How Many People Are Named Cathy?

An estimated 126,557 people in the United States have the first name Cathy. While not in the top 50, it remains a well-known name ranking #431 overall. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 65 years old, and Cathy peaked in popularity in 1958 with 10,961 births that year.

Below you will find a full statistical profile of Cathy 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 Cathy paired with any surname.

Key Insights

  • While Cathy is overwhelmingly female, 343 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
  • With an average bearer age of 65, Cathy is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1971.
  • Cathy 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

126,557

About 1 in 2,708 people in the U.S.

Rarity

Common

Very Rare Very Common

Predicted Gender

Female

99.8% confidence

Average Age

65

years old

Peak Year

1958

10,961 births

Total Registered

170,634

since 1880

Gender Distribution for Cathy

Cathy is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 170,634 total births registered, 99.8% were female.

Male 343 (0.2%)
Female 170,291 (99.8%)

Cathy as a male name

Ranked #5,318 in 1974

5 male births in 1974

Peak: 1956 (23 births)

Cathy as a female name

Ranked #5,968 in 2024

20 female births in 2024

Peak: 1958 (10,942 births)

Cathy: Popularity Over Time

SSA records for Cathy span from the 1910s to the 2020s, covering 12 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1950s, when 82,858 babies were registered. Cathy has declined significantly from its peak in the 1950s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.

Male
Female
0 2K 4K 7K 9K 11K 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020

Cathy by Decade

How has Cathy 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
1910s 13 0 13
1920s 118 0 118
1930s 578 0 578
1940s 15,594 44 15,550
1950s 82,858 140 82,718
1960s 51,754 129 51,625
1970s 12,973 30 12,943
1980s 3,662 0 3,662
1990s 1,565 0 1,565
2000s 916 0 916
2010s 484 0 484
2020s 119 0 119

Cathy by State

Birth registrations for Cathy span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, Ohio, New York. The lowest are in Alaska, Nevada, Wyoming. On average, about 3,283 Cathys were registered per state.

California 14,552
Ohio 11,203
New York 10,716
Illinois 9,931
Texas 9,539
Pennsylvania 9,487
Michigan 7,640
Indiana 6,758
Georgia 5,647
Tennessee 4,658
Missouri 4,232
Alabama 4,184
Florida 4,156
Virginia 3,996
New Jersey 3,672
Kentucky 3,641
Louisiana 2,983
Iowa 2,562
Wisconsin 2,498
Washington 2,496
Oklahoma 2,386
Mississippi 2,256
Maryland 2,249
Minnesota 2,021
Kansas 1,925
Arkansas 1,858
Connecticut 1,558
Colorado 1,491
Oregon 1,446
Arizona 1,157
Nebraska 1,028
Maine 1,023
Utah 898
Idaho 562
Montana 483
Hawaii 433
Vermont 328
Delaware 308
Wyoming 254
Nevada 206
Alaska 155

Cathy + Last Name Combinations

How many people share a full name with Cathy as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.

Cathy: Questions and Answers

How many people in the U.S. are named Cathy?

We estimate approximately 126,557 people named Cathy 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 2,708 Americans share this first name.

Is Cathy a common name?

Cathy is classified as "Common" and is more popular than 99.6% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 170,634 births have been registered with this name since 1880.

When was Cathy most popular?

Cathy reached peak popularity in 1958, when 10,961 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Cathy is approximately 65 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.

Is Cathy a female name?

Cathy is predominantly female. 99.8% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.

How many Cathy Smiths are there?

To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Cathy Smith, Cathy Johnson, Cathy 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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There are 127K people with the name

Cathy

in the United States

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