Kathy Bates
There are approximately 80 people named Kathy Bates living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 4,284,429 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Kathy with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Bates. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and ancestry information.
Expected bearers
80
1 in 4,284,429
Named Kathy
248K
Alive today
Named Bates
111K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 248K
Rarity: Common
Gender: Female
Peak year: 1958
Average age: 65
Estimated bearers: 111K
Rarity: Common
Census rank: #325
Per 100K: 32.42
Top ancestry: White (75.3%)
First name trend
Kathy: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Kathy. The peak year was 1958 with 23,985 births. The average person named Kathy today is 65 years old.
Babies born per year
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Bates surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Bates, from the 2010 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 75.3%.
- White75.3%
- Black or African American18.9%
- Hispanic or Latino2.4%
- Two or more races2.0%
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8%
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6%
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Kathy has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0723% of the US population, based on 247,668 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
The surname Bates appears at a rate of 32.42 per 100,000 residents in the 2010 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0324%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 80 people with the full name Kathy Bates. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Kathy
Related
Other people with the surname Bates
FAQ
Kathy Bates: questions and answers
How many people are named Kathy Bates?
We estimate approximately 80 people in the United States share the full name Kathy Bates. That works out to about 1 in 4,284,429 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0723%) with the surname frequency (32.42 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Kathy Bates?
We classify Kathy Bates as "Very Rare". About 1 in 4,284,429 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Kathy a male or female name?
Kathy is predominantly female. Out of 334,823 total SSA registrations, 0.2% were male and 99.8% were female. See the full Kathy profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2010 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.