Kaitlyn
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Meaning
phonetic respelling of Caitlin, Irish form of Catherine, traditionally translated as 'pure'
The story
Kaitlyn is what happened when American ears met an Irish name. Caitlín is the Irish form of Catherine, a name traditionally translated as pure, but its Gaelic pronunciation is closer to Kathleen than to Kate-lin; Americans heard the spelling, said it their own way, and then respelled it phonetically, with a K up front. The result was essentially a new name, unknown in the records before the 1970s, and it moved like one: Kaitlyn rocketed through the 1980s and 1990s and peaked in the 2000s, one of the fastest rises of its generation, trailing a comet's tail of spellings from Katelyn to Caitlyn. It has fallen back substantially since, as fast risers often do. What remains is a name with an old soul and a young face: Catherine's ancient meaning wearing a distinctly American spelling.
Kaitlyn 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
18 more branches of this family
How popular is Kaitlyn around the world?
In the United States, 2,890 babies were named Kaitlyn between 2020 and 2025.
Kaitlyn is on the official records of the United States, Canada, South Australia, Mexico City, Chile, England and Wales, Argentina, Spain and Brazil.
United States
1 in 7,500
In the United States, 2,890 babies were named Kaitlyn between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Kaitlyn peaked in the 2000s. Kaitlyn went to 1,663 US babies in 2015 and 340 in 2025, 20% of the earlier figure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Canada
1 in 8,900
In Canada, 41 girls named Kaitlyn were born in 2024, the 708th most common name among girls that year.
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)
South Australia
1 in 9,2002017
In South Australia, 2 girls were registered as Kaitlyn in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
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
Mexico City City
1 in 15,000
In Mexico City, there were 8 registrations of Kaitlyn in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Chile
1 in 20,000
In Chile, 9 girls were registered as Kaitlyn in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
England and Wales
1 in 25,000
In England and Wales, 23 girls named Kaitlyn were born in 2025, ranked 1,362nd among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
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
Argentina
1 in 130,000
In Argentina, 5 newborns were given the name Kaitlyn in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Spain
1 in 1.2M
In Spain, 37 residents are named Kaitlyn, ranked 18,297th among women, with a mean age of 10 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Austria
last on record 2024
Kaitlyn 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 4 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)
Brazil
At the 2022 census, 38 people in Brazil were named Kaitlyn, ranked 80,303rd, with a median age of 8.
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
Ireland
last on record 2024
Kaitlyn is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
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
Montevideo City
last on record 2003
Kaitlyn is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
New South Wales
outside the top 100
Kaitlyn is not in the 2025 top 100 for New South Wales.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
New Zealand
last on record 2018
Kaitlyn is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Puerto Rico
last on record 2014
Kaitlyn is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 26 babies have carried the name there since 1998.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
Scotland
last on record 2021
Kaitlyn is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
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
Not on the record in Poland: that registry withholds small counts, so rare uses may sit below its floor.
Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
How the spellings raced
Across these spellings, Kaitlyn led in the group’s busiest decade, the 1990s. So far in the 2020s, Kaitlyn leads.
Decade totals from US Social Security birth registrations. Every line uses the same scale. The 2020s covers 2020–2025.
When you meet Kaitlyn
Most people given the name Kaitlyn in the United States are teenagers or young adults today.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Kaitlyn deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Kaitlyn 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 Kaitlyn fits with your family’s names and surname.
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