Katilynn
A feminine name of English origin meaning "pure".
Name Census estimates that about 381 living Americans carry the first name Katilynn. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Katilynn today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Katilynn births was 1999 (28 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Katilynn. 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
381
~ 1 in 899,618 Americans
Peak year
1999
28 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2017 SSA rank
#15,011
Tracked since 1989
Census
Katilynn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 306 people with the first name Katilynn, which placed it at #29,088 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
#29,088
National first-name rank
People counted
306
306 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
77.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Katilynn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Katilynn is White at 77.5%. The next largest groups are Black (7.8%) and Hispanic (7.2%). 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 Katilynn 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 Katilynn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White77.5% · 237
- Black or African American7.8% · 24
- Hispanic or Latino7.2% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.3% · 10
- Two or more races2.6% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 5
Popularity
Katilynn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Katilynn from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 176 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Katilynn remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Katilynn 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 Katilynn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Katilynns live
Origin
Meaning and history of Katilynn
The name Katilynn is a relatively modern invention, emerging in the late 20th century as a variant spelling of the more traditional Caitlin or Kaitlyn. Its roots can be traced back to the ancient Celtic languages, where it was derived from the Gaelic words "caid" meaning "pure" and "linn" meaning "pool" or "lake."
While the exact origin and meaning of the name Katilynn are somewhat ambiguous, it is widely believed to have been inspired by the Irish name Caitlín, which itself is a diminutive form of the name Caitríona. This older Gaelic name is thought to mean "pure" or "gracious."
There are no known historical references or famous figures specifically named Katilynn prior to the 20th century, as it is a relatively modern variant spelling. However, the name Caitlin has a rich history dating back to ancient Ireland.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Caitlin can be found in the 8th-century Irish poem "The Lament of the Old Woman of Beare," where it appears as a character's name. In the 12th century, the name gained prominence through the Irish princess and saint Caitlín Ní Bhriain, who lived from 1094 to 1153.
Other notable historical figures with variations of the name include:
1. Caitlín Ní Uallacháin (1796-1877), an Irish poet and storyteller known for preserving traditional Gaelic folklore.
2. Caitlín Maude (1941-1982), an Irish actress and singer who appeared in numerous films and television shows throughout the 1960s and 1970s.
3. Caitlin Thomas (1913-1994), the wife of renowned Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, and an author and dancer in her own right.
4. Caitlyn Jenner (born 1949), the American former Olympic gold medalist and reality television personality.
5. Caitlin Moran (born 1975), a British broadcaster, journalist, and author known for her feminist commentary and memoir "How to Be a Woman."
While the specific spelling "Katilynn" may be a more recent invention, it draws upon a rich cultural heritage rooted in ancient Celtic traditions and the enduring popularity of variations on the name Caitlin throughout the ages.
People
Katilynn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Katilynn 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
Katilynn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Katilynn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 381 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Katilynn 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 899,618 US residents.
Is Katilynn a common name?
We classify Katilynn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 390 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Katilynn most popular?
The single biggest year for Katilynn was 1999, when 28 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Katilynn is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Katilynn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 306 people with the name Katilynn, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,088 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 Katilynn 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 Katilynn?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Katilynn appears almost entirely female. Of the 303 people counted with this name, 99.3% 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 Katilynn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Katilynn is White at 77.5%. The next largest groups are Black (7.8%) and Hispanic (7.2%). 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 Katilynn most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Katilynn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.5% (237 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 Katilynn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Katilynn a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Katilynn 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 Katilynn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Katilynn 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 Katilynn 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 have the name Katilynn?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.