Girls' name · peaked in 1998
Caitlyn name popularity since 1925
52,637 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Caitlyn. Half of them were born in 1999 or earlier, so the typical Caitlyn is about 27 years old in 2026. Caitlyn peaked in 1998 as the #115 name for girls, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 52,637
- Named Caitlyn, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #2,492 for girls in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 99.9% girls
- 52,603 girls · 34 boys
- Most popular in
- Florida
- 1.42× its national share
Peak year is the year Caitlyn made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Caitlyn births per year, 1925–2025
1998 was the biggest year for Caitlyn both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1983 and 1988, Caitlyn became 7× more common, from 1 in 10,600 baby girls to 1 in 1,520.
- Steepest fall: Between 2011 and 2016, its share of baby girls fell by 73%, from 1 in 1,890 to 1 in 7,120.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Caitlyn's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Caitlyn.
Decade by decade
Babies named Caitlyn in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1930s | 0 | 0 | Under 5 |
| 1940s | 0 | 0 | Under 5 |
| 1950s | 0 | 0 | Under 5 |
| 1960s | 5 | 0 | Under 5 |
| 1970s | 71 | 0 | #5,574 |
| 1980s | 4,473 | 10 | #532 |
| 1990s | 21,991 | 12 | #138 |
| 2000s | 19,782 | 12 | #182 |
| 2010s | 5,652 | 0 | #598 |
| 2020–25 | 629 | 0 | #2,492 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000. "Under 5" means fewer than 5 girls got the name.
Generation fingerprint
58.1% of babies named Caitlyn from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Gen Z years (1997–2012). The full split by generation:
Where Caitlyn is most popular
The index compares Caitlyn's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Caitlyn.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Florida | 1.42× | 2,663 |
| Maryland | 1.34× | 1,063 |
| Colorado | 1.28× | 815 |
| Arizona | 1.26× | 846 |
| Connecticut | 1.25× | 702 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Caitlyn and were given to at least 1,000 girls from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Girls | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Caitlyn (this page) | 52,603 | 1998 |
| Kaitlyn | 166,689 | 2000 |
| Caitlin | 112,143 | 1988 |
| Caitlynn | 4,947 | 1998 |
| Caitlan | 1,047 | 1988 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Caitlyn's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Caitlyn.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Caitlyn (1998).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data