Kathy
Feminine
Kathy is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 334,131 girls against 739 boys since 1880. See Kathy as a boy name
Kathy is a short form that has done a century of work as a full name, and it is recorded here for boys as well as girls. The name behind it is one of the most productive in English: the list of short forms it has thrown off runs to ten or more.
How old is the name Kathy?
Kathy first appears in US birth records in 1910 — 115 years ago. The typical Kathy alive today was born around 1959, making them about 66 years old. About 282,000 people named Kathy are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Kathy most popular?
Kathy peaked in 1958, reaching #14 nationally. Today it ranks #3249, 3,235 places below that high. See the whole 1958 chart.
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Kathy
Count them: Kate, Katie, Kathy, Cathy, Kit, Kitty, Kay, Cass, Cassie, Trina, Rina, Karen in some countries and Catalina's own set in others. Very few names manage that. The reason is structural: three or four syllables with several stressable pieces, each of which can be cut out and given an ending, and eight hundred years of constant use in which to do it. Several of those short forms have become independent names that most people no longer connect to the original, which is how a family can end up with a Katherine and a Kay without noticing they have used one name twice.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The name behind it has no settled meaning; the reading usually given comes from a Greek word attached to it later by resemblance. This short form is recorded on its own and the record does not explain its use for both sexes.
Pronouncing Kathy
KATH-ee
Two syllables with the stress in front. There is nothing in it to get wrong.
Nicknames for Kathy
Limited
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
- 1910
- Most girls named
- 195921,814 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #14reached in 1958
- Change vs 2023
- −20.0%48 in 2025, from 60
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.
Kathy in other languages
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York.
Kathys among us
people named Kathy are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 33,485 born in 2025 was named Kathy
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Kathy
- #3249
- Kathy on the 2025 chart
- #900
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Kathy went to 48 girls in 2025, but Cathy is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 60, which makes it the 900th most-given girls’ name of the year — 2,349 places above the chart.
- Kathy48
- Cathy12
About 1 girl in 26,788 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 33,485 for Kathy itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Rose test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Kathy's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Rose climbed just as high around 1911, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Rose's path sketches the road Kathy is walking now.
Kathy sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Kathy is headed
Kathy should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Kathy beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Kathy in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It is warm and instantly understood, which very few names manage on a first hearing.
- Five letters and two syllables, never misspelled after one telling.
- It is recorded for boys and for girls, so it does not force a reading on anyone.
- Cathy is equally common, so the name will be written both ways by other people for life.
- It reads as a short form to some people, so formal settings will ask what it stands for.
- In America it reads as belonging to an older generation, which is either the appeal or the obstacle.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Kathy 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 Kathy? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Kathy
Feminine · #3249 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Kathys are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 282,000 people named Kathy are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Kathy?
- Kathy is the most-used spelling in US records — 48 of the 60 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Cathy.
- How popular is the name Kathy in 2025?
- Kathy ranks #3249 among US girl names in 2025, with 48 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Kathy?
- About 1 in every 33,485 US girls born in 2025 was named Kathy — 48 in all.
- Will my child share the name Kathy with classmates?
- Kathy will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Kathy
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Aisley#3249 · Quinley#3249 · Rosetta#3249 · Avalee#3249 · Unknown#3249 · Livi#3249 · Delina#3249 · Aniah#3249
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Kathy? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Kathy 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