Popularity of the name Katherine, 1880–2025
Katherine was at its most popular in 1988, when 11,154 girls were given the name: about 1 in 160 girls born in the U.S. that year, ranking #27. In 2025, 1,670 girls were named Katherine, ranking #186. In all, Social Security counts 650,926 girls named Katherine since 1880. Social Security’s records also list 1,824 boys named Katherine.
- Peak year
- 1988
- Rank in 1988
- #27
- Babies in 1988
- 11,154
- Rank in 2025
- #186
- Total since 1880
- 650,926
Where it stands now
In the past decade the name slipped from #84 in 2015 to #186 in 2025: 3,454 girls got it in 2015, and 1,670 in 2025.
Decade by decade
Its best decade was the 1990s, when 96,885 girls were named Katherine, #27 for the decade. It ranked #54 in the 1880s and #164 in the 2020s so far.
Every 20 years in the records: 502 in 1880 (#53), 1,201 in 1900 (#65), 5,276 in 1920 (#45), 2,709 in 1940 (#91), 5,876 in 1960 (#81), 8,017 in 1980 (#35), 8,109 in 2000 (#33) and 1,991 in 2020 (#136).
Highs and lows
The most girls given the name in a single year was 11,625, in 1990. That is not its peak year: Social Security’s records hold more girls for 1990 than for 1988, so the name’s share of births was smaller. Its best rank in any year was #25, first reached in 1991.
Every year
The table lists every year from 1880 to 2025 in which Social Security recorded at least 5 girls named Katherine, with the name’s rank that year.
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 502 | #53 |
| 1881 | 504 | #52 |
| 1882 | 591 | #52 |
| 1883 | 583 | #56 |
| 1884 | 671 | #55 |
| 1885 | 751 | #50 |
| 1886 | 744 | #54 |
| 1887 | 794 | #53 |
| 1888 | 893 | #56 |
| 1889 | 889 | #56 |
| 1890 | 900 | #59 |
| 1891 | 803 | #62 |
| 1892 | 961 | #60 |
| 1893 | 963 | #62 |
| 1894 | 948 | #64 |
| 1895 | 968 | #65 |
| 1896 | 1,047 | #61 |
| 1897 | 962 | #65 |
| 1898 | 914 | #69 |
| 1899 | 942 | #65 |
| 1900 | 1,201 | #65 |
| 1901 | 890 | #71 |
| 1902 | 1,004 | #68 |
| 1903 | 1,015 | #66 |
| 1904 | 1,128 | #63 |
| 1905 | 1,190 | #63 |
| 1906 | 1,277 | #56 |
| 1907 | 1,413 | #55 |
| 1908 | 1,430 | #55 |
| 1909 | 1,557 | #53 |
| 1910 | 1,752 | #57 |
| 1911 | 1,858 | #55 |
| 1912 | 2,546 | #53 |
| 1913 | 2,794 | #54 |
| 1914 | 3,652 | #48 |
| 1915 | 4,488 | #49 |
| 1916 | 4,801 | #51 |
| 1917 | 4,956 | #49 |
| 1918 | 5,191 | #50 |
| 1919 | 4,846 | #51 |
| 1920 | 5,276 | #45 |
| 1921 | 5,156 | #49 |
| 1922 | 4,827 | #54 |
| 1923 | 4,579 | #60 |
| 1924 | 4,695 | #59 |
| 1925 | 4,240 | #61 |
| 1926 | 3,834 | #72 |
| 1927 | 3,724 | #73 |
| 1928 | 3,398 | #75 |
| 1929 | 3,016 | #84 |
| 1930 | 3,033 | #85 |
| 1931 | 2,624 | #91 |
| 1932 | 2,588 | #95 |
| 1933 | 2,330 | #100 |
| 1934 | 2,388 | #101 |
| 1935 | 2,340 | #103 |
| 1936 | 2,355 | #100 |
| 1937 | 2,484 | #103 |
| 1938 | 2,575 | #105 |
| 1939 | 2,476 | #101 |
| 1940 | 2,709 | #91 |
| 1941 | 3,004 | #85 |
| 1942 | 3,376 | #81 |
| 1943 | 3,616 | #78 |
| 1944 | 3,525 | #77 |
| 1945 | 3,393 | #82 |
| 1946 | 4,197 | #78 |
| 1947 | 4,884 | #76 |
| 1948 | 5,169 | #68 |
| 1949 | 6,039 | #59 |
| 1950 | 6,205 | #58 |
| 1951 | 6,930 | #55 |
| 1952 | 6,891 | #59 |
| 1953 | 6,559 | #63 |
| 1954 | 6,740 | #64 |
| 1955 | 7,239 | #65 |
| 1956 | 7,082 | #67 |
| 1957 | 6,637 | #72 |
| 1958 | 6,433 | #74 |
| 1959 | 6,139 | #79 |
| 1960 | 5,876 | #81 |
| 1961 | 5,632 | #86 |
| 1962 | 5,272 | #83 |
| 1963 | 5,124 | #87 |
| 1964 | 5,074 | #82 |
| 1965 | 4,706 | #79 |
| 1966 | 4,492 | #78 |
| 1967 | 4,560 | #76 |
| 1968 | 4,716 | #75 |
| 1969 | 5,167 | #70 |
| 1970 | 5,443 | #67 |
| 1971 | 5,120 | #67 |
| 1972 | 4,514 | #69 |
| 1973 | 4,420 | #64 |
| 1974 | 4,530 | #62 |
| 1975 | 4,851 | #58 |
| 1976 | 5,051 | #57 |
| 1977 | 6,030 | #44 |
| 1978 | 6,625 | #38 |
| 1979 | 7,464 | #36 |
| 1980 | 8,017 | #35 |
| 1981 | 8,433 | #39 |
| 1982 | 9,179 | #36 |
| 1983 | 9,684 | #34 |
| 1984 | 10,157 | #30 |
| 1985 | 10,128 | #32 |
| 1986 | 10,570 | #28 |
| 1987 | 10,438 | #28 |
| 1988 | 11,154 | #27 |
| 1989 | 11,415 | #26 |
| 1990 | 11,625 | #26 |
| 1991 | 11,495 | #25 |
| 1992 | 11,149 | #27 |
| 1993 | 10,506 | #29 |
| 1994 | 9,586 | #30 |
| 1995 | 8,987 | #30 |
| 1996 | 8,877 | #31 |
| 1997 | 8,518 | #32 |
| 1998 | 8,207 | #33 |
| 1999 | 7,935 | #36 |
| 2000 | 8,109 | #33 |
| 2001 | 7,880 | #35 |
| 2002 | 7,212 | #36 |
| 2003 | 7,126 | #35 |
| 2004 | 6,742 | #35 |
| 2005 | 6,392 | #36 |
| 2006 | 6,295 | #37 |
| 2007 | 5,818 | #39 |
| 2008 | 5,350 | #45 |
| 2009 | 4,432 | #60 |
| 2010 | 3,870 | #70 |
| 2011 | 4,189 | #61 |
| 2012 | 3,953 | #64 |
| 2013 | 3,723 | #77 |
| 2014 | 3,691 | #82 |
| 2015 | 3,454 | #84 |
| 2016 | 3,276 | #91 |
| 2017 | 2,861 | #105 |
| 2018 | 2,677 | #112 |
| 2019 | 2,450 | #120 |
| 2020 | 1,991 | #136 |
| 2021 | 1,821 | #157 |
| 2022 | 1,742 | #166 |
| 2023 | 1,705 | #170 |
| 2024 | 1,746 | #175 |
| 2025 | 1,670 | #186 |
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.