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Cathleen

girl name
Origin
Irish
Syllables
2
Peak era
1950s/1960s
Today
▬ Steady

Torn between Cathleen and another name? Compare them side by side →

Meaning

“Irish variant of Kathleen, traditionally 'pure'”

Cathleen across languages

One shared root links 26 names across 8 languages.

Shared root: from Greek Aikaterine, associated since early Christian times with katharos, "pure"; that later explanation does not establish the name’s original meaning

The constellation

CathleenIrish · variantKatherineEnglishCatherineFrenchKathleenIrishCaitlinIrishKatrinaGermanCatarinaPortugueseCaterinaItalian
18 more branches of this family
KatharineEnglish · variantKathrynEnglish · variantKathrineEnglish · variantKatherynEnglish · variantCathrynEnglish · variantCaitlynEnglish · variantKaitlynEnglish · variantKatelynEnglish · variantKatelynnEnglish · variantKarenDanish · short formKarinScandinavian · short formKarinaScandinavian · related formKateEnglish · short formKatieEnglish · short formKatyEnglish · short formKathyEnglish · short formKayEnglish · short formKittyEnglish · diminutive

Ways to honor Katherine →

How popular is Cathleen around the world?

In the United States, 64 babies were named Cathleen between 2020 and 2025.

Cathleen is on the official records of the United States and Brazil.

United States

1 in 340,000

In the United States, 64 babies were named Cathleen between 2020 and 2025.

1890speak 1950s2020s

Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Cathleen peaked in the 1950s and the 1960s in nearly equal measure.

Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration

See the full list for the United States →

Austria

last on record 2023

Cathleen is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.

Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)

See the full list for Austria →

Brazil

At the 2022 census, 45 people in Brazil were named Cathleen, ranked 71,575th, with a median age of 24.

People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022

See the full list for Brazil →

Canada

last on record 2013

Cathleen is not on the 2024 record for Canada, where names under 5 in a year are excluded at source.

peak 19912024

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)

See the full list for Canada →

England and Wales

last on record 2015

Cathleen is not on the 2025 record for England and Wales, where spellings under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.

Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales

See the full list for England and Wales →

France

last on record 2024

Cathleen is not on the 2025 record for France, where spellings under 3 in a year are withheld at source.

1950peak 19912025

share of that year’s births on record

Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)

See the full list for France →

Ireland

last on record 1990

Cathleen is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.

Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names

See the full list for Ireland →

Scotland

last on record 1993

Cathleen is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.

Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names

See the full list for Scotland →

South Australia

last on record 1999

Cathleen is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.

Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names

See the full list for South Australia →

Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico, New Zealand and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.

Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.

All records: the most popular baby names around the world →

When you meet Cathleen

Most people given the name Cathleen in the United States were born between 1950 and 1979. The Cathleen you meet today is most often in her 50s or 60s.

Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.

Names that fit alongside Cathleen

Nora Evelyn Myrna Winifred Jane Teresa

The Cathleen deep dive

Written for you · $1.99 →

Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Cathleen truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Cathleen fits with your family’s names and surname.

Both reports, explained →

Does Cathleen fit YOUR family?

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