How Many People Are Named Catherine Williams?

There are approximately 1,823 people named Catherine Williams living in the United States today. That makes this name combination common, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 188,017 Americans.

This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Catherine with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Williams. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census background data where it is available.

Estimated People with This Name

1,823

1 in 188,017 Americans

Combination Rarity

Common

Very Rare Very Common

First Name

Catherine

Last Name

Williams

Est. Bearers 1,790,492

Census Rank #3

Per 100K 522.38

Rarity Very Common

Catherine: Popularity Over Time

Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Catherine. The peak year was 1956 with 12,076 births. The average person named Catherine today is 53 years old.

Male

Female

Ancestry of the First Name Catherine

In the 2020 Census, the first name Catherine was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White (80.47%). The next largest recorded groups were Hispanic (6.47%) and Black (6.21%).

These percentages describe the people who had the first name Catherine in the 2020 Census. They do not tell you the deeper origin or meaning of the name itself.

Read this as a snapshot of who already had the name in 2020, not as a trend line. The SSA chart above is still the better way to see how Catherine rose or fell over time.

White

80.47%

Black

6.21%

Hispanic

6.47%

Asian/Pacific Islander

3.92%

American Indian/Alaska Native

0.36%

Two or More Races

2.57%

Ancestry of the Williams Surname

The surname Williams was most commonly recorded among people who identified as Black in the 2020 Census.

This is a self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people who had the surname Williams in the published Census surname tables. It gives useful context around who was recorded with the name, but it does not tell the full family history of every Boone line.

White

43.82%

Black

46.22%

Hispanic

3.50%

Asian/Pacific Islander

0.59%

American Indian/Alaska Native

0.78%

Two or More Races

5.08%

How we calculated this

The first name "Catherine" has an estimated frequency of 0.102% among living Americans, based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024 adjusted for mortality using CDC 2023 life tables.

The surname "Williams" appears at a rate of 522.38 per 100,000 people in the 2020 U.S. Census.

We do not use the Census first-name snapshot for the main estimate because it is only published once every 10 years. The latest public first-name Census file is from 2020, which is already 6 years old. SSA birth records plus CDC survival data give a better current estimate of how many people with the first name Catherine are likely to be alive now.

Multiplying these frequencies against the U.S. population of ~343 million gives 1,823 estimated people. This assumes first names and last names are statistically independent. Full methodology.

Other people named Catherine

Catherine Smith Catherine Johnson Catherine Brown Catherine Jones Catherine Garcia Catherine Stewart Catherine Bell

Other people with the surname Williams

Michael Williams James Williams John Williams David Williams Robert Williams William Williams Christopher Williams Joseph Williams

Catherine Williams: Questions and Answers

How many people are named Catherine Williams?

We estimate approximately 1,823 people named Catherine Williams are alive in the United States today. The first name Catherine is shared by 348,984 Americans, and the surname Williams is shared by 1,790,492.

How rare is the name Catherine Williams?

This name combination is classified as Common, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 188,017 Americans. The first name Catherine is common and the surname Williams is very common.

Is Catherine a male or female name?

Catherine is predominantly female, with 0.3% of bearers being male and 99.7% female. It peaked in popularity in 1956 and the average bearer today is 53 years old.

What does the Census say about the first name Catherine?

In the 2020 Census, the first name Catherine was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White (80.47%). The next largest recorded groups were Hispanic (6.47%) and Black (6.21%). These percentages describe the people who had the name in the 2020 Census, not the deeper origin of the name itself.

Where does this data come from?

First name data comes from the Social Security Administration (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables. When available, first-name Census background data comes from the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau first-name tables. Surname data comes from the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau. Full methodology.

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