Meaning not yet researched.
Kathleen: US girls given the name each year, 1880 to 2025, from Social Security card applications. 201 in 2025. Its best rank was #9 in 1949.
US births per year · SSA card applications
Peaked at #9 in 1949; #1,156 in 2025. Every baby recorded as Kathleen in 2025 was a girl.
Baby name · US data 1880–2025
#1,156 for US girls in 2025. Its best year was 1949, at #9.
Hover, tap or use the arrow keys for any year. Years with fewer than five babies of a sex are not published by SSA and show as zero.
Kathleen: US girls given the name each year from 1880 to 2025. 201 girls in 2025. Peak: #9 in 1949 · most girls in one year: 26,716 (1951).
In 2025, 201 US girls were named Kathleen, making it the 1,156th most common girls’ name of the year, down 56 places from #1,100 in 2024. That is 22 fewer than the 223 girls named Kathleen in 2024. Its best rank for girls was #9, reached in 1949. The most girls given the name in a single year was 26,716, in 1951. For comparison, it was #824 in 2015 and #10 in 1950.
Social Security card records list Kathleen in every one of the 146 years from 1880 to 2025; in 1880 there were 21 babies with the name. In all, 715,336 US babies have been given the name, 99.7% of them girls and 0.2% boys. Its busiest decade was the 1950s, with 224,736 babies named Kathleen.
Over the 10 years from 2016 to 2025, 2,656 US girls were named Kathleen; the busiest of those years was 2016, with 341. In 2025 that was about 1 in 7,996 of the girls in SSA’s list for the year.
Among the states, Kathleen ranked highest in Pennsylvania in 2025, at #539 for girls there. It was not in the top 100 of any state. Related spellings in the SSA files include Kaitlyn (166,921 babies since 1880), Cathleen (29,933 babies since 1880), Kathaleen (4,136 babies since 1880) and Kathlyn (5,156 babies since 1880). Rarer spellings such as Kathlynn, Kathleene and Kathlean are summarised on this page. The open nickname list we use links it to Cassie, Cathy, Kathy, Katy, Kay and Kit.
Meaning not yet researched.
We publish a meaning only with a cited source and a confidence label, and never generate one. Meanings are being researched for the most common names first.
Wikidata records this spelling as a given name in Dutch and English. That is where the name is used, not necessarily where it comes from.
Rare spellings summarised here: Kathlynn (554), Kathleene (523), Kathlean (253), Katleen (203), Kathlen (85), Katlen (75), Caitilin (36), Katleyn (25), Kathllen (18), Kathlin (12), Kaitleen (11), Kaithleen (11), and more.
Numbers are all-time US births. Links come from Wikidata’s “said to be the same as” (P460, CC0) and our spelling rule: at most two letters different, with the same sound pattern.
US girls. Rank within each state. SSA leaves out states where fewer than five girls got the name, so 39 are not listed.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank 2025 | Rank 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 20 | #539 | #905 |
| Massachusetts | 10 | #541 | #785 |
| Ohio | 12 | #769 | #933 |
| Illinois | 10 | #884 | #891 |
| North Carolina | 10 | #946 | #943 |
| Michigan | 7 | #1,016 | #693 |
| Tennessee | 6 | #1,053 | #889 |
| New Jersey | 5 | #1,270 | #749 |
| New York | 10 | #1,370 | #569 |
| California | 17 | #1,387 | #894 |
| Texas | 17 | #1,435 | #974 |
| Florida | 6 | #2,022 | #1,016 |
Births and national rank for each year SSA lists the name, newest first.
