Catalaya
A feminine name of unknown origin, potentially derived from Catalan.
Name Census estimates that about 663 living Americans carry the first name Catalaya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Catalaya today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Catalaya births was 2014 (64 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Catalaya. 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 Catalaya with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
663
~ 1 in 516,975 Americans
Peak year
2014
64 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,337
Tracked since 2012
Popularity
Catalaya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Catalaya from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 429 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Catalaya remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Catalaya 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 Catalaya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Catalayas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 10 states and territories. Texas, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Catalaya, while Washington, Virginia, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 21 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Catalaya
The given name Catalaya has its origins in the ancient Iberian languages spoken in the regions of modern-day Spain and Portugal. It is derived from the root word "catal", which means "pure" or "clear" in several of these languages. The earliest known written records of the name date back to the 5th century BCE, appearing in inscriptions found in the region of Catalonia.
During the Roman period, the name was sometimes Latinized as "Cathalaia" or "Catalina". It was particularly popular among the Iberian tribes that inhabited the coastal areas of the Iberian Peninsula. In the Middle Ages, the name was occasionally used by Christian communities in Spain and Portugal, though it remained relatively uncommon.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Catalaya was a 6th-century Visigothic noblewoman from the Kingdom of Toledo. Little is known about her life, but her name is mentioned in several historical chronicles of the time.
In the 11th century, a famous poet and scholar from the city of Córdoba, known as Catalaya al-Andalusi, gained renown for her work in the literary circles of the Caliphate of Córdoba. Her poems and writings on philosophy and literature were widely influential in the Islamic world during the Golden Age of Islamic culture in Iberia.
During the Reconquista period, when Christian kingdoms gradually regained control of the Iberian Peninsula from Muslim rule, the name Catalaya was sometimes adopted by families of Iberian descent as a symbol of their heritage. One notable example is Catalaya de Aragón, a 13th-century noblewoman and courtier in the Kingdom of Aragon.
In the 15th century, a Portuguese explorer named Catalaya Dias accompanied Vasco da Gama on his historic voyage to India in 1497-1499. Dias kept a detailed journal of the expedition, which provides valuable insights into the early Portuguese exploration of the Indian Ocean.
Another interesting historical figure with the name Catalaya was a 17th-century Spanish nun and mystic from Seville, known as Catalaya de San José. She was renowned for her spiritual writings and her dedication to charitable work among the poor.
People
Catalaya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Catalaya 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
Catalaya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Catalaya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 663 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Catalaya 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 516,975 US residents.
Is Catalaya a common name?
We classify Catalaya as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 667 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Catalaya most popular?
The single biggest year for Catalaya was 2014, when 64 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Catalaya is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Catalaya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Catalaya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Catalaya 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 Catalaya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Catalaya 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 Catalaya 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Catalaya?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.