Names/K

Katharine

girls’ nameFadedCompare

Katharine is outside the top 1,000 in 2024, with 28 births. Its best rank was 172nd, in 1880.

Rank in 2024
outside the top 1,000
Births in 2024
280.00% of girls
Peak year
1982947 births
Best rank
#172in 1880
Since 1880
41,204people given the name
Babies named Katharine, by year of birthgirls
02505007501k18801900192019401960198020002020

The story in the numbers

41,204 girls have been named Katharine in the United States since 1880, according to Social Security records. The busiest single year was 1982, with 947 births.

The name has all but left use: 28 births in 2024, against 947 at the peak.

Half of everyone given the name was born by 1970, and the 1980s alone account for 19%. It has spent 127 of 145 years in the top 1,000.

Rank among girls, year by year

Higher on the chart = more popularrank (gaps = outside the top 1,000)
#1#250#500#750#100018801900192019401960198020002020

By decade

Decadegirls named Katharine
1880s896
1890s1,297
1900s1,246
1910s2,854
1920s2,572
1930s1,724
1940s2,789
1950s3,712
1960s3,114
1970s3,848
1980s7,861
1990s5,315
2000s2,881
2010s915
2020s180

In 1982, its biggest year

Katharine was the 262nd most given girl’s name that year. The top five girls’ names of 1982 were Jennifer, Jessica, Amanda, Sarah and Melissa. See all of 1982.

Names that rose and fell with Katharine

Same sex, most similar popularity curve over 145 years, in five-year steps — the shape of the line, not the size.

Other spellings in the data

What this page does not tell you. The Social Security data records how many babies were given a name, not what the name means or where it comes from — so neither do we. Counts cover people with a Social Security number; names given to fewer than five babies in a year are withheld. More on the data.