Catelyn
Feminine · “pure”
Catelyn is caught between two spellings and settles on neither. Caitlin is the Irish form; Katelyn is the American respelling of it. This version takes the C of one and the ending of the other, which leaves it looking like a compromise between a language and a fashion.
How old is the name Catelyn?
Catelyn first appears in US birth records in 1985 — 40 years ago. The typical Catelyn alive today was born around 2003, making them about 22 years old. About 2,300 people named Catelyn are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Catelyn most popular?
Catelyn peaked in 2000, reaching #1869 nationally. See the whole 2000 chart.
Where it comes from
From Caitlín to Catelyn
The story of Catelyn
The ending is the interesting part, because it is Irish wearing an American costume. The Irish diminutive that closes Caitlín is a genuine grammatical ending, and it is stressed: the name ends in a full syllable that carries weight. The American ending spelled -lyn is a different thing entirely, an unstressed decorative tail borrowed from Lynn and hung on the back of dozens of names in the twentieth century. They look nearly identical on paper and they are not the same ending at all. So a name spelled this way carries a real Irish suffix that every English-speaking reader will misidentify as the fashionable American one, and will pronounce accordingly.
Meaningscholars disagree
pure
The chain runs back through Kathleen to Catherine, whose own meaning is not settled: the association with the Greek word for pure is old but is generally treated as a later reinterpretation rather than the source. The sense arrives here at several removes and should not be stated too firmly.
How the name formed
- Caitlín
- Caitlin
- Katelyn
- Catelyn
Related forms: Caitlín · Catherine · Kathleen
Pronouncing Catelyn
KATE-lin
Two syllables with the stress at the front, said as the American versions are said. The Irish original sounds nothing like this, and the spelling gives no hint of that.
Nicknames for Catelyn
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1985
- Most girls named
- 2006108 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1869reached in 2000
- Change vs 2022
- −50.0%5 in 2024, from 10
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Catelyn in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Caitlín in Irish — same name
- Catherine in French — related form
- Kathleen in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas.
Catelyns among us
people named Catelyn are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Catelyn sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It keeps the C that ties it visibly to Catherine and Caitlin.
- The sound is entirely familiar and never needs repeating.
- Cate is a short form with a distinctly different character from the full name.
- Caitlin, Katelyn, Kaitlyn and Katelynn are all common, so the spelling is queried constantly.
- It reads as a compromise rather than as either the Irish name or the American one.
- It is tied closely to the years of its use and carries that period on its face.
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Catelyn
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Catelyns are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,300 people named Catelyn are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Catelyn in 2025?
- Catelyn is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Catelyn with classmates?
- Catelyn will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More C names
The most-given names starting with C, all years combined.
Carol#2239 · Cynthia#1013 · Catherine#313 · Christine#1272 · Carolyn#1222 · Christina#770 · Charlotte#2 · Cheryl#4352
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Catelyn? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Catelyn and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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