Kathlene
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "pure, chaste".
Name Census estimates that about 2,440 living Americans carry the first name Kathlene. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kathlene today is around 59 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kathlene births was 1950 (120 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kathlene. 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
2.4K
~ 1 in 140,473 Americans
Peak year
1950
120 babies that year
Average age
59
years old
2014 SSA rank
#12,493
Tracked since 1913
Popularity
Kathlene: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kathlene from the 1910s through to the 2010s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 876 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kathlene 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 Kathlene during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kathlenes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 18 states and territories. California, Michigan, Ohio recorded the most babies named Kathlene, while Missouri, Minnesota, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 53 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kathlene
The name Kathlene is a feminine given name derived from the Greek name Katherine, which itself is derived from the Greek word "katharos," meaning "pure" or "clear." The name Katherine was popularized during the Middle Ages, particularly after the establishment of the St. Catherine's Monastery on Mount Sinai in the 6th century.
The variant spelling "Kathlene" is believed to have originated in Ireland during the 19th century, possibly as a result of the anglicization of the Irish name Caitlín, which is the Irish form of the name Catherine. This spelling was likely adopted to make the name more easily pronounceable for English speakers.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Kathlene can be found in the 1891 Irish census, where a small number of individuals were recorded with this spelling. However, the name did not gain widespread popularity until the 20th century.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Kathlene. One of the earliest was Kathlene MacKay (1824-1898), a Scottish author and poet who wrote under the pen name "Norah Holland." Another was Kathlene Vermillion (1885-1960), an American actress and vaudeville performer known for her role in the 1919 film "Yankee Doodle in Berlin."
Kathlene Mallory (1901-1977) was an American tennis player who won eight Grand Slam singles titles between 1926 and 1927. Kathlene Holm (1918-2003) was a Norwegian-American actress and singer best known for her role in the 1948 film "The Naked City."
More recently, Kathlene Fox (born 1955) is an American political scientist and author who has written extensively on issues related to gender and politics. She is currently a professor at the University of Colorado Boulder.
While the name Kathlene has never been among the most popular baby names, it has maintained a consistent presence throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, particularly in Ireland, the United States, and other English-speaking countries.
People
Kathlene + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kathlene 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
Kathlene: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kathlene?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,440 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kathlene 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 140,473 US residents.
Is Kathlene a common name?
We classify Kathlene as "Rare". It ranks above 94.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,500 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kathlene most popular?
The single biggest year for Kathlene was 1950, when 120 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kathlene is about 59 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Kathlene a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kathlene 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.