Recorded 1918–2025 · United States
Cathy was most popular in 1958, when 10,961 American babies were given the name — ranking #74 that year. In 2025 it ranked #14,309, with 12 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 170,646 people named Cathy.
Cathy first appears in Social Security Administration records in 1918, which makes it about 107 years old as a recorded American name. It has been recorded in 108 of the 108 years since.
The Social Security Administration has recorded 170,646 American births named Cathy between 1880 and 2025. That is recorded US births, not a world population — it counts people issued a Social Security number at birth in the United States. Of those, roughly 142,553 are estimated to be alive today.
12 American babies were named Cathy in 2025, ranking #14,309 that year.
Cathy is falling. Across 2021–2025 it averaged 20 births a year, against 55 a year across 2011–2015 — a change of -64% over the decade.
Measured on recorded births. American births overall have fallen since 2007, so most established names lose births over any recent decade — a name can shed births and still hold its rank. Compare the rank above, which is measured against the other names of the same year.
Across the whole record Cathy is a girl’s name — 99.8% of the 170,646 Americans given it were girls and 0.2% were boys. In births since 2016 it is 100% girls and 0% boys.
Counted from every US birth the Social Security Administration recorded under this name, so it reflects use rather than opinion. A name given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year is withheld at source and is not counted.
Roughly 142,553 Americans named Cathy are alive today — 84% of everyone ever recorded with the name. The median is 67 years old, and half are between 62 and 71. That is a narrow band: Cathy arrived and faded within about a decade rather than staying in steady use.
An estimate, not a count. Recorded births are carried forward through the Social Security Administration’s 2023 period life table, by age and sex. That table describes mortality in one recent year, so it credits the oldest cohorts with today’s survival rather than the harsher rates they actually lived through — the further back a name peaked, the more this will overstate how many remain. It counts people issued a Social Security number at birth, not immigrants who arrived later.
A variant of Kathy · Greek · short form of Katherine
How much more common the name is in each state than across the country as a whole.
See Cathy on the interactive charts
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Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org