Kato
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- KAH-toh
- US rank, 2025
- #2,641 for boys
Kato is a boys' name. In 2025 it ranked 2,641st for boys in the US (49 babies).
What does Kato mean?
Several sources, including Japanese and Luganda
In Uganda's Buganda tradition Kato is the name given to the second-born twin; Kato is also a common Japanese surname.
Is Kato a girl's or a boy's name?
Kato is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 49 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Kato in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #2,641among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 49about 1 in 35,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Steadydown 4% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 49 boys in the US were named Kato, making it the 2,641st most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 2,466th. Its busiest year was 2022, with 57 boys. It first appears in the records in 1914.
Half of all the boys named Kato in the US since 1880 were born between 2008 and 2021, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 94 boys in the US were given Kato or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #1,542, up from #2,641 for this spelling alone.
- Kato 49
- Cato 45
Kato in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 49 | #2,641 |
| 2024 | 46 | #2,789 |
| 2023 | 50 | #2,613 |
| 2022 | 57 | #2,437 |
| 2021 | 34 | #3,360 |
| 2020 | 52 | #2,466 |
| 2019 | 51 | #2,555 |
| 2018 | 48 | #2,616 |
| 2017 | 31 | #3,514 |
| 2016 | 30 | #3,595 |
| 2015 | 47 | #2,599 |
| 2014 | 34 | #3,232 |
| 2013 | 36 | #3,058 |
| 2012 | 27 | #3,804 |
| 2011 | 20 | #4,657 |
| 2010 | 13 | #6,353 |
| 2009 | 13 | #6,432 |
| 2008 | 15 | #5,762 |
| 2007 | 14 | #5,898 |
| 2006 | 17 | #5,068 |
| 2005 | 9 | #7,633 |
| 2004 | 9 | #7,530 |
| 2003 | 10 | #6,708 |
| 2002 | 0 | – |
| 2001 | 13 | #5,383 |
| 2000 | 5 | #10,341 |
| 1999 | 7 | #7,867 |
| 1998 | 7 | #7,553 |
| 1997 | 6 | #8,104 |
| 1996 | 15 | #4,179 |
| 1995 | 13 | #4,502 |
| 1994 | 10 | #5,446 |
| 1993 | 6 | #7,631 |
| 1992 | 0 | – |
| 1991 | 0 | – |
| 1990 | 0 | – |
| 1989 | 0 | – |
| 1988 | 0 | – |
| 1987 | 0 | – |
| 1986 | 6 | #5,920 |
| 1985 | 0 | – |
| 1984 | 0 | – |
| 1983 | 0 | – |
| 1982 | 0 | – |
| 1981 | 5 | #6,260 |
| 1980 | 10 | #3,837 |
| 1979 | 0 | – |
| 1978 | 5 | #5,769 |
| 1977 | 0 | – |
| 1976 | 0 | – |
| 1975 | 0 | – |
| 1974 | 0 | – |
| 1973 | 6 | #4,503 |
| 1972 | 0 | – |
| 1971 | 0 | – |
| 1970 | 0 | – |
| 1969 | 0 | – |
| 1968 | 0 | – |
| 1967 | 0 | – |
| 1966 | 0 | – |
| 1965 | 0 | – |
| 1964 | 0 | – |
| 1963 | 0 | – |
| 1962 | 0 | – |
| 1961 | 0 | – |
| 1960 | 0 | – |
| 1959 | 0 | – |
| 1958 | 0 | – |
| 1957 | 0 | – |
| 1956 | 0 | – |
| 1955 | 0 | – |
| 1954 | 0 | – |
| 1953 | 0 | – |
| 1952 | 0 | – |
| 1951 | 0 | – |
| 1950 | 0 | – |
| 1949 | 6 | #3,296 |
| 1948 | 0 | – |
| 1947 | 0 | – |
| 1946 | 0 | – |
| 1945 | 0 | – |
| 1944 | 0 | – |
| 1943 | 0 | – |
| 1942 | 0 | – |
| 1941 | 0 | – |
| 1940 | 0 | – |
| 1939 | 0 | – |
| 1938 | 0 | – |
| 1937 | 0 | – |
| 1936 | 0 | – |
| 1935 | 0 | – |
| 1934 | 0 | – |
| 1933 | 0 | – |
| 1932 | 0 | – |
| 1931 | 0 | – |
| 1930 | 0 | – |
| 1929 | 0 | – |
| 1928 | 0 | – |
| 1927 | 6 | #3,778 |
| 1926 | 0 | – |
| 1925 | 0 | – |
| 1924 | 5 | #4,345 |
| 1923 | 0 | – |
| 1922 | 0 | – |
| 1921 | 0 | – |
| 1920 | 7 | #3,488 |
| 1919 | 0 | – |
| 1918 | 5 | #4,178 |
| 1917 | 0 | – |
| 1916 | 0 | – |
| 1915 | 0 | – |
| 1914 | 5 | #3,263 |
Names like Kato
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Kairo Tru Mikko Kenzo Zuko Kota Hiro Yug Loki Yuri Yitzchok Kaito
Other spellings of Kato
Sources
Figures from 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, “Kato: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/kato, updated 20 October 2026.