Katelyn
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Meaning
modern spelling of Caitlin, the Anglicized Irish form of Catherine
The story
Katelyn is a modern English spelling of Caitlin, the Anglicized form of Irish Caitlín and ultimately a member of the Catherine family. It is not simply Kate plus a decorative -lyn ending, even though the spelling makes that modern reading tempting. Katelyn belongs to a much larger cluster that includes Caitlin, Caitlyn, Kaitlin, Kaitlyn, Katelin, and Katelynn. Each spelling has its own American curve. Katelyn begins to register in the 1970s, rises sharply through the 1980s and 1990s, reaches its displayed high point in the 2000s, and then declines through the 2010s and 2020s. That arc gives this exact spelling a strong generational stamp while its family history runs back through Irish and French forms. Katelyn is both a late twentieth-century spelling choice and a branch of one of Europe's oldest traveling name families.
Katelyn 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 Katelyn around the world?
In the United States, 1,931 babies were named Katelyn between 2020 and 2025. In South Australia, 6 girls were registered as Katelyn in 2017.
Katelyn is on the official records of the United States, South Australia, Ireland, Canada, England and Wales and Brazil.
United States
1 in 11,000
In the United States, 1,931 babies were named Katelyn between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Katelyn peaked in the 2000s. Katelyn went to 1,385 US babies in 2015 and 225 in 2025, 16% of the earlier figure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
South Australia
1 in 3,1002017
In South Australia, 6 girls were registered as Katelyn 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
Ireland
1 in 3,600
In Ireland, 15 girls named Katelyn were born in 2025, the 273rd most common name among girls that year.
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
Canada
1 in 16,000
In Canada, 23 girls named Katelyn were born in 2024, ranked 1,109th 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)
England and Wales
1 in 49,000
In England and Wales, 12 girls named Katelyn were born in 2025, ranked 2,278th 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
Brazil
1 in 330,000
At the 2022 census, 520 people in Brazil were named Katelyn, ranked 13,009th, with a median age of 16.
Among people named Katelyn living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2000s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 23 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. 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
Argentina
last on record 2020
Katelyn is not on the 2024 record for Argentina, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
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
Austria
last on record 2024
Katelyn 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 7 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)
Mexico City City
last on record 2021
Katelyn is not on the 2022 record for Mexico City, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 8 in a year, too few to chart.
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
New South Wales
outside the top 100
Katelyn 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
Katelyn 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 2000
Katelyn is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 6 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 2018
Katelyn 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 Spain 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 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 Katelyn
Most people given the name Katelyn in the United States were born between 1990 and 2009. The Katelyn you meet today is most often in her 20s or 30s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Katelyn deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Katelyn 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 Katelyn fits with your family’s names and surname.
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