Baby Name Popularity Profile
Catherine
Data-driven SSA statistics, rankings, and historical trends for Catherine .
π€ Save Name
National Rank (2025)
#314
All-Time Peak Rank
#18
Achieved 1914
Total U.S. Births
667,789
since 1880
Unisex Distribution
0.0% Boy / 100.0% Girl
Female Archetype
First Recorded
1880
Data through: 2025
Peak Decade
1950s
12,056 births in 1956
π‘ The Catherine Vibe: Considered a Perennial Favorite . A historic staple that has maintained dominant national popularity for over half a century.
π Meaning & Etymology
Primary Meaning
Pure
Language Origin
Greek
Origin Type
single
Derived from the Greek name Aikaterine, of uncertain original meaning, but later associated with the Greek word *katharos* (pure) and the Latin *catharus*.
Common Nicknames
Cat
Cate
Cathy
Katie
Alternative Spellings
Katherine
Katharine
Kathryn
Katheryn
Pronunciation:
KATH-Ι-rin
π Hear it spoken
Etymology confidence:
High
π Popularity Over Time (1880 β 2025)
Annual registration volume (number of births) for Catherine across 146 years of SSA data.
Historical Timeline (1880 - 2025)
Recent Decade (2015 - 2025)
5-Year Trend (2020β2025)
-15.8%
10-Year Trend (2015β2025)
-46.2%
2015: 1,807 births
1,807
2016: 1,669 births
2017: 1,584 births
2018: 1,507 births
2019: 1,312 births
2020: 1,155 births
1,155
2021: 1,005 births
2022: 981 births
2023: 933 births
2024: 956 births
2025: 972 births
972
2015
2020
2025
π Popularity Milestones
Busiest Year on Record
12,056
births in 1956
Years in Top 100
121 yrs
Years in Top 500
146 yrs
Longest Streak
146 yrs
Decade-by-Decade Registration Volumes
1880s: 8,915
1890s: 14,502
1900s: 22,006
1910s: 65,823
1920s: 78,881
1930s: 50,027
1940s: 62,086
1950s: 108,839
1960s: 76,788
1970s: 43,864
1980s: 42,437
1990s: 40,763
2000s: 29,702
2010s: 17,154
2020s: 6,002
π Sound & Spelling Structure
Phonetic Syllables
Cat-he-rine
Letter Count
9 letters
Spelling Complexity
Complex
Length Percentile
Longer than 92.2% of names
Linguistic Profile: Longer than 92.2% of SSA names. Starts with C, a letter used by only 5.7% of SSA names.
π¨βπ©βπ§ Sibling Name Suggestions
π§ Sister Suggestions
Gwendolyn
Diana
Margarita
Jacquelyn
Gwyndolyn
Kathaleen
Thomasine
Jeannetta
Micheline
Georganne
π Authentic State & Regional Rankings
Highest Ranking State
District of Columbia
Top States
District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York
States with Data
51
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