US Name Trends

Cathy

A pet form of Katherine, from the Greek Aikaterine.

1958peak year
No. 34best rank (1958)
170,646babies since 1880
outside top 1000 in 2025

Popularity, 1880–2025

Babies named Cathy per year — peak 10,942▬ girls ▬ boys18801900192019401960198020002020

Cathy first shows up in the national records in 1918. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American girls in every year from 1949 to 1966. Its biggest year was 1958, when 10,942 newborn girls received the name, ranking it No. 34 nationally. All told, 170,646 Americans have been given the name since 1880.

Related names

Other spellings on record: Kathy (334,870), Kathie (15,086), Kathi (10,109), Cathie (5,586), Cathi (2,536), Cathey (2,216) (total births since 1880)

Other names that share a story: Katherine

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By the decade

DecadeBirthsBest rank
1910s13No. 3452
1920s118No. 1897
1930s578No. 558
1940s15,550No. 81
1950s82,719No. 34
1960s51,624No. 46
1970s12,943No. 137
1980s3,662No. 401
1990s1,565No. 915
2000s916No. 1524
2010s484No. 2736
2020s131No. 4263

Births and rank shown for girls, the sex more often given the name. The Social Security Administration omits name–year combinations with fewer than five births.

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Data: U.S. Social Security Administration national baby-name file, 1880–2025.