| Year | Girls | Girls rank | Boys | Boys rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 201 | #1,156 | — | — |
| 2024 | 223 | #1,100 | — | — |
| 2023 | 248 | #1,023 | — | — |
| 2022 | 228 | #1,097 | — | — |
| 2021 | 262 | #987 | — | — |
| 2020 | 253 | #1,005 | — | — |
| 2019 | 280 | #944 | — | — |
| 2018 | 306 | #885 | — | — |
| 2017 | 314 | #873 | — | — |
| 2016 | 341 | #838 | — | — |
| 2015 | 341 | #824 | — | — |
| 2014 | 422 | #674 | — | — |
| 2013 | 432 | #660 | — | — |
| 2012 | 427 | #662 | — | — |
| 2011 | 451 | #632 | — | — |
| 2010 | 495 | #596 | — | — |
| 2009 | 542 | #564 | — | — |
| 2008 | 704 | #448 | — | — |
| 2007 | 779 | #422 | — | — |
| 2006 | 878 | #371 | — | — |
| 2005 | 934 | #339 | — | — |
| 2004 | 1,002 | #316 | — | — |
| 2003 | 1,096 | #284 | — | — |
| 2002 | 1,208 | #262 | — | — |
| 2001 | 1,337 | #237 | — | — |
| 2000 | 1,585 | #204 | — | — |
| 1999 | 1,630 | #192 | — | — |
| 1998 | 1,739 | #171 | — | — |
| 1997 | 1,742 | #175 | — | — |
| 1996 | 2,107 | #152 | — | — |
| 1995 | 2,280 | #139 | — | — |
| 1994 | 2,430 | #130 | — | — |
| 1993 | 2,742 | #118 | — | — |
| 1992 | 3,135 | #108 | — | — |
| 1991 | 3,371 | #102 | 5 | #8,890 |
| 1990 | 3,670 | #92 | 14 | #4,085 |
| 1989 | 3,596 | #90 | 27 | #2,441 |
| 1988 | 3,927 | #75 | 11 | #4,313 |
| 1987 | 4,165 | #72 | 20 | #2,680 |
| 1986 | 4,129 | #68 | 16 | #3,066 |
| 1985 | 4,087 | #68 | 22 | #2,388 |
| 1984 | 3,985 | #71 | 25 | #2,129 |
| 1983 | 3,923 | #73 | 20 | #2,457 |
| 1982 | 3,949 | #77 | 19 | #2,557 |
| 1981 | 3,776 | #82 | 14 | #3,131 |
| 1980 | 3,857 | #82 | 10 | #3,992 |
| 1979 | 3,641 | #84 | 8 | #4,635 |
| 1978 | 3,743 | #79 | 17 | #2,611 |
| 1977 | 3,649 | #80 | 16 | #2,730 |
| 1976 | 3,405 | #82 | 15 | #2,762 |
| 1975 | 3,545 | #80 | 18 | #2,403 |
| 1974 | 3,953 | #76 | 23 | #1,957 |
| 1973 | 4,250 | #68 | 19 | #2,175 |
| 1972 | 5,097 | #57 | 22 | #1,945 |
| 1971 | 6,154 | #53 | 17 | #2,325 |
| 1970 | 7,410 | #45 | 23 | #1,876 |
| 1969 | 8,299 | #42 | 24 | #1,707 |
| 1968 | 8,729 | #40 | 33 | #1,351 |
| 1967 | 9,209 | #40 | 31 | #1,378 |
| 1966 | 10,491 | #37 | 33 | #1,331 |
| 1965 | 11,778 | #34 | 33 | #1,348 |
| 1964 | 13,231 | #30 | 28 | #1,499 |
| 1963 | 13,547 | #28 | 29 | #1,468 |
| 1962 | 14,188 | #29 | 30 | #1,444 |
| 1961 | 15,395 | #29 | 27 | #1,561 |
| 1960 | 16,085 | #27 | 32 | #1,414 |
| 1959 | 17,629 | #23 | 48 | #1,126 |
| 1958 | 19,205 | #21 | 50 | #1,084 |
| 1957 | 19,742 | #21 | 36 | #1,308 |
| 1956 | 21,377 | #17 | 40 | #1,209 |
| 1955 | 22,014 | #17 | 33 | #1,328 |
| 1954 | 22,455 | #14 | 41 | #1,178 |
| 1953 | 23,731 | #14 | 35 | #1,270 |
| 1952 | 25,767 | #11 | 38 | #1,205 |
| 1951 | 26,716 | #10 | 33 | #1,285 |
