How Many People Are Named Katherine?
people named Katherine are alive in the United States today (estimate)
About 1 in 710 people in the US has this name
Based on 652,750 babies named Katherine in Social Security records from 1880 to 2025, and the share of each birth year still alive in 2025.
Popularity Rank
⭐ Uncommon
Peak Year
11,657 births
Trend
Declining (last 10 years)
📖 Name Origin & Meaning
Meaning:
From the Greek name Αικατερινη (Aikaterine). The etymology is debated: it could derive from the earlier Greek name ‘Εκατερινη (Hekaterine), which came from ‘εκατερος (hekateros) "each of the two"; it could derive from the name of the goddess HECATE; it could be related to Greek αικια (aikia) "torture"; or it could be from a Coptic name meaning "my consecration of your name". In the early Christian era it became associated with Greek καθαρος (katharos) "pure", and the Latin spelling was changed from Katerina to Katharina to reflect this.
Source of the meaning, origin, pronunciation and related names: Behind the Name.
Same Sound, Other Spellings
These names are pronounced like Katherine in English. Counting Katherine and these spellings together, about 1,235,133 people alive in the US have the name.
⚧ Gender Distribution
Almost all of the babies given the name Katherine (99.8%) were girls.
👥 Age Distribution
The average person named Katherine alive today is about 42 years old, and 47% are between 30 and 59. Half of them were between 27 and 57 in 2025.
📈 Popularity Over Time
Katherine first appears in the records in 1880 and was given most often in 1990, to 11,657 babies. In 2025, 1,670 babies got the name. Over the last ten years, the number each year has been falling.
Babies given the name each year, 1880 to 2025
🏆 Rank History
Katherine never made the top 10 girls' names. Its best rank was #25, in 1991, and it was in the top 100 in 132 years between 1880 and 2016. In 2025 it ranked #186.
| Girls | |
|---|---|
| Rank in 2025 | #186 |
| Best rank | #25 (1991) |
| Years in the top 100 | 132 (1880 to 2016) |
| Rank in its biggest decade | #32 in the 1980s |
📍 State-Wise Distribution
People named Katherine alive today, by the state where they were born (estimate; state records start in 1910).
More people named Katherine were born in California than in any other state: about 53,577 of those alive today. Compared with the national rate in the same years, Katherine was given 1.9 times as often in District of Columbia, 1.7 times in Alaska and 1.6 times in Connecticut.
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