Girls' name · peaked in 1951
Kathryn name popularity since 1925
390,539 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Kathryn. Half of them were born in 1967 or earlier, so the typical Kathryn is about 59 years old in 2026. Kathryn peaked in 1951 as the #45 name for girls, and it ranked #729 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 390,539
- Named Kathryn, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #729
- for girls in 2025 (381 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.7% girls
- 389,539 girls · 1,000 boys
- Most popular in
- Minnesota
- 1.68× its national share
Peak year is the year Kathryn 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.
Kathryn births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year by count was 1952. Measured as a share of all babies, Kathryn peaked in 1951.
- Fastest rise: Between 1975 and 1980, Kathryn became 1.6× more common, from 1 in 495 baby girls to 1 in 300.
- Steepest fall: Between 2004 and 2009, its share of baby girls fell by 45%, from 1 in 666 to 1 in 1,210.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Kathryn's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Kathryn.
Decade by decade
Babies named Kathryn 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 | 14,404 | 37 | – |
| 1930s | 22,583 | 89 | #111 |
| 1940s | 44,581 | 102 | #65 |
| 1950s | 77,803 | 130 | #59 |
| 1960s | 44,864 | 124 | #87 |
| 1970s | 36,434 | 128 | #99 |
| 1980s | 62,443 | 280 | #48 |
| 1990s | 47,179 | 58 | #83 |
| 2000s | 26,307 | 52 | #125 |
| 2010s | 10,199 | 0 | #318 |
| 2020–25 | 2,742 | 0 | #729 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
32.9% of babies named Kathryn from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:
Where Kathryn is most popular
The index compares Kathryn'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 Kathryn.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | 1.68× | 12,038 |
| Iowa | 1.58× | 7,874 |
| Wisconsin | 1.57× | 12,137 |
| Nebraska | 1.55× | 4,272 |
| Delaware | 1.43× | 1,168 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Kathryn 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Kathryn (this page) | 389,539 | 1951 |
| Cathryn | 14,191 | 1952 |
| Kathrin | 1,178 | 1990 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Kathryn's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Kathryn.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Kathryn (1951).
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