| 1950 | 25,706 | #10 | 40 | #1,133 |
| 1949 | 26,357 | #9 | 56 | #930 |
| 1948 | 23,257 | #10 | 38 | #1,169 |
| 1947 | 22,095 | #11 | 48 | #1,045 |
| 1946 | 18,760 | #16 | 33 | #1,226 |
| 1945 | 13,802 | #19 | 35 | #1,112 |
| 1944 | 13,004 | #20 | 27 | #1,300 |
| 1943 | 12,153 | #22 | 33 | #1,201 |
| 1942 | 10,696 | #24 | 36 | #1,155 |
| 1941 | 7,160 | #36 | 30 | #1,222 |
| 1940 | 5,697 | #40 | 26 | #1,323 |
| 1939 | 4,656 | #48 | 18 | #1,608 |
| 1938 | 4,228 | #58 | 19 | #1,589 |
| 1937 | 3,743 | #61 | 15 | #1,874 |
| 1936 | 3,352 | #67 | 12 | #2,127 |
| 1935 | 3,353 | #71 | 14 | #1,988 |
| 1934 | 3,279 | #74 | 23 | #1,445 |
| 1933 | 3,121 | #77 | 15 | #1,875 |
| 1932 | 2,945 | #83 | 13 | #2,151 |
| 1931 | 2,799 | #87 | 13 | #2,160 |
| 1930 | 3,074 | #84 | 16 | #1,930 |
| 1929 | 2,941 | #89 | 20 | #1,705 |
| 1928 | 3,151 | #82 | 15 | #2,108 |
| 1927 | 3,265 | #83 | 9 | #3,030 |
| 1926 | 3,277 | #83 | 5 | #4,524 |
| 1925 | 3,503 | #81 | 11 | #2,676 |
| 1924 | 3,663 | #76 | 7 | #3,676 |
| 1923 | 3,754 | #70 | 10 | #2,857 |
| 1922 | 3,466 | #80 | — | — |
| 1921 | 3,419 | #83 | 5 | #4,669 |
| 1920 | 3,158 | #91 | — | — |
| 1919 | 2,587 | #101 | — | — |
| 1918 | 2,629 | #99 | — | — |
| 1917 | 2,358 | #101 | — | — |
| 1916 | 2,154 | #104 | 8 | #3,058 |
| 1915 | 1,940 | #104 | 6 | #3,630 |
| 1914 | 1,475 | #110 | — | — |
| 1913 | 1,179 | #110 | — | — |
| 1912 | 985 | #118 | — | — |
| 1911 | 663 | #126 | — | — |
| 1910 | 622 | #131 | — | — |
| 1909 | 527 | #136 | — | — |
| 1908 | 527 | #132 | — | — |
| 1907 | 440 | #149 | — | — |
| 1906 | 412 | #143 | — | — |
| 1905 | 386 | #152 | — | — |
| 1904 | 362 | #147 | — | — |
| 1903 | 352 | #149 | — | — |
| 1902 | 325 | #159 | — | — |
| 1901 | 272 | #169 | — | — |
| 1900 | 321 | #171 | — | — |
| 1899 | 230 | #184 | — | — |
| 1898 | 306 | #163 | — | — |
| 1897 | 250 | #173 | — | — |
| 1896 | 259 | #169 | — | — |
| 1895 | 192 | #196 | — | — |
| 1894 | 168 | #205 | — | — |
| 1893 | 170 | #196 | — | — |
| 1892 | 149 | #208 | — | — |
| 1891 | 113 | #228 | — | — |
| 1890 | 105 | #239 | — | — |
| 1889 | 87 | #252 | — | — |
| 1888 | 67 | #286 | — | — |
| 1887 | 50 | #302 | — | — |
| 1886 | 43 | #321 | — | — |
| 1885 | 38 | #333 | — | — |
| 1884 | 27 | #387 | — | — |
| 1883 | 21 | #418 | — | — |
| 1882 | 22 | #384 | — | — |
| 1881 | 13 | #477 | — | — |
| 1880 | 21 | #358 | — | — |
About the data: counts are Social Security card applications for US births, for names given to at least five babies of a sex in a year (SSA, names.zip, public domain). Ranks follow SSA’s own order: most births first, ties alphabetical. Files retrieved 2026-10-05 (checksum on our sources page).