Katryn
A feminine name derived from the Greek name Aikaterine, meaning "pure."
Name Census estimates that about 314 living Americans carry the first name Katryn. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Katryn today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Katryn births was 1993 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Katryn. 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 Katryn with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
314
~ 1 in 1,091,574 Americans
Peak year
1993
17 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
2016 SSA rank
#15,268
Tracked since 1957
Census
Katryn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 470 people with the first name Katryn, which placed it at #21,552 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
#21,552
National first-name rank
People counted
470
470 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
78.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Katryn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Katryn is White at 78.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.5%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Katryn 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 Katryn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.9% · 371
- Hispanic or Latino8.5% · 40
- Two or more races4.3% · 20
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.8% · 18
- Black or African American3.4% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 5
Popularity
Katryn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Katryn from the 1950s through to the 2010s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 89 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
Katryn 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 Katryn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Katryns live
Origin
Meaning and history of Katryn
The given name Katryn has its origins in the Greek name Aikaterine, which was derived from the Greek words katharos, meaning "pure," and eirenikos, meaning "peaceful." This name was later Latinized to Catherina and entered various European languages with different spellings, including Katharine, Katherine, and Katryn.
The earliest known record of the name Katryn dates back to the 12th century, when it was used in England and other parts of the British Isles. During this period, the name gained popularity among the nobility and was often associated with royalty and nobility.
One of the most famous historical figures with the name Katryn was Katryn of Aragon, the first wife of King Henry VIII of England. Born in 1485, she was a Spanish princess who married Henry VIII in 1509 and was later divorced by the king in 1533, leading to the English Reformation.
Another notable figure was Katryn Howard, the fifth wife of Henry VIII, who was executed in 1542 for allegedly committing adultery. She was born around 1523 and became queen at a young age, but her reign was short-lived due to her tragic fate.
In literature, Katryn Parr, the sixth wife of Henry VIII, was a significant figure known for her intelligence and interest in promoting education. Born around 1512, she survived her husband and later married Thomas Seymour, but passed away in 1548 after giving birth.
In the world of saints, St. Katryn of Siena, born in 1347, was a celebrated Dominican tertiary and mystic who played an influential role in the return of the papacy from Avignon to Rome. She was canonized in 1461 and is recognized as one of the patron saints of Italy.
Another notable figure was Katryn the Great, the Empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. Born in 1729, she was a German princess who became one of the most influential and powerful rulers of Russia, renowned for her expansionist policies and cultural achievements.
Across various cultures and time periods, the name Katryn has maintained a strong presence and association with notable figures, reflecting its historical significance and enduring popularity.
People
Katryn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Katryn 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
Katryn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Katryn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 314 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Katryn 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 1,091,574 US residents.
Is Katryn a common name?
We classify Katryn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 336 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Katryn most popular?
The single biggest year for Katryn was 1993, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Katryn is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Katryn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 470 people with the name Katryn, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #21,552 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 Katryn 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 Katryn?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Katryn appears almost entirely female. Of the 474 people counted with this name, 99.6% 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 Katryn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Katryn is White at 78.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.5%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Katryn most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Katryn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.9% (371 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 Katryn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Katryn a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Katryn 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 Katryn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Katryn 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 Katryn 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 Katryn?
Find out how many Americans are named Katryn on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.