Kathye
Of Greek origin, meaning "pure" or "innocent".
Name Census estimates that about 224 living Americans carry the first name Kathye. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kathye today is around 71 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kathye births was 1954 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kathye. 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
- • The typical person named Kathye is about 71 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Kathyes were born before 1965.
People living today
224
~ 1 in 1,530,153 Americans
Peak year
1954
25 babies that year
Average age
71
years old
1970 SSA rank
#8,606
Tracked since 1942
Census
Kathye in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 329 people with the first name Kathye, which placed it at #27,678 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
#27,678
National first-name rank
People counted
329
329 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
75.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kathye
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kathye is White at 75.7%. The next largest groups are Black (16.4%) and Hispanic (4.9%). 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 Kathye 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 Kathye at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.7% · 249
- Black or African American16.4% · 54
- Hispanic or Latino4.9% · 16
- Two or more races2.4% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 2
Popularity
Kathye: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kathye from the 1940s through to the 1970s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 195 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
Kathye 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 Kathye during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kathye
Kathye is a feminine given name with its origins in ancient Greek culture. It is derived from the Greek word "katharos," which means "pure" or "clear." The name was initially used to denote a person with a virtuous or unblemished character.
During the classical era of ancient Greece, the name Kathye was relatively uncommon. However, it gained popularity in the Byzantine period, particularly among Christian communities in the eastern Mediterranean region. The name was often associated with religious figures and saints revered for their piety and devotion.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kathye can be found in the hagiographies (biographies of saints) from the 5th century AD. Saint Kathye of Alexandria, a Christian martyr from the early 4th century, is perhaps the most notable historical figure bearing this name. Her unwavering faith and resistance to renounce Christianity during the persecution of Christians under the Roman Emperor Maximinus Daza earned her widespread veneration.
In the Middle Ages, the name Kathye was prevalent in various regions of Europe, particularly in areas influenced by Byzantine and Greek culture. Several notable women from this period bore the name, including Kathye of Siena (1347-1380), an Italian philosopher, theologian, and author renowned for her mystical writings and her influential role in the Avignon Papacy.
During the Renaissance, the name Kathye gained further recognition through the works of renowned artists and scholars. Kathye Cornaro (1454-1510), a Venetian noblewoman and the last Queen of Cyprus, was a prominent figure who patronized the arts and literature. Another notable figure was Kathye Parr (1512-1548), the sixth and final wife of King Henry VIII of England, who played a significant role in the English Reformation and the promotion of Protestant ideals.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, the name Kathye continued to be used across various cultures and regions. Some notable individuals with this name include Kathye Kollwitz (1867-1945), a German painter, printmaker, and sculptor renowned for her powerful works depicting the struggles of the working class and the horrors of war. Kathye Mansfield (1888-1923) was a renowned New Zealand writer and a pioneer of the modern short story genre.
While the name Kathye has maintained its presence throughout history, its popularity has fluctuated over time and across different cultures. Nevertheless, it continues to evoke associations with purity, virtue, and strength of character, reflecting its rich historical legacy.
People
Kathye + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kathye 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
Kathye: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kathye?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 224 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kathye 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 1,530,153 US residents.
Is Kathye a common name?
We classify Kathye as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 338 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kathye most popular?
The single biggest year for Kathye was 1954, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kathye is about 71 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kathye in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 329 people with the name Kathye, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #27,678 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 Kathye 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 Kathye?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kathye appears almost entirely female. Of the 328 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Kathye?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kathye is White at 75.7%. The next largest groups are Black (16.4%) and Hispanic (4.9%). 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 Kathye most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kathye in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.7% (249 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 Kathye in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kathye a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kathye 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 Kathye still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kathye 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 Kathye 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 share the name Kathye?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.