Girls' name · peaked in 1988
Katherine name popularity since 1925
562,689 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Katherine. Half of them were born in 1982 or earlier, so the typical Katherine is about 44 years old in 2026. Katherine peaked in 1988 as the #27 name for girls, and it ranked #186 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 562,689
- Named Katherine, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #186
- for girls in 2025 (1,670 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.7% girls
- 561,074 girls · 1,615 boys
- Most popular in
- Alaska
- 1.73× its national share
Peak year is the year Katherine 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.
Katherine births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year by count was 1990. Measured as a share of all babies, Katherine peaked in 1988.
- Fastest rise: Between 1974 and 1979, Katherine became 1.5× more common, from 1 in 324 baby girls to 1 in 215.
- Steepest fall: Between 2016 and 2021, its share of baby girls fell by 40%, from 1 in 541 to 1 in 901.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Katherine's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Katherine.
Decade by decade
Babies named Katherine 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 | 18,212 | 82 | – |
| 1930s | 25,193 | 139 | #103 |
| 1940s | 39,912 | 130 | #82 |
| 1950s | 66,855 | 147 | #65 |
| 1960s | 50,619 | 156 | #79 |
| 1970s | 54,048 | 203 | #58 |
| 1980s | 99,175 | 450 | #32 |
| 1990s | 96,885 | 168 | #30 |
| 2000s | 65,356 | 119 | #36 |
| 2010s | 34,144 | 21 | #84 |
| 2020–25 | 10,675 | 0 | #186 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
29.1% of babies named Katherine from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Millennial years (1981–1996). The full split by generation:
Where Katherine is most popular
The index compares Katherine'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 Katherine.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska | 1.73× | 1,456 |
| District of Columbia | 1.73× | 4,520 |
| New Hampshire | 1.65× | 2,952 |
| Connecticut | 1.61× | 9,868 |
| Vermont | 1.52× | 1,438 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Katherine 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Katherine (this page) | 561,074 | 1988 |
| Catherine | 513,441 | 1914 |
| Katharine | 33,437 | 1880 |
| Katheryne | 1,778 | 1891 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Katherine's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Katherine.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Katherine (1988).
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