How Many People Are Named Catherine?
An estimated 348,984 people in the United States have the first name Catherine. While not in the top 50, it remains a well-known name ranking #135 overall. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 53 years old, and Catherine peaked in popularity in 1956 with 12,076 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Catherine 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 Catherine paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Catherine is overwhelmingly female, 1,822 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- Catherine has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1950s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
348,984
About 1 in 982 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Common
Predicted Gender
Female
99.7% confidence
Average Age
53
years old
Peak Year
1956
12,076 births
Total Registered
668,624
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Catherine
Catherine is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 668,624 total births registered, 99.7% were female.
Catherine as a male name
Ranked #12,668 in 2007
5 male births in 2007
Peak: 1989 (44 births)
Catherine as a female name
Ranked #320 in 2024
955 female births in 2024
Peak: 1956 (12,057 births)
Catherine: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Catherine span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1950s, when 109,057 babies were registered. Catherine has declined significantly from its peak in the 1950s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Catherine by Decade
How has Catherine 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.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 8,933 | 18 | 8,915 | |
| 1890s | 14,523 | 21 | 14,502 | |
| 1900s | 22,057 | 50 | 22,007 | |
| 1910s | 65,970 | 147 | 65,823 | |
| 1920s | 79,136 | 255 | 78,881 | |
| 1930s | 50,268 | 242 | 50,026 | |
| 1940s | 62,269 | 183 | 62,086 | |
| 1950s | 109,057 | 220 | 108,837 | |
| 1960s | 77,006 | 219 | 76,787 | |
| 1970s | 44,023 | 159 | 43,864 | |
| 1980s | 42,629 | 194 | 42,435 | |
| 1990s | 40,839 | 80 | 40,759 | |
| 2000s | 29,735 | 34 | 29,701 | |
| 2010s | 17,151 | 0 | 17,151 | |
| 2020s | 5,028 | 0 | 5,028 | |
Catherine by State
Birth registrations for Catherine span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, Pennsylvania, California. The lowest are in Wyoming, Alaska, Nevada. On average, about 12,172 Catherines were registered per state.
Catherine + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Catherine as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Catherine
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
Catherine: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Catherine?
We estimate approximately 348,984 people named Catherine 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 982 Americans share this first name.
Is Catherine a common name?
Catherine is classified as "Common" and is more popular than 99.9% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 668,624 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Catherine most popular?
Catherine reached peak popularity in 1956, when 12,076 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Catherine is approximately 53 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Catherine a female name?
Catherine is predominantly female. 99.7% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Catherine Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Catherine Smith, Catherine Johnson, Catherine 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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