Katelyn
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly meaning "pure".
Name Census estimates that about 130,614 living Americans carry the first name Katelyn. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Katelyn today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Katelyn births was 1993 (5,975 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Katelyn. 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.
Key insights
- • Although Katelyn is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 157 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • Compared to the 1990s, recent registration numbers for Katelyn have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
131K
~ 1 in 2,624 Americans
Peak year
1993
5,975 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2013 SSA rank
#931
Tracked since 1970
Gender
Gender distribution for Katelyn
Out of the 133,974 babies given the name Katelyn since 1880, 99.9% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Katelyn as a male name
- Ranked #13,118 in 2013
- 5 male births in 2013
- Peak: 2004 (28 births)
Katelyn as a female name
- Ranked #931 in 2024
- 283 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1993 (5,975 births)
Popularity
Katelyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Katelyn from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 52,863 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
Katelyn 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 Katelyn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Katelyns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, Texas, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Katelyn, while District of Columbia, Wyoming, Hawaii recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 2,607 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Katelyn
The name Katelyn is an anglicized form of the Irish name Caitlin, which is derived from the ancient Irish Gaelic name Caitlín. The name's roots can be traced back to the late 8th century in Ireland, where it originated as a pet form of the Gaelic name Caitlíona. Caitlíona is a compound name composed of the elements "caith" meaning "pure" and the diminutive suffix "-lín".
While the name Caitlin has a long history in Ireland, the spelling variation Katelyn is a more recent development that emerged in the English-speaking world. The earliest recorded use of the name Katelyn dates back to the late 19th century, likely influenced by the growing popularity of Irish names and cultural elements in the United States and other English-speaking countries.
One of the earliest known Katelyns was Katelyn Mallory, an American author and journalist born in 1888. She wrote several novels and short stories during the early 20th century. Another notable Katelyn was Katelyn Thomas, a British actress born in 1912, who appeared in numerous stage productions and films throughout the 1930s and 1940s.
In the world of literature, the name Katelyn gained recognition through the character Katelyn Kinnian, the protagonist of the popular fantasy novel series "The Chronicles of Katelyn Kinnian" by author Samantha Sommersby. The first book in the series was published in 1995.
Moving to the realm of sports, Katelyn Ohashi, an American former artistic gymnast, gained widespread attention in 2019 for her perfect 10 floor routine that went viral on social media. She was born in 1997 and competed for the UCLA Bruins gymnastics team.
Another famous Katelyn is Katelyn Tuohy, an American long-distance runner who has set numerous national records in high school and youth competitions. Born in 2002, she has already established herself as one of the most promising young talents in the sport.
While the name Katelyn has gained popularity in recent decades, its origins can be traced back to the rich cultural heritage of Ireland, where it has been a part of the linguistic and naming traditions for centuries.
People
Katelyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Katelyn 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
Katelyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Katelyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 130,614 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Katelyn 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 2,624 US residents.
Is Katelyn a common name?
We classify Katelyn as "Common". It ranks above 99.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 133,974 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Katelyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Katelyn was 1993, when 5,975 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Katelyn is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Katelyn a female name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Katelyn 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.
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.