Catrena
Anglicized variant of the Latin name "Catrina", meaning "pure" or "innocent".
Name Census estimates that about 328 living Americans carry the first name Catrena. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Catrena today is around 50 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Catrena births was 1972 (29 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Catrena. 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
328
~ 1 in 1,044,983 Americans
Peak year
1972
29 babies that year
Average age
50
years old
1996 SSA rank
#10,773
Tracked since 1962
Census
Catrena in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 328 people with the first name Catrena, which placed it at #27,731 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
#27,731
National first-name rank
People counted
328
328 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
60.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Catrena
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Catrena is Black at 60.1%. The next largest groups are White (29.6%) and Hispanic (5.8%). 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 Catrena 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 Catrena at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American60.1% · 197
- White29.6% · 97
- Hispanic or Latino5.8% · 19
- Two or more races4.0% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 2
Popularity
Catrena: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Catrena from the 1960s through to the 1990s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 176 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Catrena 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 Catrena during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Catrenas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Catrena
The name Catrena is a feminine given name with origins in the Gaelic language. It is derived from the Irish Gaelic word "catrena," which means "little Catherine." The name Catherine itself is derived from the Greek name "Katharina," meaning "pure."
In the early Middle Ages, the name Catrena emerged as a diminutive form of Catherine, particularly popular in Ireland and Scotland. It was often used as a pet name or nickname for those named Catherine, reflecting the endearment and affection associated with its diminutive form.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Catrena can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the 17th century. The annals mention a woman named Catrena Ní Dhomhnaill, who lived in the 15th century and was a member of the prominent O'Donnell clan in Ulster.
Throughout history, several notable women have borne the name Catrena. In the 16th century, Catrena Cavanagh was a prominent Irish noblewoman and chieftain's wife in County Wexford. In the 18th century, Catrena MacGregor was a celebrated Scottish poet and songwriter, known for her contributions to the Gaelic literary tradition.
In the 19th century, Catrena Byrne was an Irish-American activist and philanthropist who dedicated her life to improving the lives of immigrants in New York City. She founded several charitable organizations and was recognized for her efforts in promoting education and social welfare.
Another noteworthy figure was Catrena MacDonald, a Scottish suffragette and women's rights advocate in the early 20th century. She played a significant role in the fight for women's suffrage and worked tirelessly to promote gender equality.
While the name Catrena has its roots in the Gaelic tradition, it has also been adopted and used in various other cultures and regions over time, although its usage has remained relatively rare compared to its parent name, Catherine.
People
Catrena + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Catrena 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
Catrena: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Catrena?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 328 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Catrena 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 1,044,983 US residents.
Is Catrena a common name?
We classify Catrena as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 365 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Catrena most popular?
The single biggest year for Catrena was 1972, when 29 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Catrena is about 50 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Catrena in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 328 people with the name Catrena, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #27,731 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 Catrena 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 Catrena?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Catrena appears almost entirely female. Of the 326 people counted with this name, 99.4% 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 Catrena?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Catrena is Black at 60.1%. The next largest groups are White (29.6%) and Hispanic (5.8%). 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 Catrena most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Catrena in the 2020 Census, accounting for 60.1% (197 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 Catrena in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Catrena a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Catrena 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 Catrena still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Catrena 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 Catrena 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 called Catrena?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.