first name
KATHLEEN
of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census
Of the 547,321 people named Kathleen, 92.7% reported their origin as White, 2.4% as Hispanic or Latino and 1.7% as Black. Virtually all are female (99.9%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.
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Kathleen peaked in 1951, when 26,749 babies got the name.
At least 715,336 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.
Kathleen by decade
Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1950s, when it ranked #34. The largest share of babies named Kathleen, 54.2%, were born during the baby boom (1946–1964).
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 Kathleen is most common
Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Kathleen has been most common in Massachusetts (2.3×), Rhode Island (2.1×), and Wisconsin (1.9×), and least common in Mississippi (0.26×).
706,153 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 Kathleen
Spelled almost the same
8 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Kathleen, most common first.
Also a last name
As a last name, Kathleen ranks #75,111 of 156,621, with 277 people. See Kathleen as a last name
Compare
🔎 KATHLEEN 🟦🟦🟦⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 1 in 552 Americans More common than 73.5% of us Peaked in 1951 with 26,749 babies Beat that 👇 https://howrareismy.name/first/kathleen/