Katharine
Of Greek origin, meaning "pure" and "constant".
Name Census estimates that about 26,798 living Americans carry the first name Katharine. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Katharine today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Katharine births was 1982 (947 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Katharine. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Katharine with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
27K
~ 1 in 12,790 Americans
Peak year
1982
947 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
1985 SSA rank
#4,812
Tracked since 1880
Census
Katharine in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 29,369 people with the first name Katharine, which placed it at #1,269 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
#1,269
National first-name rank
People counted
29K
29,369 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
9.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
89.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Katharine
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Katharine is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Katharine 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 Katharine at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.8% · 26,373
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 1,161
- Two or more races2.8% · 836
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.1% · 604
- Black or African American1.1% · 331
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 64
Gender
Gender distribution for Katharine
Out of the 41,215 babies given the name Katharine since 1880, 100.0% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Katharine as a male name
- Ranked #7,077 in 1985
- 5 male births in 1985
- Peak: 1984 (6 births)
Katharine as a female name
- Ranked #4,812 in 2024
- 28 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1982 (947 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Katharine appears almost entirely female. Of the 29,372 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Katharine: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Katharine from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 7,872 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Katharine 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 Katharine during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Katharines live
The SSA's state-level files cover 48 states and territories. New York, California, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Katharine, while Hawaii, Alaska, Nevada recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 668 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Katharine
The name Katharine originates from the Greek name Aikaterine, which is derived from the combination of the Greek words "katharos" meaning "pure" and "ather" meaning "innocence". This name eventually evolved into the Latin form "Catharina" and the English form "Katherine" or "Katharine".
The name first gained popularity during the late 3rd century AD, when St. Catherine of Alexandria, a Christian martyr, was venerated for her faith and bravery. She was allegedly a highly educated young woman who converted to Christianity and was subsequently tortured and executed for her beliefs.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name can be found in the 12th century, when Katharine of Aragon, the first wife of King Henry VIII of England, was born in 1485. She played a significant role in the English Reformation and the annulment of her marriage to Henry VIII led to the establishment of the Church of England.
Another notable figure in history was Katharine Graham, the former publisher of The Washington Post, who was born in 1917 and played a crucial role in the Watergate scandal by publishing the Pentagon Papers. Her unwavering commitment to journalistic integrity and freedom of the press earned her widespread respect and admiration.
In the literary world, Katharine Lee Bates, born in 1859, was an American writer and poet best known for her patriotic poem "America the Beautiful". The poem, written in 1893, became a beloved American hymn and a symbol of national pride.
Katharine Hepburn, born in 1907, was a legendary American actress who won four Academy Awards and was celebrated for her independent spirit and unconventional lifestyle. She was a trailblazer in the film industry and her performances in movies such as "The Philadelphia Story" and "The African Queen" remain iconic.
Finally, Katharine Jefferts Schori, born in 1954, made history as the first female Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States. Her appointment in 2006 was a significant milestone for gender equality and empowerment within the Christian faith.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Katharine
People
Katharine + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Katharine as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Katharine: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Katharine?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 26,798 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Katharine 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 12,790 US residents.
Is Katharine a common name?
We classify Katharine as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 41,215 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Katharine most popular?
The single biggest year for Katharine was 1982, when 947 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Katharine is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Katharine in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 29,369 people with the name Katharine, or 9.72 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,269 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 Katharine 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 Katharine?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Katharine appears almost entirely female. Of the 29,372 people counted with this name, 99.9% 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 Katharine?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Katharine is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Katharine most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Katharine in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.8% (26,373 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 Katharine in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Katharine a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Katharine 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 Katharine still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Katharine 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 Katharine 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 are named Katharine?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Katharine on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.