Katharyn
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "pure", "chaste", or "virginal".
Name Census estimates that about 989 living Americans carry the first name Katharyn. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Katharyn today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Katharyn births was 1987 (36 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Katharyn. 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
989
~ 1 in 346,567 Americans
Peak year
1987
36 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
2011 SSA rank
#15,778
Tracked since 1881
Popularity
Katharyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Katharyn from the 1880s through to the 2010s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 269 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Katharyn 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 Katharyn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Katharyns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Texas, Illinois recorded the most babies named Katharyn, while Illinois, Texas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 18 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Katharyn
The name Katharyn is derived from the Greek name Katharina, which means "pure" or "clear." It has its roots in the Greek word "katharos," meaning "pure" or "clean." The name Katharina was popular among early Christians, who associated it with spiritual purity and virtue.
Katharyn is an English variation of the name Katharina, which emerged during the Middle Ages. It was commonly used in England and other parts of the British Isles, often spelled as "Catheryn" or "Katheryn." The name gained popularity due to the influence of the Catholic Church and the veneration of St. Catherine of Alexandria, a 4th-century Christian martyr.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Katharyn can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name appears as "Katerina," likely referring to a landowner or tenant at the time.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Katharyn or its variants. One such figure was Katharyn Parr (1512-1548), who was the sixth wife of King Henry VIII of England. She was a prominent figure during the English Reformation and played a significant role in the religious and political affairs of the time.
Another notable Katharyn was Katharyn Kuhlman (1907-1976), an American evangelist and faith healer who gained widespread recognition for her healing crusades in the mid-20th century. Her ministry attracted millions of followers and influenced the Charismatic Christian movement.
In the literary world, Katharyn Forrester Arlinghaus (1929-2022) was an American writer and poet who authored several collections of poetry and received numerous awards for her work, including the Oregon Book Award for Poetry.
Katharyn Howard (c. 1523-1542) was another prominent figure in English history. She was the fifth wife of King Henry VIII and was executed for adultery and treason after a brief marriage to the King.
Katharyn Bigelow (born in 1951) is a contemporary American film director and producer, known for her critically acclaimed films such as "The Hurt Locker" and "Zero Dark Thirty." She became the first woman to win the Academy Award for Best Director for "The Hurt Locker" in 2010.
People
Katharyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Katharyn 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
Katharyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Katharyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 989 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Katharyn 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 346,567 US residents.
Is Katharyn a common name?
We classify Katharyn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 90% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,614 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Katharyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Katharyn was 1987, when 36 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Katharyn is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Katharyn a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Katharyn 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.