,978 | 102 |
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 Kate?
576 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Kate (0.16 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Kate 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 15 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Kate.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Kate?
About 70,000 people born in the US named Kate are alive today, with a median age of 24; half are between 16 and 40. That makes Kate 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.
Kate by state
How common Kate was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Utah (4.3×), North Dakota (3.8×), Louisiana (3.0×), Idaho (2.7×), Iowa (2.4×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Oregon, West Virginia, Nevada.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Kate: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Kate, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Kate · Sibling names for Kate
Kate is also a nickname for Katherine, Kathryn, Katelyn and Kathleen.
Questions about the name Kate
What does Kate mean?
Kate means “pet form of Katherine” (English, Greek origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Kate?
Kate was the 522nd most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 576 babies. Its best year was 1880, when it ranked 79th; the most babies were born in 2007 (2,550). Over the last ten years it has moved down 300 places. More babies were named Kate in the 2000s than in any other decade.
Is Kate a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Kate in the US.
Where is Kate most popular?
In 2021–2025, Kate was most common in Utah (1.73 per 1,000 girls), followed by North Dakota and Louisiana.