Popularity of the name Catherine, 1880–2025
Catherine was at its most popular in 1914, when 6,613 girls were given the name: about 1 in 120 girls born in the U.S. that year, ranking #18. In 2025, 972 girls were named Catherine, ranking #313. In all, Social Security counts 667,789 girls named Catherine since 1880. Social Security’s records also list 1,822 boys named Catherine.
- Peak year
- 1914
- Rank in 1914
- #18
- Babies in 1914
- 6,613
- Rank in 2025
- #313
- Total since 1880
- 667,789
Where it stands now
In the past decade the name slipped from #177 in 2015 to #313 in 2025: 1,807 girls got it in 2015, and 972 in 2025.
Decade by decade
Its best decade was the 1910s, when 65,823 girls were named Catherine, #20 for the decade. It ranked #42 in the 1880s and #315 in the 2020s so far.
Every 20 years in the records: 688 in 1880 (#31), 2,081 in 1900 (#34), 8,878 in 1920 (#21), 4,584 in 1940 (#53), 9,536 in 1960 (#42), 4,080 in 1980 (#77), 3,802 in 2000 (#81) and 1,155 in 2020 (#267).
Highs and lows
The most girls given the name in a single year was 12,056, in 1956. That is not its peak year: Social Security’s records hold more girls for 1956 than for 1914, so the name’s share of births was smaller. Its best rank, #18, came in its peak year.
Every year
The table lists every year from 1880 to 2025 in which Social Security recorded at least 5 girls named Catherine, with the name’s rank that year.
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 688 | #31 |
| 1881 | 635 | #40 |
| 1882 | 726 | #42 |
| 1883 | 853 | #36 |
| 1884 | 874 | #43 |
| 1885 | 846 | #45 |
| 1886 | 916 | #45 |
| 1887 | 967 | #44 |
| 1888 | 1,212 | #42 |
| 1889 | 1,198 | #42 |
| 1890 | 1,232 | #44 |
| 1891 | 1,219 | #41 |
| 1892 | 1,333 | #42 |
| 1893 | 1,336 | #42 |
| 1894 | 1,430 | #41 |
| 1895 | 1,514 | #38 |
| 1896 | 1,594 | #40 |
| 1897 | 1,511 | #42 |
| 1898 | 1,705 | #41 |
| 1899 | 1,628 | #36 |
| 1900 | 2,081 | #34 |
| 1901 | 1,599 | #38 |
| 1902 | 1,896 | #31 |
| 1903 | 1,916 | #32 |
| 1904 | 1,982 | #31 |
| 1905 | 2,198 | #28 |
| 1906 | 2,230 | #26 |
| 1907 | 2,457 | #25 |
| 1908 | 2,750 | #22 |
| 1909 | 2,897 | #23 |
| 1910 | 3,161 | #22 |
| 1911 | 3,565 | #20 |
| 1912 | 4,666 | #21 |
| 1913 | 5,302 | #22 |
| 1914 | 6,613 | #18 |
| 1915 | 8,181 | #19 |
| 1916 | 8,469 | #20 |
| 1917 | 8,689 | #18 |
| 1918 | 8,842 | #20 |
| 1919 | 8,335 | #23 |
| 1920 | 8,878 | #21 |
| 1921 | 8,887 | #23 |
| 1922 | 8,537 | #24 |
| 1923 | 8,437 | #24 |
| 1924 | 8,363 | #27 |
| 1925 | 7,867 | #29 |
| 1926 | 7,469 | #31 |
| 1927 | 7,256 | #31 |
| 1928 | 6,910 | #33 |
| 1929 | 6,277 | #34 |
| 1930 | 6,299 | #35 |
| 1931 | 5,642 | #36 |
| 1932 | 5,449 | #39 |
| 1933 | 4,908 | #44 |
| 1934 | 4,933 | #42 |
| 1935 | 4,698 | #42 |
| 1936 | 4,537 | #44 |
| 1937 | 4,459 | #47 |
| 1938 | 4,525 | #48 |
| 1939 | 4,577 | #49 |
| 1940 | 4,584 | #53 |
| 1941 | 4,884 | #51 |
| 1942 | 5,267 | #49 |
| 1943 | 5,427 | #48 |
| 1944 | 5,256 | #49 |
| 1945 | 5,031 | #50 |
| 1946 | 6,367 | #48 |
