Caitlyn
A feminine name of Celtic origin meaning "pure" or "bright".
Name Census estimates that about 51,275 living Americans carry the first name Caitlyn. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Caitlyn today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Caitlyn births was 1998 (2,943 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Caitlyn. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Caitlyn with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Compared to the 1990s, recent registration numbers for Caitlyn have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
51K
~ 1 in 6,685 Americans
Peak year
1998
2,943 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2004 SSA rank
#2,346
Tracked since 1968
Census
Caitlyn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 48,236 people with the first name Caitlyn, which placed it at #928 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#928
National first-name rank
People counted
48K
48,236 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
16.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
80.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Caitlyn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Caitlyn is White at 80.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.0%) and Two or More Races (5.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Caitlyn described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Caitlyn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.1% · 38,643
- Hispanic or Latino7.0% · 3,396
- Two or more races5.0% · 2,402
- Black or African American3.8% · 1,842
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.4% · 1,648
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 305
Gender
Gender distribution for Caitlyn
Out of the 52,565 babies given the name Caitlyn since 1880, 99.9% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Caitlyn as a male name
- Ranked #6,196 in 2004
- 12 male births in 2004
- Peak: 2004 (12 births)
Caitlyn as a female name
- Ranked #2,346 in 2024
- 78 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1998 (2,937 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Caitlyn appears almost entirely female. Of the 48,237 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Caitlyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Caitlyn from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 22,003 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Caitlyn by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Caitlyn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Caitlyns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Caitlyn, while District of Columbia, Wyoming, Alaska recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 1,004 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Caitlyn
The name Caitlyn is a modern variation of the traditional Irish name Caitlín, which is the Irish Gaelic form of the name Cathleen or Kathleen. The name Cathleen itself derives from the ancient Greek name Katharina, which means "pure" or "clear."
The earliest known record of the name Caitlín dates back to the 17th century in Ireland. It was a common name among Irish families, particularly in the rural areas of the country. The name gained popularity in the 19th and early 20th centuries, with many Irish immigrants bringing the name to other parts of the world, such as the United States and Canada.
While the name Caitlyn is not found in ancient texts or religious scriptures, its root name, Katharina, has a rich history. In the 4th century, there was a Christian saint named Saint Catherine of Alexandria, who was martyred for her faith. This association with a revered saint likely contributed to the widespread popularity of the name Katharina and its various forms across Europe.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Caitlyn was Caitlyn Jenner, the American television personality and former Olympic gold medalist in decathlon, born in 1949. Jenner gained widespread attention in 2015 when she publicly announced her transition and adopted the name Caitlyn.
Another notable figure with the name Caitlyn is Caitlyn Vermylen, a Canadian singer-songwriter born in 1986. She has released several albums and received nominations for various music awards.
In the literary world, Caitlyn R. Kiernan is an American writer known for her gothic fiction and comic book work, born in 1964. Her novels and short stories have been acclaimed and honored with numerous awards.
Caitlyn Jenner, the American reality television star and former athlete, born in 1949, is one of the most well-known individuals with the name Caitlyn in recent times.
Caitlyn Cary is an American singer and songwriter, born in 1988, known for her work in the country and Americana genres. She has released several albums and received critical acclaim for her songwriting.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have borne the name Caitlyn, showcasing its Irish roots and modern popularity.
People
Caitlyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Caitlyn as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Caitlyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Caitlyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 51,275 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Caitlyn going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 6,685 US residents.
Is Caitlyn a common name?
We classify Caitlyn as "Uncommon". It ranks above 99.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 52,565 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Caitlyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Caitlyn was 1998, when 2,943 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Caitlyn is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Caitlyn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 48,236 people with the name Caitlyn, or 15.97 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #928 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Caitlyn in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Caitlyn?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Caitlyn appears almost entirely female. Of the 48,237 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Caitlyn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Caitlyn is White at 80.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.0%) and Two or More Races (5.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Caitlyn most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Caitlyn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.1% (38,643 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Caitlyn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Caitlyn a female name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Caitlyn in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Caitlyn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Caitlyn in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Caitlyn can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Caitlyn?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.