Katee
A feminine variant of the name Katherine, derived from Greek meaning "pure".
Name Census estimates that about 611 living Americans carry the first name Katee. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Katee today is around 33 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Katee births was 1986 (35 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Katee. 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 Katee with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
611
~ 1 in 560,973 Americans
Peak year
1986
35 babies that year
Average age
33
years old
2015 SSA rank
#15,443
Tracked since 1974
Census
Katee in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 644 people with the first name Katee, which placed it at #17,227 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
#17,227
National first-name rank
People counted
644
644 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
81.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Katee
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Katee is White at 81.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.1%) and Hispanic (5.0%). 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 Katee 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 Katee at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.8% · 527
- Two or more races5.1% · 33
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 32
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.5% · 29
- Black or African American2.3% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 8
Popularity
Katee: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Katee from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 220 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
Katee 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 Katee during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Katees live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Michigan, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Katee, while Pennsylvania, Michigan, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 12 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Katee
The name Katee is believed to have its origins in the Greek language, stemming from the Greek name Aikaterine. This name was derived from the Greek words "katharos" meaning "pure" and "hekateros" meaning "each of the two." The name Aikaterine was later adapted and shortened to Katherine in various parts of Europe during the Middle Ages.
The earliest recorded use of the name Katee as a diminutive or shortened form of Katherine can be traced back to the late 16th century in England. It was a popular nickname for Katherine during this time period, as diminutive forms of names were commonly used as terms of endearment or familiarity.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the name Katee was Katee Caton, an English socialite and author who lived from 1779 to 1845. She was known for her wit, charm, and literary talents, and her writings provided insights into the social and cultural life of the Regency era in England.
Another historical figure bearing the name Katee was Katee Sheppard, a pioneering English suffragette who lived from 1847 to 1934. She was a prominent leader in the women's suffrage movement and played a crucial role in the fight for women's right to vote in the United Kingdom.
In the realm of the arts, Katee Sackhoff, an American actress born in 1980, has gained recognition for her roles in various television shows and films, notably her portrayal of Kara "Starbuck" Thrace in the reimagined science fiction series "Battlestar Galactica."
Moving to the world of sports, Katee Kamphuis, a Dutch field hockey player born in 1992, has represented the Netherlands at multiple Olympic Games and won numerous international titles, including gold medals at the 2016 Rio Olympics and the 2018 World Cup.
Lastly, Katee Risley, an American gymnast born in 1998, has made a name for herself in the world of artistic gymnastics. She has competed in numerous national and international competitions, including the 2016 Rio Olympics, where she represented the United States as part of the women's artistic gymnastics team.
While the name Katee has its roots in the Greek language and has been used as a diminutive form of Katherine for centuries, it has also gained popularity as a standalone name in more recent times, particularly in the English-speaking world.
People
Katee + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Katee 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
Katee: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Katee?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 611 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Katee 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 560,973 US residents.
Is Katee a common name?
We classify Katee as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 637 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Katee most popular?
The single biggest year for Katee was 1986, when 35 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Katee is about 33 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Katee in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 644 people with the name Katee, or 0.21 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,227 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 Katee 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 Katee?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Katee appears almost entirely female. Of the 647 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 Katee?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Katee is White at 81.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.1%) and Hispanic (5.0%). 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 Katee most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Katee in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.8% (527 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 Katee in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Katee a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Katee 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 Katee still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Katee 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 Katee 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 Katee as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.