Kaetlyn
A feminine name derived from Katherine, meaning "pure, clear, virginal".
Name Census estimates that about 524 living Americans carry the first name Kaetlyn. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kaetlyn today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kaetlyn births was 1997 (57 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kaetlyn. 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 Kaetlyn with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
524
~ 1 in 654,111 Americans
Peak year
1997
57 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2019 SSA rank
#16,685
Tracked since 1985
Census
Kaetlyn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 486 people with the first name Kaetlyn, which placed it at #21,031 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
#21,031
National first-name rank
People counted
486
486 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
69.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kaetlyn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kaetlyn is White at 69.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (16.3%) and Two or More Races (7.8%). 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 Kaetlyn 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 Kaetlyn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White69.1% · 336
- Hispanic or Latino16.3% · 79
- Two or more races7.8% · 38
- Black or African American4.7% · 23
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Popularity
Kaetlyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kaetlyn from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 246 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kaetlyn 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 Kaetlyn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kaetlyns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Ohio, Texas recorded the most babies named Kaetlyn, while Texas, Ohio, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 9 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kaetlyn
The name Kaetlyn is a modern English variant of the traditional feminine name Caitlin or Cathleen, which originated from the ancient Irish name Caitlín. This name traces its roots back to the 8th century and is derived from the Gaelic words "cath" meaning "battle" and "lín" meaning "little girl" or "younger daughter."
Historically, the name Caitlín was popular among Irish families, particularly those with ties to the ancient Celtic culture and traditions. It gained wider recognition and usage across Ireland and Scotland during the Middle Ages, with references found in various medieval texts and records.
One of the earliest known mentions of the name Caitlín can be found in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, which records the death of a woman named Caitlín in the year 738 AD. Additionally, the name appears in several Irish legends and folklore, often associated with strong and courageous female characters.
Throughout history, there have been notable individuals who bore the name Caitlín or its variants, including Saint Cathleen of Béara (1454-1542), an Irish nun and mystic; Caitlín Ní Uallacháin (1566-1629), an Irish noblewoman and patron of the arts; and Cathleen ni Houlihan (a personification of Ireland in Irish mythology).
As the name spread beyond Ireland, it evolved into various spellings and pronunciations. One such variant is Kaetlyn, a modern spelling that emerged in the late 20th century, likely influenced by the popularity of alternative spellings and the desire for a unique or distinctive name.
Notable individuals named Kaetlyn include Kaetlyn Osmond (born 1995), a Canadian figure skater and Olympic medalist; Kaetlyn Arizmendi (born 1989), an American singer and songwriter; and Kaetlyn Dembkoski (born 1995), a Canadian ice hockey player.
While the name Kaetlyn may be a relatively recent adaptation, it carries the rich cultural heritage and historical significance of its Irish roots, reflecting the enduring appeal of this ancient name across generations.
People
Kaetlyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kaetlyn as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Kaetlyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kaetlyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 524 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kaetlyn 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 654,111 US residents.
Is Kaetlyn a common name?
We classify Kaetlyn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 536 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kaetlyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Kaetlyn was 1997, when 57 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kaetlyn is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kaetlyn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 486 people with the name Kaetlyn, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #21,031 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 Kaetlyn 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 Kaetlyn?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kaetlyn appears almost entirely female. Of the 492 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Kaetlyn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kaetlyn is White at 69.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (16.3%) and Two or More Races (7.8%). 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 Kaetlyn most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kaetlyn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.1% (336 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 Kaetlyn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kaetlyn a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kaetlyn 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 Kaetlyn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kaetlyn 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 Kaetlyn 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 the name Kaetlyn?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.