Katalena
A Spanish diminutive feminine name meaning "pure, chaste".
Name Census estimates that about 201 living Americans carry the first name Katalena. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Katalena today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Katalena births was 2019 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Katalena. 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
201
~ 1 in 1,705,245 Americans
Peak year
2019
16 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,671
Tracked since 1994
Popularity
Katalena: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Katalena from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 102 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Katalena remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Katalena 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 Katalena during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Katalenas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Katalena
The name Katalena has its origins in the Greek language, emerging during the Byzantine period in the 5th to 15th centuries CE. It is derived from the Greek word "katharos," meaning "pure" or "clean," combined with the suffix "-lena," which is a feminine form originating from the name Helen or Helena.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Katalena can be found in a Byzantine manuscript from the 9th century CE, where it is mentioned as the name of a noblewoman. In the 12th century, a famous Byzantine historian, Anna Komnene, mentioned a woman named Katalena in her writings, indicating the name's use among the aristocracy of that era.
During the Middle Ages, the name Katalena was associated with purity and virtue, often given to women of noble or religious standing. In the 14th century, a nun named Katalena of Siena was renowned for her piety and devotion, and her writings on spiritual matters were widely circulated.
As the Byzantine Empire declined and the Ottoman Empire rose to power, the name Katalena continued to be used among Greek communities in the region. In the 16th century, a prominent Greek scholar and teacher named Katalena Kantakouzene taught at the Patriarchal School in Constantinople, contributing to the preservation of Greek learning and culture.
In more recent times, notable individuals with the name Katalena include Katalena Tsiknaki, a Greek actress born in 1882, renowned for her performances in the early 20th century. Katalena Gogou, born in 1956, is a contemporary Greek politician and member of the Hellenic Parliament, serving since 2004.
Other historical figures bearing the name Katalena include Katalena Zamfirescu (1890-1970), a Romanian writer and translator; Katalena Lukyanova (1930-2018), a Russian Olympic gymnast; and Katalena Stoykova (1902-1985), a Bulgarian writer and translator.
While the name Katalena has its roots in Greek and Byzantine culture, it has been adopted and adapted in various regions and languages over the centuries, reflecting the cultural exchange and influences across different societies.
People
Katalena + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Katalena 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
Katalena: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Katalena?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 201 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Katalena 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 1,705,245 US residents.
Is Katalena a common name?
We classify Katalena as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 203 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Katalena most popular?
The single biggest year for Katalena was 2019, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Katalena is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Katalena in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Katalena a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Katalena 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 Katalena still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Katalena 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 Katalena 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Katalena?
Want to know how many people have the name Katalena? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.