Kaitlan
Feminine
Kaitlan ends in an where the Irish and the common English spellings both end in in. It is one letter and it changes the last syllable from a reduced hum to something with a vowel in it, which is more than most respellings of this name manage.
How old is the name Kaitlan?
Kaitlan first appears in US birth records in 1982 — 43 years ago. The typical Kaitlan alive today was born around 1994, making them about 31 years old. About 1,100 people named Kaitlan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Kaitlan most popular?
Kaitlan peaked in 1990, reaching #1456 nationally. See the whole 1990 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Aikaterine to Kaitlan
The story of Kaitlan
The surname at one stage of that chain belongs to a painter who spent eight years on the plains. George Catlin gave up law for portraiture, went west in the eighteen-thirties, and painted several hundred portraits and scenes among nearly fifty tribes, at a point when he was convinced correctly that what he was recording would not survive the next generation. He offered the whole collection to Congress, which declined to buy it; he toured it through Europe instead, went bankrupt, and the paintings were seized by a creditor whose family eventually gave them to the nation for nothing. The refusal cost the government a good deal more than the asking price would have.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The chain runs from a Greek name whose meaning has never been recovered, through Latin and French, into Irish, and back into English by ear. Every link is documented and the thing at the far end is not, so the honest answer is that the name has a history rather than a meaning.
How the name formed
- Aikaterine
- Cateline
- Caitlin
- Kaitlan
Related forms: Caitlin
Pronouncing Kaitlan
KAYT-lin
Two syllables with the stress at the front. Irish says the same letters quite differently, because a t between slender vowels is not a t sound in that language at all.
Nicknames for Kaitlan
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
- 1982
- Most girls named
- 1990107 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1456reached in 1990
- Change vs 2009
- 0.0%7 in 2010, from 7
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.
Kaitlan in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Caitlin in Irish — related form
Kaitlans among us
people named Kaitlan 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
Kaitlan 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
- The sound is completely familiar, so nobody has to be taught it.
- Two short forms that are both current and sound nothing alike.
- It is rare in a family of names that is not.
- A dozen spellings of this sound circulate and spelling it out never stops.
- The final an invites a reading that rhymes with plan.
- There is no meaning at the end of the chain to give a child.
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Kaitlan
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Kaitlans are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,100 people named Kaitlan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Kaitlan in 2025?
- Kaitlan is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Kaitlan with classmates?
- Kaitlan will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More K names
The most-given names starting with K, all years combined.
Karen#1279 · Kimberly#302 · Kathleen#1150 · Katherine#186 · Kelly#851 · Kathryn#729 · Kayla#364 · Kathy#3249
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Kaitlan? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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