Katy
Pure, chaste or blessed.
Name Census estimates that about 17,546 living Americans carry the first name Katy. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Katy today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Katy births was 1987 (674 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Katy. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Katy with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
18K
~ 1 in 19,535 Americans
Peak year
1987
674 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
1980 SSA rank
#2,467
Tracked since 1880
Census
Katy in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 23,121 people with the first name Katy, which placed it at #1,460 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
#1,460
National first-name rank
People counted
23K
23,121 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
7.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
72.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Katy
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Katy is White at 72.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (16.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.2%). 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 Katy 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 Katy at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.9% · 16,863
- Hispanic or Latino16.4% · 3,796
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.2% · 1,193
- Two or more races2.8% · 646
- Black or African American1.9% · 443
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 180
Gender
Gender distribution for Katy
Out of the 20,891 babies given the name Katy since 1880, 100.0% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Katy as a male name
- Ranked #6,763 in 1980
- 5 male births in 1980
- Peak: 1980 (5 births)
Katy as a female name
- Ranked #2,467 in 2024
- 73 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1987 (674 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Katy appears almost entirely female. Of the 23,113 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Katy: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Katy from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 5,931 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
Katy 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 Katy during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Katys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 47 states and territories. Texas, California, New York recorded the most babies named Katy, while Vermont, Rhode Island, Nevada recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 327 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Katy
The name Katy is an English diminutive form of the name Katherine, derived from the ancient Greek name Aikaterine. Aikaterine is composed of the Greek elements "katharos" meaning "pure" and "hagne" meaning "virginal." The name Katherine was introduced to England from France after the Norman Conquest in 1066. Over time, various shortened forms and nicknames emerged, including Kate, Katie, Katy, and Kitty.
The earliest recorded use of the name Katy can be traced back to the 13th century in England. One of the earliest notable figures with this name was Katy Wiltshire, an English governess and tutor who lived during the 15th century. She was known for her contributions to early childhood education and her writings on teaching methods.
In the 16th century, Katy Stuart was a Scottish noblewoman and lady-in-waiting to Mary, Queen of Scots. She played a significant role in the political intrigues of the time and was a prominent figure in the Scottish court.
During the 17th century, Katy Wilkins, an English Quaker, was known for her advocacy of religious tolerance and her efforts to promote education for women. She established one of the first schools for girls in London and was instrumental in advancing women's rights during that era.
In the 18th century, Katy Austen was an English writer and poet. She is best known for her collection of poems titled "The Seasons of Life," which explored themes of nature, love, and the human experience.
Another notable figure in history was Katy Nightingale, a British nurse who served during the Crimean War in the 1850s. She worked alongside Florence Nightingale and was instrumental in improving the conditions of field hospitals and the care of wounded soldiers.
Throughout history, the name Katy has been associated with various cultural and artistic figures, writers, and notable women who have made significant contributions to their respective fields.
People
Katy + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Katy 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
Katy: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Katy?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 17,546 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Katy 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 19,535 US residents.
Is Katy a common name?
We classify Katy as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 20,891 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Katy most popular?
The single biggest year for Katy was 1987, when 674 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Katy is about 39 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Katy in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 23,121 people with the name Katy, or 7.66 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,460 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 Katy 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 Katy?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Katy appears almost entirely female. Of the 23,113 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Katy?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Katy is White at 72.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (16.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.2%). 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 Katy most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Katy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.9% (16,863 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 Katy in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Katy a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Katy 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 Katy still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Katy 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 Katy 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 Katy?
Find out how many Americans are named Katy on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.