How common is the name Katherine?

470,588 people in the United States have the first name Katherine, about 1 in 642. It ranks #96 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

KATHERINE

#96

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
470,588
About
1 in 642
This common or more
29.7%
Who bears it

Of the 470,588 people named Katherine, 79.2% reported their origin as White, 11.3% as Hispanic or Latino and 3.1% as Asian or Pacific Islander. Virtually all are female (99.9%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Katherine peaked in 1990, when 11,657 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
18802025
Peak year
1990
Births that year
11,657
In 2025*
1,670 ▼86%
Recorded as
almost entirely female

At least 652,750 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Katherine by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1990s, when it ranked #68. The largest share of babies named Katherine, 25.1%, were born between 1981 and 1996, as millennials.

1880s#786,927
1890s#839,413
1900s#8212,139
1910s#8836,965
1920s#11142,911
1930s#17525,332
1940s#14840,042
1950s#12067,002
1960s#14650,775
1970s#11454,251
1980s#7699,625
1990s#6897,053
2000s#10365,475
2010s#20334,165
2020s#38610,675
Before 19012.7%
Greatest Generation 1901–2712.9%
Silent Generation 1928–457.9%
Baby boom 1946–6417.5%
Generation X 1965–8013.2%
Millennials 1981–9625.1%
Generation Z 1997–1215.7%
2013 and later5%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Katherine is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Katherine has been most common in Alaska (1.7×), District of Columbia (1.7×), and New Hampshire (1.6×), and least common in Oklahoma (0.78×).

622,247 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Either side of Katherine

#94 Heather · 473,464#95 Carlos · 473,046#97 Julie · 467,484#98 Debra · 465,857

Spelled almost the same

8 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Katherine, most common first.

#1,269 Katharine · 29,372#2,329 Kathrine · 10,914#2,390 Katheryn · 10,471#2,607 Katerina · 9,171#4,506 Katherin · 4,109#4,768 Katharina · 3,803#5,329 Kathryne · 3,247#7,178 Katerine · 2,148

Also a last name

As a last name, Katherine ranks #71,480 of 156,621, with 294 people. See Katherine as a last name

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