Cathleen
- Gender
- Girl
- Origin
- Irish
- US rank, 2025
- #9,454 for girls
Cathleen is a girls' name of Irish origin. In 2025 it ranked 9,454th for girls in the US (10 babies).
What does Cathleen mean?
Irish
A female given name from Irish, a less common spelling of Kathleen.
From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Is Cathleen a girl's or a boy's name?
Cathleen is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 10 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Cathleen in the UK?
No girls in the UK were given it in 2025, or too few to be listed. Its busiest year was 2009, with 5 girls.
Cathleen in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 | #7,664 |
| 2015 | 4 | #4,951 |
| 2014 | 0 | – |
| 2013 | 0 | – |
| 2012 | 0 | – |
| 2011 | 0 | – |
| 2010 | 1 | #7,520 |
| 2009 | 5 | #4,141 |
| 2008 | 3 | #5,772 |
| 2007 | 1 | #7,017 |
| 2006 | 0 | – |
| 2005 | 3 | #4,976 |
| 2004 | 2 | #6,098 |
| 2003 | 3 | #4,560 |
| 2002 | 0 | – |
| 2001 | 0 | – |
| 2000 | 4 | #3,399 |
| 1999 | 3 | #4,041 |
| 1998 | 0 | – |
| 1997 | 0 | – |
| 1996 | 3 | #3,935 |
How popular is Cathleen in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 9,454th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 10 about 1 in 160,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Too rare to call too few babies to tell
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 10 girls in the US were named Cathleen, making it the 9,454th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 8,948th. Its busiest year was 1958, with 1,159 girls. It first appears in the records in 1896.
Half of all the girls named Cathleen in the US since 1880 were born between 1952 and 1969, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 211 girls in the US were given Cathleen or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #1,024, up from #9,454 for this spelling alone.
- Kathleen 201
- Cathleen 10
Cathleen in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 10 | #9,454 |
| 2024 | 12 | #8,438 |
| 2023 | 7 | #12,192 |
| 2022 | 13 | #8,027 |
| 2021 | 11 | #8,973 |
| 2020 | 11 | #8,948 |
| 2019 | 8 | #11,350 |
| 2018 | 13 | #8,142 |
| 2017 | 18 | #6,527 |
| 2016 | 16 | #7,227 |
| 2015 | 21 | #6,034 |
| 2014 | 27 | #5,023 |
| 2013 | 33 | #4,334 |
| 2012 | 16 | #7,452 |
| 2011 | 29 | #4,806 |
| 2010 | 21 | #6,180 |
| 2009 | 46 | #3,511 |
| 2008 | 44 | #3,644 |
| 2007 | 45 | #3,600 |
| 2006 | 38 | #3,918 |
| 2005 | 42 | #3,505 |
| 2004 | 43 | #3,440 |
| 2003 | 43 | #3,343 |
| 2002 | 52 | #2,850 |
| 2001 | 52 | #2,804 |
| 2000 | 56 | #2,628 |
| 1999 | 74 | #2,070 |
| 1998 | 65 | #2,185 |
| 1997 | 75 | #1,924 |
| 1996 | 77 | #1,879 |
| 1995 | 72 | #1,915 |
| 1994 | 115 | #1,397 |
| 1993 | 109 | #1,458 |
| 1992 | 115 | #1,414 |
| 1991 | 125 | #1,318 |
| 1990 | 129 | #1,261 |
| 1989 | 140 | #1,165 |
| 1988 | 151 | #1,052 |
| 1987 | 162 | #974 |
| 1986 | 178 | #906 |
| 1985 | 189 | #853 |
| 1984 | 177 | #862 |
| 1983 | 177 | #860 |
| 1982 | 203 | #794 |
| 1981 | 197 | #809 |
| 1980 | 186 | #840 |
| 1979 | 214 | #754 |
| 1978 | 220 | #717 |
| 1977 | 270 | #621 |
| 1976 | 214 | #692 |
| 1975 | 261 | #608 |
| 1974 | 317 | #527 |
| 1973 | 367 | #486 |
| 1972 | 428 | #443 |
| 1971 | 534 | #401 |
| 1970 | 636 | #375 |
| 1969 | 670 | #349 |
| 1968 | 612 | #363 |
| 1967 | 734 | #322 |
| 1966 | 831 | #307 |
| 1965 | 886 | #301 |
| 1964 | 1,005 | #288 |
| 1963 | 822 | #327 |
| 1962 | 848 | #322 |
| 1961 | 931 | #302 |
| 1960 | 950 | #304 |
| 1959 | 1,016 | #279 |
| 1958 | 1,159 | #255 |
| 1957 | 1,071 | #264 |
| 1956 | 1,115 | #251 |
| 1955 | 1,008 | #268 |
| 1954 | 870 | #287 |
| 1953 | 817 | #292 |
| 1952 | 877 | #272 |
| 1951 | 772 | #282 |
| 1950 | 759 | #280 |
| 1949 | 733 | #285 |
| 1948 | 653 | #300 |
| 1947 | 568 | #334 |
| 1946 | 356 | #405 |
| 1945 | 311 | #403 |
| 1944 | 287 | #423 |
| 1943 | 199 | #534 |
| 1942 | 182 | #550 |
| 1941 | 136 | #604 |
| 1940 | 116 | #645 |
| 1939 | 85 | #740 |
| 1938 | 64 | #875 |
| 1937 | 61 | #882 |
| 1936 | 45 | #1,039 |
| 1935 | 61 | #884 |
| 1934 | 57 | #905 |
| 1933 | 50 | #973 |
| 1932 | 70 | #816 |
| 1931 | 49 | #995 |
| 1930 | 57 | #971 |
| 1929 | 56 | #959 |
| 1928 | 67 | #896 |
| 1927 | 53 | #1,057 |
| 1926 | 73 | #866 |
| 1925 | 73 | #870 |
| 1924 | 73 | #880 |
| 1923 | 78 | #828 |
| 1922 | 61 | #949 |
| 1921 | 56 | #1,003 |
| 1920 | 51 | #1,038 |
| 1919 | 46 | #1,075 |
| 1918 | 44 | #1,102 |
| 1917 | 41 | #1,110 |
| 1916 | 49 | #979 |
| 1915 | 33 | #1,190 |
| 1914 | 28 | #1,147 |
| 1913 | 24 | #1,120 |
| 1912 | 30 | #919 |
| 1911 | 23 | #898 |
| 1910 | 27 | #831 |
| 1909 | 16 | #1,015 |
| 1908 | 7 | #1,676 |
| 1907 | 13 | #1,092 |
| 1906 | 17 | #895 |
| 1905 | 11 | #1,162 |
| 1904 | 18 | #853 |
| 1903 | 13 | #969 |
| 1902 | 18 | #818 |
| 1901 | 5 | #1,678 |
| 1900 | 6 | #1,722 |
| 1899 | 8 | #1,180 |
| 1898 | 0 | – |
| 1897 | 0 | – |
| 1896 | 8 | #1,213 |
Names like Cathleen
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Connie, Erin, Eileen, Caragh, Ffion, Aoibheann, Cara, Kathleen, Teagan, Caitlin, Raegan, Eireann
Other spellings of Cathleen
Names related to Cathleen
Caitlen, Catelyn, Catelin, Catlin, Cathalina, Catalena, Catlyn
More Irish names
Oscar, Rowan, Rory, Maeve, Finn, Aiden, Ryan, Nolan, Quinn, Orla, Cody, Ronan, Connor, Declan, Casey, Kennedy
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Cathleen: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/cathleen, updated 20 October 2026.