Kathleen
Kathleen was the 1156th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 201 babies. Its best year was 1949, when it ranked 9th; the most babies were born in 1951 (26,716). Over the last ten years it has moved down 332 places. More babies were named Kathleen in the 1950s than in any other decade.
Meaning Irish form of Catherine · Irish, Greek
Say it kath-LEEN /kæθˈlin/
- Rank in 2025
- #1,156 girls, down 151 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 201girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 195126,716 babies
- Total since 1880
- 715,336babies recorded
What does the name Kathleen mean?
Kathleen is the anglicized form of Irish Caitlín, the Irish equivalent of Catherine, as Wiktionary notes; Caitlín itself came from Norman French Cateline. Catherine is from Greek Aikaterinē, of uncertain origin, and DMNES notes it is unrelated to katharos 'pure'. Kathleen was a favorite name among Irish emigrant families and was very common in the US in the mid-20th century.
Caitlín (Irish, “Catherine”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Caitlin, Catherine, Kathy, Kate, Kathlyn.
See also: Irish names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Kathleen', 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 Kathleen
The usual nicknames for Kathleen are Kathy, Katie, Kate, Kay and Kit. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Kathleen in the last five years, 279 were named Kate, against 179 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kathy · also for Katherine, Kathryn | Traditional | #3,274 | 319 |
| Katie · also for Katherine, Kate, Kaitlyn | Traditional | #646 | 2,687 |
| Kate · also for Katherine, Kathryn, Katelyn | Traditional | #522 | 3,241 |
| Kay · also for Katherine | Traditional | #3,946 | 212 |
| Kit · also for Christopher, Katherine | Traditional | #1,127 | 803 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Kathleens go by each one.
Kathleen popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 1,691 since 1915.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,156 | 201 |
| 2020 | #1,005 | 253 |
| 2010 | #596 | 495 |
| 2000 | #204 | 1,585 |
| 1990 | #92 | 3,670 |
| 1980 | #82 | 3,857 |
| 1970 | #45 | 7,410 |
| 1960 | #27 | 16,085 |
| 1950 | #10 | 25,706 |
| 1940 | #40 | 5,697 |
| 1930 | #84 | 3,074 |
| 1920 | #91 | 3,158 |
| 1910 | #131 | 622 |
| 1900 | #171 | 321 |
| 1890 | #239 | 105 |
| 1880 | #358 | 21 |
How popular is Kathleen, counting every spelling?
Kathleen is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #1,002 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #1,156 for Kathleen on its own. Together these spellings went to 239 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kathleen | 201 | #1,156 | 1,162 |
| Kathlyn | 28 | #4,818 | 116 |
| Cathleen | 10 | #9,581 | 53 |
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 Kathleen?
201 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Kathleen (0.06 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Kathleen 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 42 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Kathleen.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Kathleen?
About 499,600 people born in the US named Kathleen are alive today, with a median age of 68; half are between 57 and 75. That makes Kathleen a name most people associate with older generations.
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.
Kathleen by state
How common Kathleen was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Pennsylvania (2.7×), Massachusetts (2.0×), Virginia (1.7×), New Jersey (1.6×), Indiana (1.6×). 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 Kathleen: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Kathleen, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Kathleen · Sibling names for Kathleen
Questions about the name Kathleen
What does Kathleen mean?
Kathleen means “Irish form of Catherine” (Irish, Greek origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Kathleen?
Kathleen was the 1156th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 201 babies. Its best year was 1949, when it ranked 9th; the most babies were born in 1951 (26,716). Over the last ten years it has moved down 332 places. More babies were named Kathleen in the 1950s than in any other decade.
Is Kathleen a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Kathleen in the US.
Where is Kathleen most popular?
In 2021–2025, Kathleen was most common in Pennsylvania (0.38 per 1,000 girls), followed by Massachusetts and Virginia.