Katherine

#186 for girls in 2025, 1,670 births · Last seen for boys in 2015 at #8,040
Given to girls 99.7% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · girls
1991 · 11,495 births
Debut · girls
502 births
In top 100 · girls
132 yrs
of 146 years
Total births · girls
650,926
since 1880

Katherine over time

girls

Rank among girls' names. Click any year to open it.

#1#10#100rank188019001920194019601980200020201950peak #25, 1991girls
Hover or use arrow keys to read values by year; click or press Enter to open that year.

Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.

Show data table
Yeargirlsboys
rankbirthsrankbirths
2025#1861,670
2024#1751,746
2023#1701,705
2022#1661,742
2021#1571,821
2020#1361,991
2019#1202,450
2018#1122,677
2017#1052,861
2016#913,276
2015#843,454#8,0409
2014#823,691#9,6427
2013#773,723
2012#643,953
2011#614,189#12,2875
2010#703,870
2009#604,432#12,4915
2008#455,350#11,0376
2007#395,818#9,7887
2006#376,295#10,6626
2005#366,392#5,57814
2004#356,742#3,07432
2003#357,126#6,71510
2002#367,212#5,72512
2001#357,880#5,14214
2000#338,109#5,29713
1999#367,935#7,8747
1998#338,207#4,87313
1997#328,518#5,28811
1996#318,877#4,39614
1995#308,987#4,50813
1994#309,586#3,46919
1993#2910,506#3,36819
1992#2711,149#3,22020
1991#2511,495#3,10520
1990#2611,625#2,21432
1989#2611,415#1,08294
1988#2711,154#1,67142
1987#2810,438#1,58744
1986#2810,570#1,51144
1985#3210,128#1,61439
1984#3010,157#1,36548
1983#349,684#1,71133
1982#369,179#1,41545
1981#398,433#1,81131
1980#358,017#1,85230
1979#367,464#1,59836
1978#386,625#1,91326
1977#446,030#2,27020
1976#575,051#2,60116
1975#584,851#2,36118
1974#624,530#2,35817
1973#644,420#2,85712
1972#694,514#2,81912
1971#675,120#1,59730
1970#675,443#2,29316
1969#705,167#2,13016
1968#754,716#2,57611
1967#764,560#2,13914
1966#784,492#1,81418
1965#794,706#2,61710
1964#825,074#1,97517
1963#875,124#1,90218
1962#835,272#2,8489
1961#865,632#1,87619
1960#815,876#1,65824
1959#796,139#2,20014
1958#746,433#1,95317
1957#726,637#1,95217
1956#677,082#1,72221
1955#657,239#2,04815
1954#646,740#1,95616
1953#636,559#2,18613
1952#596,891#1,85617
1951#556,930#2,8448
1950#586,205#2,5809
1949#596,039#1,70219
1948#685,169#2,44310
1947#764,884#1,73319
1946#784,197#3,5255
1945#823,393#2,00912
1944#773,525#1,98813
1943#783,616#1,98614
1942#813,376#2,04213
1941#853,004#1,82115
1940#912,709#2,32210
1939#1012,476#1,95813
1938#1052,575#2,8687
1937#1032,484#1,91314
1936#1002,355#1,96413
1935#1032,340#1,92914
1934#1012,388#1,86015
1933#1002,330#1,90514
1932#952,588#1,99514
1931#912,624#2,10113
1930#853,033#1,55922
1929#843,016#2,19913
1928#753,398#1,76019
1927#733,724#1,87118
1926#723,834#1,78719
1925#614,240#2,31313
1924#594,695#1,89418
1923#604,579#1,55124
1922#544,827#2,34713
1921#495,156#2,50212
1920#455,276#1,96617
1919#514,846#2,51111
1918#505,191#2,39812
1917#494,956#2,09114
1916#514,801#2,15213
1915#494,488#2,8298
1914#483,652#2,4578
1913#542,794#1,80310
1912#532,546
1911#551,858#1,7405
1910#571,752
1909#531,557#1,0838
1908#551,430
1907#551,413#1,3455
1906#561,277
1905#631,190
1904#631,128#72311
1903#661,015#1,1305
1902#681,004#1,1375
1901#71890
1900#651,201
1899#65942
1898#69914
1897#65962
1896#611,047
1895#65968
1894#64948
1893#62963
1892#60961
1891#62803#9635
1890#59900
1889#56889
1888#56893
1887#53794
1886#54744
1885#50751
1884#55671
1883#56583
1882#52591
1881#52504
1880#53502#9095
First appearance
1880

In the first year the SSA published name data, Katherine was already there! It came in at #53, and was given to 502 baby girls.


