Kattie
A feminine diminutive of Katherine, a French variant of the Greek name Aikaterine.
Name Census estimates that about 2,474 living Americans carry the first name Kattie. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kattie today is around 47 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kattie births was 1924 (95 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kattie. 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
2.5K
~ 1 in 138,543 Americans
Peak year
1924
95 babies that year
Average age
47
years old
2022 SSA rank
#11,708
Tracked since 1880
Census
Kattie in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,156 people with the first name Kattie, which placed it at #7,152 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
#7,152
National first-name rank
People counted
2.2K
2,156 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
55.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kattie
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kattie is White at 55.8%. The next largest groups are Black (24.8%) and Hispanic (12.6%). 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 Kattie 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 Kattie at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White55.8% · 1,203
- Black or African American24.8% · 534
- Hispanic or Latino12.6% · 271
- Two or more races3.8% · 83
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.2% · 47
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 18
Popularity
Kattie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kattie from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 785 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kattie 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 Kattie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Katties live
The SSA's state-level files cover 20 states and territories. Mississippi, North Carolina, Alabama recorded the most babies named Kattie, while Virginia, Massachusetts, Kentucky recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 121 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kattie
The given name Kattie is a diminutive form of the name Katherine, which has its origins in the Greek name Aikaterine. This ancient Greek name is derived from the words "katharos" meaning "pure" and "agon" meaning "struggle" or "battle." The name thus signifies "pure struggle" or "pure victor."
In the early Christian era, the name Katherine gained popularity as it was borne by a 4th century saint and martyr, Saint Catherine of Alexandria. Her saintly legend and unwavering faith in the face of persecution contributed to the widespread use of the name throughout medieval Europe.
The earliest recorded instances of the diminutive form Kattie can be traced back to the 16th century in England and Scotland. This spelling variation emerged as a natural shortening and anglicization of the longer name Katherine.
One of the earliest known historical figures with the name Kattie was Kattie Leith, a Scottish noblewoman born in the late 16th century. She was the daughter of John Leith of Overhall and played a notable role in the political intrigues of her time.
Another notable Kattie was Kattie Bailie, a 17th-century Scottish merchant and philanthropist from Edinburgh. She is remembered for her charitable contributions, particularly towards the establishment of schools and hospitals in her hometown.
In the 18th century, Kattie Ferguson, a Scottish poet and lyricist, gained recognition for her poetic works celebrating the beauty of her native land. She was born in 1737 and her compositions were widely published and admired during her lifetime.
Moving into the 19th century, Kattie Barry, an Irish author and journalist, made her mark with her vivid depictions of life in Victorian-era Dublin. She was born in 1823 and her writings provided valuable insights into the social and cultural fabric of her time.
Another noteworthy figure was Kattie Wilkins, an American suffragist and activist born in 1859. She played a pivotal role in the women's suffrage movement and fought tirelessly for equal rights and representation for women in the United States.
While the name Kattie may have waned in popularity in recent times, its rich history and connection to remarkable individuals throughout the centuries have left an indelible mark on the tapestry of human experience.
People
Kattie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kattie 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
Kattie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kattie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,474 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kattie 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 138,543 US residents.
Is Kattie a common name?
We classify Kattie 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, 5,585 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kattie most popular?
The single biggest year for Kattie was 1924, when 95 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kattie is about 47 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kattie in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,156 people with the name Kattie, or 0.71 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,152 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 Kattie 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 Kattie?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kattie appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,149 people counted with this name, 99.9% 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 Kattie?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kattie is White at 55.8%. The next largest groups are Black (24.8%) and Hispanic (12.6%). 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 Kattie most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kattie in the 2020 Census, accounting for 55.8% (1,203 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 Kattie in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kattie a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kattie 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 Kattie still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kattie 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 Kattie 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 are named Kattie?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.