Kaitlen
A feminine diminutive of Kate, ultimately from the Greek name Katherine, meaning "pure".
Name Census estimates that about 746 living Americans carry the first name Kaitlen. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kaitlen today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kaitlen births was 1998 (51 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kaitlen. 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 Kaitlen with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
746
~ 1 in 459,456 Americans
Peak year
1998
51 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2018 SSA rank
#16,816
Tracked since 1985
Census
Kaitlen in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 739 people with the first name Kaitlen, which placed it at #15,530 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
#15,530
National first-name rank
People counted
739
739 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
71.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kaitlen
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kaitlen is White at 71.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.9%) and Black (6.5%). 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 Kaitlen 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 Kaitlen at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.9% · 531
- Hispanic or Latino11.9% · 88
- Black or African American6.5% · 48
- Two or more races5.5% · 41
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.4% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 13
Popularity
Kaitlen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kaitlen 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 365 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
Kaitlen 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 Kaitlen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kaitlens live
Origin
Meaning and history of Kaitlen
The name Kaitlen originated from the Gaelic language, which was spoken in parts of Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. It is a modern variation of the traditional Gaelic name Caitlín, which itself is derived from the older Irish Gaelic name Caitlín Òg. The name Caitlín Òg translates to "little pure one" or "little battle mighty one," reflecting the strong and virtuous qualities associated with this name.
While the exact origins of the name Kaitlen can be traced back to ancient Gaelic cultures, it is believed to have gained popularity in the late 20th century as a variant spelling of the more traditional Caitlin or Cathleen. This new spelling, Kaitlen, emerged as a way to add a modern twist to the classic Irish name.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Kaitlen or its variant spellings. One of the earliest recorded instances is Caitlín Ní Uallacháin (1566-1626), an Irish noblewoman and patron of the arts who was known for her support of Gaelic poets and scholars during the Elizabethan era.
Another prominent figure was Cathleen ni Houlihan, a mythical figure in Irish folklore who personified Ireland itself. She appeared in several plays and stories written by Irish writers, such as W.B. Yeats and Lady Gregory, during the Irish Literary Revival of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
In more recent times, notable individuals with the name Kaitlen include Kaitlen Rowley (born 1989), an American volleyball player who competed in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, and Kaitlen Osburn (born 1997), an American professional soccer player who currently plays for the Houston Dash in the National Women's Soccer League.
Additionally, Kaitlen Arizmendi (born 1996) is a Mexican-American singer and songwriter known for her participation in the reality singing competition La Banda, and Kaitlen Sandeno (born 1991) is an American stage actress who has performed in various Broadway productions, including "Waitress" and "The Band's Visit."
While the name Kaitlen may have evolved from its traditional Gaelic roots, it continues to carry the essence of strength, purity, and cultural heritage that has been associated with this name for centuries.
People
Kaitlen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kaitlen 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
Kaitlen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kaitlen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 746 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kaitlen 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 459,456 US residents.
Is Kaitlen a common name?
We classify Kaitlen as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 768 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kaitlen most popular?
The single biggest year for Kaitlen was 1998, when 51 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kaitlen is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kaitlen in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 739 people with the name Kaitlen, or 0.24 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,530 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 Kaitlen 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 Kaitlen?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kaitlen appears almost entirely female. Of the 748 people counted with this name, 99.2% 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 Kaitlen?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kaitlen is White at 71.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.9%) and Black (6.5%). 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 Kaitlen most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kaitlen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.9% (531 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 Kaitlen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kaitlen a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kaitlen 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 Kaitlen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kaitlen 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 Kaitlen 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 Kaitlen?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.