| 1947 | 7,889 | #46 |
| 1948 | 8,244 | #41 |
| 1949 | 9,137 | #37 |
| 1950 | 9,655 | #34 |
| 1951 | 10,566 | #34 |
| 1952 | 11,053 | #34 |
| 1953 | 10,849 | #35 |
| 1954 | 11,079 | #32 |
| 1955 | 11,636 | #28 |
| 1956 | 12,056 | #28 |
| 1957 | 11,151 | #37 |
| 1958 | 10,769 | #38 |
| 1959 | 10,025 | #40 |
| 1960 | 9,536 | #42 |
| 1961 | 9,251 | #48 |
| 1962 | 8,697 | #53 |
| 1963 | 8,294 | #53 |
| 1964 | 8,237 | #54 |
| 1965 | 7,243 | #57 |
| 1966 | 6,962 | #54 |
| 1967 | 6,345 | #55 |
| 1968 | 6,129 | #56 |
| 1969 | 6,094 | #58 |
| 1970 | 6,004 | #59 |
| 1971 | 5,337 | #65 |
| 1972 | 4,686 | #65 |
| 1973 | 4,261 | #67 |
| 1974 | 4,184 | #73 |
| 1975 | 3,936 | #73 |
| 1976 | 3,780 | #72 |
| 1977 | 3,840 | #75 |
| 1978 | 3,958 | #72 |
| 1979 | 3,878 | #78 |
| 1980 | 4,080 | #77 |
| 1981 | 4,057 | #73 |
| 1982 | 4,098 | #73 |
| 1983 | 4,252 | #66 |
| 1984 | 4,240 | #69 |
| 1985 | 4,297 | #65 |
| 1986 | 4,242 | #67 |
| 1987 | 4,108 | #74 |
| 1988 | 4,504 | #69 |
| 1989 | 4,559 | #67 |
| 1990 | 4,894 | #71 |
| 1991 | 4,815 | #72 |
| 1992 | 4,536 | #78 |
| 1993 | 4,475 | #75 |
| 1994 | 4,102 | #84 |
| 1995 | 3,860 | #90 |
| 1996 | 3,739 | #95 |
| 1997 | 3,591 | #96 |
| 1998 | 3,350 | #101 |
| 1999 | 3,401 | #98 |
| 2000 | 3,802 | #81 |
| 2001 | 3,731 | #81 |
| 2002 | 3,292 | #101 |
| 2003 | 3,231 | #106 |
| 2004 | 3,181 | #103 |
| 2005 | 2,985 | #109 |
| 2006 | 2,793 | #121 |
| 2007 | 2,472 | #142 |
| 2008 | 2,323 | #148 |
| 2009 | 1,892 | #176 |
| 2010 | 1,612 | #193 |
| 2011 | 1,937 | #161 |
| 2012 | 1,913 | #165 |
| 2013 | 1,868 | #170 |
| 2014 | 1,945 | #170 |
| 2015 | 1,807 | #177 |
| 2016 | 1,669 | #195 |
| 2017 | 1,584 | #198 |
| 2018 | 1,507 | #205 |
| 2019 | 1,312 | #241 |
| 2020 | 1,155 | #267 |
| 2021 | 1,005 | #323 |
| 2022 | 981 | #328 |
| 2023 | 933 | #331 |
| 2024 | 956 | #322 |
| 2025 | 972 | #313 |
How these numbers are counted
Social Security publishes, for every year since 1880, how many babies of each sex were given each name, counting any name given to at least 5. A name’s rank is its place that year among names for the same sex, by number of babies. Names with the same count share a rank here, while Social Security’s own lists break ties alphabetically, so a rank can differ from theirs by a place or two. A name’s share is the number of babies given it divided by all babies of that sex in the data that year, and its peak is the year that share was highest. Shares rather than counts set the peak, because far more babies were born in some years than others: counting babies alone would pull nearly every name’s peak toward the 1946–1964 baby boom.
Source: the U.S. Social Security Administration’s national baby name data, from Social Security card applications for babies born in the U.S. A name is left out of a year when fewer than 5 babies of one sex got it, and counts before about 1937 are incomplete, because many people born then never applied for a card. See how Baby Boom builds its data. Figures may contain errors.