How Many People Are Named Kathleen?
An estimated 452,244 people in the United States have the first name Kathleen. While not in the top 50, it remains a well-known name ranking #94 overall. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 63 years old, and Kathleen peaked in popularity in 1951 with 26,749 births that year. It has a similar number of bearers to Victoria (446,973).
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Kathleen 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 Kathleen paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Kathleen is overwhelmingly female, 1,691 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- Kathleen 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
452,244
About 1 in 758 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Common
Predicted Gender
Female
99.8% confidence
Average Age
63
years old
Peak Year
1951
26,749 births
Total Registered
715,129
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Kathleen
Kathleen is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 715,129 total births registered, 99.8% were female.
Kathleen as a male name
Ranked #8,890 in 1991
5 male births in 1991
Peak: 1949 (56 births)
Kathleen as a female name
Ranked #1,109 in 2024
220 female births in 2024
Peak: 1951 (26,716 births)
Kathleen: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Kathleen span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1950s, when 224,735 babies were registered. Kathleen has declined significantly from its peak in the 1950s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Kathleen by Decade
How has Kathleen 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 | 389 | 0 | 389 | |
| 1890s | 1,942 | 0 | 1,942 | |
| 1900s | 3,924 | 0 | 3,924 | |
| 1910s | 16,606 | 14 | 16,592 | |
| 1920s | 33,679 | 82 | 33,597 | |
| 1930s | 34,708 | 158 | 34,550 | |
| 1940s | 153,343 | 362 | 152,981 | |
| 1950s | 224,735 | 394 | 224,341 | |
| 1960s | 121,250 | 300 | 120,950 | |
| 1970s | 45,024 | 178 | 44,846 | |
| 1980s | 39,579 | 184 | 39,395 | |
| 1990s | 24,866 | 19 | 24,847 | |
| 2000s | 10,065 | 0 | 10,065 | |
| 2010s | 3,808 | 0 | 3,808 | |
| 2020s | 1,211 | 0 | 1,211 | |
Kathleen by State
Birth registrations for Kathleen span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, Pennsylvania, California. The lowest are in Alaska, Wyoming, Nevada. On average, about 13,843 Kathleens were registered per state.
Kathleen + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Kathleen as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Kathleen
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
Kathleen: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kathleen?
We estimate approximately 452,244 people named Kathleen 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 758 Americans share this first name.
Is Kathleen a common name?
Kathleen is classified as "Common" and is more popular than 99.9% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 715,129 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Kathleen most popular?
Kathleen reached peak popularity in 1951, when 26,749 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Kathleen is approximately 63 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Kathleen a female name?
Kathleen is predominantly female. 99.8% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Kathleen Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Kathleen Smith, Kathleen Johnson, Kathleen 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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