Kathy Bates
There are approximately 75 people named Kathy Bates living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 4,570,058 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Kathy with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Bates. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
75
1 in 4,570,058
Named Kathy
248K
Alive today
Named Bates
104K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 248K
Rarity: Common
Gender: Female
Peak year: 1958
Average age: 65
Top Census group: White (84.2%)
Estimated bearers: 104K
Rarity: Common
Census rank: #339
Per 100K: 30.46
Top ancestry: White (72.2%)
First name trend
Kathy: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Kathy. The peak year was 1958 with 23,985 births. The average person named Kathy today is 65 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kathy
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Kathy, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 84.2%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Kathy described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the name Kathy at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White84.2% · 242,577
- Black or African American5.5% · 15,870
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 11,773
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.4% · 9,865
- Two or more races2.1% · 6,080
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 1,884
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Bates surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Bates, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 72.2%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Bates described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the surname Bates at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White72.2% · 65,779
- Black or African American18.6% · 16,938
- Two or more races4.3% · 3,958
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 3,151
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 641
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 590
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Kathy has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0723% of the US population, based on 247,668 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
Even though the Census Bureau now publishes first-name tables, we do not use that file as the main first-name input for this estimate. The latest first-name Census snapshot is from 2020, which makes it 6 years old today. Because Census first-name data is only released once every 10 years, SSA birth records plus CDC survival rates give a better current estimate of how many people are likely alive with the name Kathy right now.
The surname Bates appears at a rate of 30.46 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0305%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 75 people with the full name Kathy Bates. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Kathy
Related
Other people with the surname Bates
FAQ
Kathy Bates: questions and answers
How many people are named Kathy Bates?
We estimate approximately 75 people in the United States share the full name Kathy Bates. That works out to about 1 in 4,570,058 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0723%) with the surname frequency (30.46 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Kathy Bates?
We classify Kathy Bates as "Very Rare". About 1 in 4,570,058 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Kathy a male or female name?
Kathy is predominantly female. Out of 334,823 total SSA registrations, 0.2% were male and 99.8% were female. See the full Kathy profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2020 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.
How common is the name Kathy Bates?
Want to know how common the name Kathy Bates is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.