Katey
A diminutive form of Katherine, from the Greek meaning "pure."
Name Census estimates that about 2,251 living Americans carry the first name Katey. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Katey today is around 33 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Katey births was 1992 (105 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Katey. 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
2.3K
~ 1 in 152,268 Americans
Peak year
1992
105 babies that year
Average age
33
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,740
Tracked since 1949
Popularity
Katey: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Katey from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 782 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
Katey 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 Katey during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kateys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 13 states and territories. California, Texas, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Katey, while Oklahoma, Indiana, Missouri recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 38 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Katey
The name Katey is an English diminutive form of the name Katherine. Katherine itself is derived from the ancient Greek name Aikaterine, which is a combination of the Greek words "katharos" meaning "pure" and "hekatos" meaning "each of the two." The name was likely introduced to England after the Norman Conquest in the 11th century.
In the Middle Ages, the name Katherine became associated with the cult of St. Catherine of Alexandria, an early Christian martyr. St. Catherine was venerated as the patron saint of philosophers, preachers, and theologians, and her legendary life story made the name popular across Europe.
The earliest recorded instance of the name Katey dates back to the 16th century. One notable historical figure with this name was Katey Walker (1804-1872), an American entrepreneur and businesswoman who founded the Madame Walker Manufacturing Company, which produced hair care products and cosmetics for African American women.
Another famous Katey was Katey Sagal (born 1954), an American actress and singer-songwriter best known for her roles in the television series "Married... with Children" and "Sons of Anarchy." She has won numerous awards, including a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
In the world of sports, Katey Martin (born 1984) is a former professional basketball player who played in the WNBA for several teams, including the Minnesota Lynx and the Seattle Storm. She was a member of the U.S. national team that won gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
In literature, Katey Sagal (1936-2020) was an American novelist and short story writer. Her works often explored themes of family, identity, and the immigrant experience. She was a recipient of the prestigious PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction.
Finally, in the field of music, Katey Sagal (1921-2001) was a renowned American jazz singer and songwriter. She was known for her unique vocal style and her collaborations with some of the greatest jazz musicians of her time, including Duke Ellington and Dizzy Gillespie.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Katey
People
Katey + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Katey 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
Katey: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Katey?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,251 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Katey 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 152,268 US residents.
Is Katey a common name?
We classify Katey as "Rare". It ranks above 94.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,359 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Katey most popular?
The single biggest year for Katey was 1992, when 105 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Katey is about 33 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Katey a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Katey 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.