Cathaleen
A feminine Irish name derived from Cathleen, meaning "pure."
Name Census estimates that about 194 living Americans carry the first name Cathaleen. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Cathaleen today is around 68 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cathaleen births was 1951 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cathaleen. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Cathaleen is about 68 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Cathaleens were born before 1968.
People living today
194
~ 1 in 1,766,775 Americans
Peak year
1951
19 babies that year
Average age
68
years old
1980 SSA rank
#10,607
Tracked since 1917
Census
Cathaleen in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 227 people with the first name Cathaleen, which placed it at #35,437 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#35,437
National first-name rank
People counted
227
227 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
75.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cathaleen
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cathaleen is White at 75.3%. The next largest groups are Black (11.5%) and Hispanic (8.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Cathaleen described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Cathaleen at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.3% · 171
- Black or African American11.5% · 26
- Hispanic or Latino8.4% · 19
- Two or more races4.4% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 1
Popularity
Cathaleen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cathaleen from the 1910s through to the 1980s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 140 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cathaleen by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Cathaleen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Cathaleen
The name Cathaleen is a variant of the Irish feminine name Caitlín, which is derived from the ancient Irish Gaelic name Cáit. Cáit is a pet form of the Old Irish name Cathán, which means "little battle" or "little fighter".
The name Cáit first appeared in Irish texts as early as the 8th century AD. It was a popular name among Irish families, particularly those with ties to the ancient Celtic warrior culture. The spelling Cathaleen emerged as an anglicized version of the name during the medieval period.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name Cathaleen was Cathaleen Ní Houlihan, a mythical figure in Irish folklore who personified Ireland itself. She appeared in stories and plays as an old woman seeking aid from young men, representing Ireland's need for support and rebellion against English rule.
In the 16th century, Cathaleen Butler (1551-1632) was an Irish noblewoman and landowner who played a significant role in the Munster Plantation, a scheme to resettle English and Scottish Protestant settlers in the province of Munster, Ireland.
During the Irish Rebellion of 1641, Cathaleen Kavanagh (1590-1661) was a prominent supporter of the Irish Confederate Catholics. She provided funds and supplies to the rebel forces and was eventually imprisoned for her involvement.
In the 18th century, Cathaleen Mulholland (1728-1805) was an Irish weaver and silk designer who became renowned for her intricate and beautiful textile patterns. Her work was highly sought after by the aristocracy and wealthy merchants of the time.
Cathaleen Ní Houlihan (1857-1942) was an Irish language teacher and activist who played a crucial role in the Gaelic Revival movement, which aimed to preserve and promote the Irish language and culture. She was also a member of the Gaelic League, a prominent Irish cultural organization.
While the name Cathaleen has its roots in ancient Irish history and folklore, it has retained its cultural significance and continues to be used as a beloved Irish feminine name to this day.
People
Cathaleen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cathaleen as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Cathaleen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cathaleen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 194 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cathaleen going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,766,775 US residents.
Is Cathaleen a common name?
We classify Cathaleen as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 323 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cathaleen most popular?
The single biggest year for Cathaleen was 1951, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cathaleen is about 68 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Cathaleen in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 227 people with the name Cathaleen, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #35,437 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Cathaleen in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Cathaleen?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Cathaleen appears almost entirely female. Of the 227 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Cathaleen?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cathaleen is White at 75.3%. The next largest groups are Black (11.5%) and Hispanic (8.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Cathaleen most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Cathaleen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.3% (171 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Cathaleen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Cathaleen a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Cathaleen in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Cathaleen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Cathaleen in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Cathaleen can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people share the name Cathaleen?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Cathaleen on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.