Cathlene
A feminine name derived from the Greek name "Aikaterine", meaning "pure one".
Name Census estimates that about 635 living Americans carry the first name Cathlene. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Cathlene today is around 60 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cathlene births was 1957 (37 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cathlene. 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
635
~ 1 in 539,771 Americans
Peak year
1957
37 babies that year
Average age
60
years old
2004 SSA rank
#16,595
Tracked since 1929
Census
Cathlene in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 773 people with the first name Cathlene, which placed it at #15,009 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
#15,009
National first-name rank
People counted
773
773 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
81.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cathlene
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cathlene is White at 81.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.3%) and Black (5.2%). 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 Cathlene 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 Cathlene at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.4% · 629
- Hispanic or Latino5.3% · 41
- Black or African American5.2% · 40
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.9% · 30
- Two or more races2.8% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 11
Popularity
Cathlene: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cathlene from the 1920s through to the 2000s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 270 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cathlene 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 Cathlene during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Cathlenes live
Origin
Meaning and history of Cathlene
Cathlene is a feminine given name of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic name Caitlín, which means "pure" or "unmarried girl." The name Caitlín itself is a diminutive form of the Old Irish name Cáit, which is a pet form of the name Cathan.
The earliest recorded use of the name Cathlene can be traced back to the 16th century in Ireland. It was particularly popular among Irish families, especially those with strong cultural and linguistic ties to the Gaelic tradition. The name's association with purity and innocence made it a favored choice for newborn daughters.
One of the earliest known historical references to the name Cathlene can be found in the Irish Annals, which were chronicles written by medieval Irish monks. These annals documented important events, births, deaths, and other significant occurrences in Ireland during that time period.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Cathlene. One of the earliest recorded was Cathlene Ní Dhúill, an Irish noblewoman who lived in the late 16th century and was known for her patronage of Gaelic poets and scholars. Another notable Cathlene was Cathlene Ní Chionaoith, an Irish harpist and composer who lived in the 17th century and was renowned for her skill in traditional Irish music.
In the 18th century, Cathlene Ní Uallacháin was a prominent Irish poet and storyteller who helped preserve and promote the rich oral traditions of her culture. Cathlene Ní Bhraonáin, born in 1802, was an Irish language scholar and teacher who played a crucial role in the preservation of the Irish language during a time of significant cultural upheaval.
More recently, Cathlene McGuire (1903-1991) was an Irish-American writer and activist who advocated for women's rights and social justice issues. She was a prominent figure in the feminist movement of the mid-20th century and authored several influential works on gender equality and empowerment.
People
Cathlene + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cathlene 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
Cathlene: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cathlene?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 635 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cathlene 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 539,771 US residents.
Is Cathlene a common name?
We classify Cathlene as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 829 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cathlene most popular?
The single biggest year for Cathlene was 1957, when 37 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cathlene is about 60 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Cathlene in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 773 people with the name Cathlene, or 0.26 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,009 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 Cathlene 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 Cathlene?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Cathlene appears almost entirely female. Of the 775 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 Cathlene?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cathlene is White at 81.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.3%) and Black (5.2%). 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 Cathlene most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Cathlene in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.4% (629 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 Cathlene in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Cathlene a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Cathlene 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 Cathlene still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Cathlene 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 Cathlene 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 common is the name Cathlene?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.