Kathlene
Feminine · “pure”
Kathlene is what happens when a very productive ending meets a name that already ended the same way. Kathleen finishes on an -een; the American -ene was attaching itself to everything in those decades, and it went ahead and attached itself here too, replacing a sound with an identical one.
How old is the name Kathlene?
Kathlene first appears in US birth records in 1913 — 112 years ago. The typical Kathlene alive today was born around 1960, making them about 65 years old. About 2,800 people named Kathlene are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Kathlene most popular?
Kathlene peaked in 1950, reaching #792 nationally. See the whole 1950 chart.
Where it comes from
From Caitlin to Kathlene
The story of Kathlene
The name's American history runs the opposite way from what people assume. Kathleen was not a common Irish name that emigrants brought over; it was rare in Ireland for most of the nineteenth century and became common there partly because of the Gaelic revival and partly because it came back across the Atlantic already popular. America made it a standard name first. Once it was standard, American spelling did what it does, and the record fills with Kathlene, Kathaleen, Cathleen and Kathlyn, each of them applying a familiar ending to a name whose own ending was already doing the job.
Meaningscholars disagree
pure
The Katherine names are traditionally read as pure, from a Greek word, but that reading was attached long after the name was in use and the original has no agreed source.
How the name formed
- Caitlin
- Kathleen
- Kathlene
Related forms: Caitlin · Kathleen · Cathleen
Pronouncing Kathlene
kath-LEEN
Two syllables with the weight at the back. The -ene and -een endings are said identically, which is what allowed the substitution in the first place.
Nicknames for Kathlene
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
- 1913
- Most girls named
- 1950120 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #792reached in 1950
- Change vs 2007
- +33.3%8 in 2014, from 6
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.
Kathlene in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Caitlin in Irish — related form
- Kathleen in English — spelling variant
- Cathleen in Scottish — spelling variant
Kathlenes among us
people named Kathlene 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
Kathlene 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
- Said aloud it is completely familiar and needs no explanation.
- It carries the largest set of ready short forms in English.
- It is read correctly at sight by anyone who has met the standard spelling.
- Kathleen is the standard spelling and will be written instead, every time.
- The ending change alters no sound at all, so the difference exists only on paper.
- It reads as a name of the first half of the twentieth century.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Kathlene 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 Kathlene? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Kathlene
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Kathlenes are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,800 people named Kathlene are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Kathlene in 2025?
- Kathlene is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Kathlene with classmates?
- Kathlene 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 Kathlene? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Kathlene 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