How common is the name Kathryn?

316,032 people in the United States have the first name Kathryn, about 1 in 956. It ranks #162 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

KATHRYN

#162

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
316,032
About
1 in 956
This common or more
37.9%
Who bears it

Of the 316,032 people named Kathryn, 91.5% reported their origin as White, 2.9% as Hispanic or Latino and 2.4% as two or more races. Virtually all are female (99.9%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Kathryn peaked in 1952, when 8,517 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
18802025
Peak year
1952
Births that year
8,517
In 2025*
381 ▼96%
Recorded as
almost entirely female

At least 456,515 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.

Kathryn by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1980s, when it ranked #107. The largest share of babies named Kathryn, 28.1%, were born during the baby boom (1946–1964).

1880s#1503,276
1890s#1245,660
1900s#1138,333
1910s#10829,280
1920s#14333,868
1930s#20322,672
1940s#12844,683
1950s#10877,933
1960s#17144,988
1970s#16936,562
1980s#10762,723
1990s#15747,237
2000s#28526,359
2010s#65110,199
2020s#1,2502,742
Before 19012.1%
Greatest Generation 1901–2714.4%
Silent Generation 1928–4510.5%
Baby boom 1946–6428.1%
Generation X 1965–8013.4%
Millennials 1981–9620.4%
Generation Z 1997–129.1%
2013 and later2%

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 Kathryn is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Kathryn has been most common in Iowa (1.6×), Minnesota (1.6×), and Nebraska (1.5×), and least common in Nevada (0.62×).

437,180 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 Kathryn

#160 Grace · 322,614#161 Ana · 321,854#163 Jamie · 312,010#164 Isabella · 309,067

Spelled almost the same

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

#2,329 Kathrine · 10,914#2,390 Katheryn · 10,471#4,506 Katherin · 4,109#5,329 Kathryne · 3,247#6,662 Kateryna · 2,384#6,696 Kathyrn · 2,367#7,202 Katrin · 2,139#7,807 Kathern · 1,909

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