Katelyn
Katelyn was the 1077th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 225 babies. Its best year was 2001, when it ranked 52nd; the most babies were born in 1993 (5,975). Over the last ten years it has moved down 838 places. More babies were named Katelyn in the 1990s than in any other decade.
Meaning variant of Caitlin (Catherine) · Irish, Greek
Say it KAYT-lin /ˈkeɪtlɪn/
- Rank in 2025
- #1,077 girls, down 400 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 225girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19935,975 babies
- Total since 1880
- 134,206babies recorded
What does the name Katelyn mean?
Katelyn is an American spelling of Caitlin, as Wiktionary notes. Caitlín is the Irish form of Catherine, taken from the Norman French form Cateline. Catherine comes from Greek Aikaterinē, the name of the early martyr Saint Catherine of Alexandria; its origin is unknown, and the familiar link to Greek katharos 'pure' is a later reinterpretation that changed the spelling to Katharina. Katelyn became popular in the 1990s with other -lyn names.
Caitlín (Irish, “Catherine”)Αἰκατερίνη (Aikaterinē) (Ancient Greek, “Catherine (origin unknown)”)
How sure is this? Probable. Katelyn is clearly a form of Caitlin; the meaning of Catherine is unknown.
Other explanations you may read: Catherine means 'pure' (Greek katharos).
Related names: Caitlin, Kaitlyn, Catherine, Kate.
See also: Irish names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Katelyn', Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Wiktionary, entry 'Caitlin', 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)
Nicknames for Katelyn
The usual nicknames for Katelyn are Katie and Kate. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Katelyn in the last five years, 214 were named Kate, against 39 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Katie · also for Katherine, Kate, Kaitlyn | Traditional | #646 | 2,687 |
| Kate · also for Katherine, Kathryn, Kathleen | Traditional | #522 | 3,241 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Katelyns go by each one.
Katelyn popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 157 since 1986.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,077 | 225 |
| 2020 | #677 | 420 |
| 2010 | #103 | 2,959 |
| 2000 | #54 | 5,502 |
| 1990 | #75 | 4,489 |
| 1980 | #1,072 | 132 |
| 1970 | #5,584 | 9 |
| 1960 | — | — |
| 1950 | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Katelyn, counting every spelling?
Katelyn is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #884 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #1,077 for Katelyn on its own. Together these spellings went to 288 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Katelyn | 225 | #1,077 | 1,511 |
| Katelynn | 63 | #2,736 | 387 |
| Catelyn | — | — | 27 |
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 Katelyn?
225 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Katelyn (0.06 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Katelyn 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 37 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Katelyn.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Katelyn?
About 132,000 people born in the US named Katelyn are alive today, with a median age of 27; half are between 20 and 33. That makes Katelyn 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.
Katelyn by state
How common Katelyn was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Utah (2.2×), Pennsylvania (1.9×), Indiana (1.8×), Ohio (1.7×), Alabama (1.5×). In 21 states fewer than five girls a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Katelyn: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Katelyn, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Katelyn · Sibling names for Katelyn
Questions about the name Katelyn
What does Katelyn mean?
Katelyn means “variant of Caitlin (Catherine)” (Irish, Greek origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Katelyn?
Katelyn was the 1077th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 225 babies. Its best year was 2001, when it ranked 52nd; the most babies were born in 1993 (5,975). Over the last ten years it has moved down 838 places. More babies were named Katelyn in the 1990s than in any other decade.
Is Katelyn a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Katelyn in the US.
Where is Katelyn most popular?
In 2021–2025, Katelyn was most common in Utah (0.41 per 1,000 girls), followed by Pennsylvania and Indiana.