Kathey
Feminine
Kathey takes a pet form and closes it with an ending that belongs to surnames. Bailey, Casey, Harvey, Dudley and Presley all end that way, and the ending has picked up a surname flavor that it carries onto anything it touches. A short affectionate form of a very old name ends up looking, on paper, like a family name.
How old is the name Kathey?
Kathey first appears in US birth records in 1938 — 87 years ago. The typical Kathey alive today was born around 1956, making them about 69 years old. About 1,300 people named Kathey are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Kathey most popular?
Kathey peaked in 1956, reaching #888 nationally. See the whole 1956 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From A Greek name of unknown origin to Kathey
The story of Kathey
One bearer changed a national habit. Catherine of Braganza arrived in England in the sixteen sixties as a Portuguese princess marrying a restored king, bringing a dowry that included Bombay and Tangier and a personal habit that the English court had barely encountered. Tea was known in England but rare, expensive and medicinal; she drank it daily, the court copied her, and within a generation it had become the thing the country is now most associated with. She had a difficult marriage, no surviving children, and a reign spent as a Catholic queen in an aggressively Protestant country, and the thing she is remembered for is a drink. The name she carried was already among the most-used in England and was already being spelled a dozen ways, which is the situation this particular spelling was eventually produced by.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The parent name's origin has never been established. The Greek form appears without explanation, and the meanings offered in reference works are later attempts, the most popular of which was built to justify a spelling that had itself been altered to fit the meaning. The pet form inherits that, and the ending adds nothing. What can be said is that the name is very old, has been in continuous use across Europe, and carries no recoverable sense.
How the name formed
- A Greek name of unknown origin
- Katherine in continuous English use
- Kathy as the dominant twentieth-century pet form
- Kathey, with a surname ending, on American certificates
Related forms: Cathy · Kathi
Pronouncing Kathey
KATH-ee
Two syllables, stress on the first, identical to Kathy and Cathy in speech. The -ey ending is one of four spellings of the same sound, and it is the one most likely to be read as a surname on a form.
Nicknames for Kathey
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
- 1938
- Most girls named
- 1956126 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #888reached in 1956
- Change vs 1976
- +20.0%6 in 1977, from 5
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.
Kathey in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Cathy in French — related form
- Kathi in German — related form
Katheys among us
people named Kathey 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
Kathey 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 universally known and needs no explaining anywhere.
- Kat and Thea are both available and both feel far more current than the full spelling.
- It connects to one of the longest-running names in Europe without being the standard form of it.
- It reads as a pet form to most people, and some will keep asking what it is short for.
- Four spellings of this sound are in circulation and this is among the rarer ones.
- It is closely tied to one mid-century American generation.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Kathey to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Kathey? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Kathey
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Katheys are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,300 people named Kathey are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Kathey in 2025?
- Kathey is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Kathey with classmates?
- Kathey 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 Kathey? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Kathey and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle