Head to head · Girls' names
Clementine vs Kataleya
#456 vs #458 in 2025
Clementine is a whisker ahead (#456 vs #458 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Clementine is back after a long quiet spell, Kataleya is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Kataleya has the edge.
Each name in full: Clementine · Kataleya
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Clementine leads 5 measures of 6; Kataleya leads 1.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Clementine — back after a long quiet spell. About 9,100 people named Clementine are estimated to be alive in the US today.
Kataleya — climbing the charts fast. About 4,800 people named Kataleya are estimated to be alive in the US today.
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Clementine #485, Kataleya — — Clementine higher
- 1890s: Clementine #530, Kataleya — — Clementine higher
- 1900s: Clementine #574, Kataleya — — Clementine higher
- 1910s: Clementine #533, Kataleya — — Clementine higher
- 1920s: Clementine #639, Kataleya — — Clementine higher
- 1930s: Clementine #690, Kataleya — — Clementine higher
- 1940s: Clementine #838, Kataleya — — Clementine higher
- 1950s: Clementine #1064, Kataleya — — Clementine higher
- 1960s: Clementine #2721, Kataleya — — Clementine higher
- 1970s: Clementine #6751, Kataleya — — Clementine higher
- 1980s: Clementine #7680, Kataleya — — Clementine higher
- 1990s: Clementine #8179, Kataleya — — Clementine higher
- 2000s: Clementine #4107, Kataleya — — Clementine higher
- 2010s: Clementine #998, Kataleya #2112 — Clementine higher
- 2020s: Clementine #531, Kataleya #645 — Clementine higher
Clementine stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Clementine | Kataleya |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #485 | — |
| 1890s | #530 | — |
| 1900s | #574 | — |
| 1910s | #533 | — |
| 1920s | #639 | — |
| 1930s | #690 | — |
| 1940s | #838 | — |
| 1950s | #1064 | — |
| 1960s | #2721 | — |
| 1970s | #6751 | — |
| 1980s | #7680 | — |
| 1990s | #8179 | — |
| 2000s | #4107 | — |
| 2010s | #998 | #2112 |
| 2020s | #531 | #645 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Clementine
mild, merciful, gentle
From the Latin clemens; Clementine is the French feminine of Clement, the name borne by a long line of popes.
Clemens → Clement → Clément → Clémentine → Clementine
How it traveled
The root is the Latin adjective clemens, 'mild' or 'merciful', which gave the Roman name Clemens and then the Christian name Clement — used by popes from late antiquity onward. French added the feminine ending to make Clémentine, and from French it passed into English, German, Italian, Spanish and Polish, each with its own spelling.
Kataleya
From the Cattleya orchid
Two readings sit side by side. The first traces the name to the Cattleya orchid, named by the botanist John Lindley for William Cattley, who cultivated the plants in England in the early nineteenth century — which makes the meaning ornamental rather than linguistic. The second reads Kataleya as an elaboration of Catalina/Katalina, the Spanish and Hungarian forms of Catherine, whose own ancient meaning is itself unsettled. Many families who use the name have both in mind at once.
Cattleya → Cataleya → Kataleya
How it traveled
The orchid came first. Cattleya labiata was described in England in the 1820s and named for its grower, and the genus went on to become one of the most cultivated flowers in the world and the national flower of Colombia, where it grows wild.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Clementine
KLEM-en-teen
Both KLEM-en-teen and KLEM-en-tine (rhyming with 'wine') are in real use; the ballad and the fruit both favor -teen in American English, so expect to state your preference once or twice.
- Clem — The oldest short form; also used for men named Clement, so it reads either way.
- Clemmie — Informal and affectionate, long established in British and American use.
- Tina — Taken from the ending; a standalone given name in its own right.
- Clemmy — Spelling variant of Clemmie, same informal use.
- Also Emmie.
Kataleya
kah-tah-LAY-ah
Stress lands on the third syllable. English speakers often say kat-uh-LAY-uh with a flatter first vowel; Spanish speakers keep the open ah throughout. Both are in ordinary use, and the -leya ending is occasionally read as LEE-ah, which is worth deciding on early.
- Kat — The most portable short form, and a standalone given name in its own right.
- Katie — Long-established as an independent name; carries the full name into very familiar English usage.
- Leya — Takes the back half instead of the front; used on its own as a given name too.
- Kata — Common in Spanish-speaking households, where it also serves Catalina.
- Also Lele.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Clementine if you want…
- a name with fewer syllablesClementine is 3 syllables to Kataleya's 4
- a long American recordClementine was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 30% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 55% for Kataleya
Choose Kataleya if you want…
- a name on the way upup 314 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itKataleya runs 4 syllables, Clementine 3
- a newer arrivalKataleya entered the US charts in 2011
- a name that feels very nowKataleya is climbing the charts fast
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Clementine
Strengths
- A meaning that is not in dispute: mild, merciful, from Latin clemens.
- On the American record continuously since national statistics began — a genuinely old name rather than a recent coinage.
- Spelling almost nobody has to be taught, thanks to the fruit and the song.
To consider
- The song is a comic lament in which Clementine drowns — 'dreadful sorry, Clementine'. Most people only remember the tune, but somebody will sing it at her.
- She will share her name with a supermarket fruit. That makes the spelling easy and the teasing predictable, roughly in equal measure.
- Four syllables asks something of forms, signatures and roll calls, though the short forms take over quickly in practice.
Kataleya
Strengths
- Built entirely from sounds English and Spanish already share, so it survives the crossing between the two languages without being re-pronounced.
- Comes with ready-made short forms — Kat, Katie, Leya — that already exist as names on their own.
- A flower name with a real botanical referent, which gives it a plain answer to the question of what it means.
To consider
- The spelling will need repeating. C or K, one t or two, -eya or -eia — all of these are in circulation, and the form you choose will be guessed wrong a fair amount of the time.
- Its wave in the United States is very recent, so nearly everyone carrying it is a child. There is no generation of grown Kataleyas yet to make the name feel ordinary to adults.
- The best-known Cataleya in popular culture is the assassin at the center of the 2011 film Colombiana. Some people will make the connection; most, especially as years pass, will simply hear the flower.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Clementine
30%chance Clementine feels dated by 2040
Clementine is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
Kataleya
55%chance Kataleya feels dated by 2040
Kataleya is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Clementine and Kataleya in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Clementine and Kataleya?
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Vintage names making a comeback
- Grandmother-chic: 1920s names ready to return
- Victorian names ready for a second century
- The longest comebacks in the records
- all guides
Where Clementine and Kataleya each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Clementine or Kataleya — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Clementine or Kataleya?
- Clementine, in 2025: Clementine ranked #456 with 676 babies; Kataleya ranked #458 with 674 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Clementine or Kataleya?
- Kataleya. Over the last five years Clementine moved up 145 places; Kataleya moved up 314 places.
- Which is the older name, Clementine or Kataleya?
- Clementine was already in use when US records began in 1880; Kataleya entered the US charts in 2011. On the American record, Clementine is the older name.
- How many people are named Clementine and Kataleya?
- About 9,100 people named Clementine are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 4,800 people named Kataleya are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Clementines or Kataleyas in the classroom?
- Clementine will almost certainly be the only one in school. Kataleya will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
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