Quietest stretch: 1880–1886, when fewer than 760 girls a year got the name.

See more about Katherine
Momentum · girls
Falling
  • 11 spots since 2024 (#175#186)
  • 50 spots since 2020 (#136#186)
  • 102 spots since 2015 (#84#186)
  • Biggest jump: 13 spots in 1977 (#57#44)
  • Biggest drop: 21 spots in 2021 (#136#157)
Rise & fade · girls
111 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1880
  • Peaked 1991 at #25 (11,495 births)
  • Births halved by 2008, 17 yrs later
Top of the charts · girls
Top 100 for 132 yrs
  • Top 10: never
  • Top 100: 132 yrs · run 1940–2016
  • Top 1,000: 146 yrs · run 1880–2025
Share of babies · girls
1 in 160
  • Highest: 1 in 160 girls born in 1988 were named Katherine (0.63%)
  • Latest: 1 in 962 girls born in 2025 (0.10%)
  • Its best rank, #25 in 1991, was only 1 in 163 (0.61%) — a smaller share of a much bigger birth year
Era · girls
The 1980s
  • 15.2% of all girls named Katherine (99,175) were born in this decade
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1880s6,922#50 (1885)#54
1890s9,408#59 (1890)#63
1900s12,105#53 (1909)#62
1910s36,884#48 (1914)#52
1920s42,745#45 (1920)#63
1930s25,193#85 (1930)#98
1940s39,912#59 (1949)#78
1950s66,855#55 (1951)#66
1960s50,619#70 (1969)#80
1970s54,048#36 (1979)#56
1980s99,175#26 (1989)#32
1990s96,885#25 (1991)#30
2000s65,356#33 (2000)#39
2010s34,144#61 (2011)#87
2020s10,675#136 (2020)#165

All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 girls in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.

Katherine in 1950

girls
#58
6,205 births · 1 in 276 girls
boys
#2,580
9 births · 1 in 198,918 boys

Top girls' names in 1950

  1. #1Linda80,433
  2. #2Mary65,481
  3. #3Patricia47,944
  4. #4Barbara41,556
  5. #5Susan38,017
  6. #6Nancy29,617
  7. #7Deborah29,063
  8. #8Sandra28,896
  9. #9Carol26,163
  10. #10Kathleen25,706
  11. #58Katherine6,205

Top boys' names in 1950

  1. #1James86,228
  2. #2Robert83,553
  3. #3John79,412
  4. #4Michael65,136
  5. #5David60,729
  6. #6William60,680
  7. #7Richard51,003
  8. #8Thomas45,596
  9. #9Charles39,095
  10. #10Gary33,737
  11. #2,580Katherine9
More about 1950

girls

1,713,054 girls got a published name in 1950; 1 in 276 of them was named Katherine, which outranked 99.1% of the 6,109 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 24.1% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Katherine
  1. #55Jacqueline6,455
  2. #56Rita6,424
  3. #57Alice6,363
  4. #58Katherine6,205
  5. #59Debra6,176
  6. #60Elaine6,037
  7. #61Vicki5,823
Biggest movers since 1949
Risers
  1. 1,242Mindy#2,013#771
  2. 649Geralyn#1,627#978
  3. 636Kyle#1,512#876
  4. 416Debrah#1,109#693
  5. 405Debbra#1,353#948
Fallers
  1. 241Luana#823#1,064
  2. 231Christene#930#1,161
  3. 216Pearline#785#1,001
  4. 210Ingrid#518#728
  5. 201Dayle#982#1,183

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

boys

1,790,262 boys got a published name in 1950; 1 in 198,918 of them was named Katherine, which outranked 38.5% of the 4,196 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 33.8% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Katherine
  1. #2,438Worley10
  2. #2,438York10
  3. #2,438Zan10
  4. #2,580Katherine9
  5. #2,580Abbott9
  6. #2,580Abelino9
  7. #2,580Adolf9
  8. #2,770Abdul8
  9. #2,770Adalberto8
  10. #2,770Adell8

Tied with 189 names at #2,580; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1949
Risers
  1. 744Ezzard#1,616#872
  2. 510Kelvin#1,085#575
  3. 447Nancy#1,297#850
  4. 420Samual#1,380#960
  5. 376Shaun#1,275#899
Fallers
  1. 371Sharon#885#1,256
  2. 369Melvyn#770#1,139
  3. 367Les#997#1,364
  4. 351Delmas#905#1,256
  5. 315Denzil#808#1,123

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

See the top 100 for 1950