Catheleen
A feminine name derived from Catherine, meaning "pure" or "innocent".
Name Census estimates that about 43 living Americans carry the first name Catheleen. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Catheleen today is around 70 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Catheleen births was 1957 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Catheleen. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Catheleen is about 70 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Catheleens were born before 1966.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Catheleen. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
43
~ 1 in 7,971,031 Americans
Peak year
1957
7 babies that year
Average age
70
years old
1965 SSA rank
#6,647
Tracked since 1945
Census
Catheleen in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 111 people with the first name Catheleen, which placed it at #51,800 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
#51,800
National first-name rank
People counted
111
111 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
53.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Catheleen
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Catheleen is White at 53.2%. The next largest groups are Black (27.9%) and Hispanic (11.7%). 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 Catheleen 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 Catheleen at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White53.2% · 59
- Black or African American27.9% · 31
- Hispanic or Latino11.7% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.5% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.7% · 3
Popularity
Catheleen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Catheleen from the 1940s through to the 1960s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 37 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1950s peak, Catheleen remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Catheleen 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 Catheleen 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 Catheleen
The name Catheleen is a feminine given name of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic name Caitlín, which is a pet form of the name Caitríona. Caitríona, in turn, is derived from the Old Irish name Cáthairín, which means "little pure one" or "little dear one."
The name Caitlín first appeared in Irish records as early as the 9th century, and it gained popularity throughout Ireland during the Middle Ages. The variant spelling Catheleen emerged later, likely as an Anglicized version of the name, to better match English pronunciation and spelling conventions.
While the name Catheleen does not have any direct references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, its Irish roots and connection to the name Caitríona suggest a deep cultural and historical significance within Irish tradition and heritage.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Catheleen can be found in the 16th century, when it was used by the Irish noblewoman Catheleen O'Byrne (c. 1530 - c. 1590), who was a prominent figure in the Irish Confederate Wars against English rule.
Another notable bearer of the name was Catheleen Ni Houlihan (birth and death dates unknown), a mythical figure in Irish folklore who personified Ireland itself and inspired Irish revolutionaries during the struggle for independence in the early 20th century.
In more recent history, the name has been borne by several accomplished individuals, including:
1. Catheleen Nesbitt (1888 - 1982), a British stage and film actress known for her roles in classic Hollywood productions.
2. Catheleen Calvert (1923 - 2004), an American model and actress who appeared in several films and television shows in the mid-20th century.
3. Catheleen Jordan (born 1958), an American country music singer and songwriter who has released several albums and charted on the Billboard country music charts.
4. Catheleen Massey (born 1966), a Canadian journalist and television news anchor, known for her work with CBC News.
5. Catheleen Neely (born 1985), an American professional tennis player who has competed on the WTA Tour and represented the United States in international competitions.
People
Catheleen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Catheleen 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
Catheleen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Catheleen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 43 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Catheleen 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 7,971,031 US residents.
Is Catheleen a common name?
We classify Catheleen as "Very Rare". It ranks above 52.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 61 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Catheleen most popular?
The single biggest year for Catheleen was 1957, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Catheleen is about 70 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Catheleen in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 111 people with the name Catheleen, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #51,800 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 Catheleen 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 Catheleen?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Catheleen appears almost entirely female. Of the 114 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Catheleen?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Catheleen is White at 53.2%. The next largest groups are Black (27.9%) and Hispanic (11.7%). 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 Catheleen most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Catheleen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 53.2% (59 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 Catheleen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Catheleen a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Catheleen 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 Catheleen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Catheleen 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 Catheleen 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 have Catheleen as a first name?
Want to know how many people share the name Catheleen? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.