Caitrin
A feminine name of Gaelic origin meaning "pure" or "perpetual bloom".
Name Census estimates that about 395 living Americans carry the first name Caitrin. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Caitrin today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Caitrin births was 1986 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Caitrin. 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.
People living today
395
~ 1 in 867,733 Americans
Peak year
1986
22 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2017 SSA rank
#16,329
Tracked since 1976
Popularity
Caitrin: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Caitrin from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 126 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Caitrin 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 Caitrin during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Caitrin
Caitrin is a feminine given name with origins dating back to ancient Ireland. It is derived from the Irish Gaelic word "cáit," meaning "pure." The name is thought to have its roots in the 5th century CE, when it first emerged as a variant of the more common Irish name Caitlín.
In the 8th century CE, the name Caitrin appeared in several ancient Irish texts and manuscripts, including the Annals of Ulster and the Book of Leinster. These early mentions suggest that the name was in use among the Irish nobility and ruling classes during the medieval period.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Caitrin was Caitrin Ní Dhomhnaill, a 12th-century Irish noblewoman and the wife of the King of Tír Chonaill. She was a prominent figure in the political and cultural life of her time and was known for her patronage of the arts and literature.
In the 14th century, Caitrin Mac Murchadha, a renowned Irish poet and scholar, gained fame for her works celebrating the beauty of the Irish language and landscape. She was a significant figure in the preservation of Irish cultural traditions and is considered one of the most influential poets of the Middle Ages.
During the 16th century, Caitrin Dubh Ní Bhriain, also known as the "Black Caitrin," was a celebrated Irish chieftain and military leader. She led her clan in battles against English forces during the Tudor conquest of Ireland and is remembered for her bravery and fierce resistance.
Another notable figure was Caitrin Ní Chuilleanáin, a 17th-century Irish noblewoman and patron of the arts. She was renowned for her support of poets and musicians, and her court was a center of Irish cultural life during a period of great upheaval and conflict.
In the 19th century, Caitrin Ní Uallacháin was a prominent Irish language scholar and advocate for the preservation of the Irish language and culture. She played a significant role in the Gaelic revival movement and was instrumental in establishing Irish language schools and promoting the use of Irish in education.
People
Caitrin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Caitrin 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
Caitrin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Caitrin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 395 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Caitrin 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 867,733 US residents.
Is Caitrin a common name?
We classify Caitrin as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 410 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Caitrin most popular?
The single biggest year for Caitrin was 1986, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Caitrin is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Caitrin a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Caitrin 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.
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.