How Many People Are Named Cathay?
An estimated 18 people in the United States have the first name Cathay. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 76 years old, and Cathay peaked in popularity in 1947 with 7 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Cathay as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Cathay paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- With an average bearer age of 76, Cathay is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1960.
- Cathay is exceptionally rare. Fewer than 100 people with this name are estimated to be alive in the U.S. today.
Estimated Living Americans
18
About 1 in 19,041,908 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Very Rare
Predicted Gender
Female
100.0% confidence
Average Age
76
years old
Peak Year
1947
7 births
Total Registered
30
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Cathay
Cathay is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 30 total births registered, 100.0% were female.
Cathay as a female name
Ranked #5,774 in 1953
5 female births in 1953
Peak: 1947 (7 births)
Cathay: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Cathay span from the 1940s to the 1950s, covering 2 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1950s, when 17 babies were registered. Cathay remains highly popular today, with recent registration numbers near its historical peak.
Cathay by Decade
How has Cathay tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
Cathay + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Cathay as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Cathay
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
Cathay: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cathay?
We estimate approximately 18 people named Cathay are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 19,041,908 Americans share this first name.
Is Cathay a common name?
Cathay is classified as "Very Rare" and is more popular than 38.4% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 30 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Cathay most popular?
Cathay reached peak popularity in 1947, when 7 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Cathay is approximately 76 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Cathay a female name?
Cathay is predominantly female. 100.0% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Cathay Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Cathay Smith, Cathay Johnson, Cathay Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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