Kathleen Name Popularity

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How popular is Kathleen?

The less frequently given name Kathleen was the 894th Most Popular Girls Name in the United States in 2018.

This top 1000 contender has enjoyed a rank in the top 1000 since 1880, when the Social Security Administration began keeping records.

Position 9, its highest popularity RANKING, was reached in 1949.

Nonetheless, the name was given to the greatest number of children in 1951 with 26,715 occurrences.

In any year, the least number of babies named Kathleen was 13 in 1881.

Approximately during the years 1881-1896, 1904-1921, and 1934-1949, the name Kathleen took a definitive turn upwards in popularity whereas unequivocal downward movement occurred about 1952-1975, 1986-1997, 1998-2010, and 2012-2015.

Where is the name Kathleen popularity headed?

Currently, the name is at an extremely low point when compared to its most popular year.

The popularity trend for Kathleen has been spiralling downward for a while. Of late, continuing the trend, the number of parents selecting the name Kathleen for their newborn has dropped.

The name Kathleen still has a solid footing but will probably continue to drift downward in popularity.

Relative to what it once was, Kathleen is very rarely used as a given name.

*Mouse over the charts or scroll down to the table for data details.

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for Percentages.

		Kathleen (Girl)		Kathleen (Boy)
Year	%	No. of Babies Given Name	Popul. Rank	No. of Babies Given Name	Popul. Rank
2018		301	894	< 5	--
2017		312	872	< 5	--
2016		339	841	< 5	--
2015		340	824	< 5	--
2014		421	674	< 5	--
2013		432	658	< 5	--
2012		427	661	< 5	--
2011		451	631	< 5	--
2010		494	596	< 5	--
2009		542	562	< 5	--
2008		704	448	< 5	--
2007		779	422	< 5	--
2006		877	371	< 5	--
2005		933	339	< 5	--
2004		1,002	316	< 5	--
2003		1,096	283	< 5	--
2002		1,208	261	< 5	--
2001		1,337	237	< 5	--
2000		1,584	204	< 5	--
1999		1,630	192	< 5	--
1998		1,738	171	< 5	--
1997		1,742	175	< 5	--
1996		2,107	152	< 5	--
1995		2,282	139	< 5	--
1994		2,428	130	< 5	--
1993		2,742	118	< 5	--
1992		3,135	108	< 5	--
1991		3,370	102	5	8,890
1990		3,673	92	14	4,084
1989		3,598	90	27	2,441
1988		3,928	75	11	4,314
1987		4,163	72	20	2,679
1986		4,130	68	16	3,065
1985		4,087	68	22	2,389
1984		3,987	71	25	2,130
1983		3,924	72	20	2,455
1982		3,948	77	19	2,557
1981		3,777	82	14	3,126
1980		3,857	82	10	3,991
1979		3,645	84	8	4,631
1978		3,745	79	17	2,610
1977		3,649	80	16	2,731
1976		3,407	82	15	2,758
1975		3,542	80	18	2,405
1974		3,950	76	23	1,956
1973		4,249	68	19	2,174
1972		5,096	57	22	1,947
1971		6,153	53	17	2,324
1970		7,408	45	23	1,874
1969		8,301	42	24	1,705
1968		8,729	40	33	1,351
1967		9,208	40	31	1,379
1966		10,495	37	33	1,328
1965		11,778	34	33	1,348
1964		13,232	30	28	1,497
1963		13,543	28	29	1,464
1962		14,187	29	30	1,440
1961		15,393	29	27	1,559
1960		16,084	27	32	1,414
1959		17,626	23	48	1,122
1958		19,200	21	50	1,084
1957		19,741	21	36	1,310
1956		21,370	17	40	1,206
1955		22,004	17	33	1,327
1954		22,459	14	41	1,178
1953		23,734	14	35	1,271
1952		25,767	11	38	1,205
1951		26,715	10	33	1,287
1950		25,704	10	40	1,135
1949		26,354	9	56	928
1948		23,256	10	38	1,169
1947		22,097	11	48	1,045
1946		18,759	16	33	1,226
1945		13,801	19	35	1,112
1944		13,005	20	27	1,299
1943		12,153	22	33	1,202
1942		10,694	24	36	1,155
1941		7,160	36	30	1,222
1940		5,697	40	26	1,323
1939		4,656	48	18	1,608
1938		4,229	58	19	1,590
1937		3,743	61	15	1,874
1936		3,353	67	12	2,127
1935		3,353	71	14	1,988
1934		3,279	74	23	1,443
1933		3,122	77	15	1,874
1932		2,942	83	13	2,151
1931		2,800	87	13	2,159
1930		3,074	84	16	1,931
1929		2,940	89	20	1,704
1928		3,152	82	15	2,108
1927		3,266	83	9	3,031
1926		3,276	83	5	4,526
1925		3,503	81	11	2,675
1924		3,663	76	7	3,676
1923		3,754	70	10	2,858
1922		3,465	80	< 5	--
1921		3,419	83	5	4,669
1920		3,158	91	< 5	--
1919		2,587	101	< 5	--
1918		2,629	99	< 5	--
1917		2,358	101	< 5	--
1916		2,154	104	8	3,058
1915		1,940	104	6	3,630
1914		1,475	110	< 5	--
1913		1,179	110	< 5	--
1912		985	118	< 5	--
1911		663	126	< 5	--
1910		622	131	< 5	--
1909		527	136	< 5	--
1908		527	132	< 5	--
1907		440	149	< 5	--
1906		412	143	< 5	--
1905		386	152	< 5	--
1904		362	147	< 5	--
1903		352	149	< 5	--
1902		325	159	< 5	--
1901		272	169	< 5	--
1900		321	171	< 5	--
1899		230	184	< 5	--
1898		306	163	< 5	--
1897		250	173	< 5	--
1896		259	169	< 5	--
1895		192	196	< 5	--
1894		168	205	< 5	--
1893		170	196	< 5	--
1892		149	208	< 5	--
1891		113	228	< 5	--
1890		105	239	< 5	--
1889		87	252	< 5	--
1888		67	286	< 5	--
1887		50	302	< 5	--
1886		43	321	< 5	--
1885		38	333	< 5	--
1884		27	387	< 5	--
1883		21	418	< 5	--
1882		22	384	< 5	--
1881		13	477	< 5	--
1880		21	358	< 5	--

United States name popularity data is provided by the Social Security Administration and is based on Social Security card applications.

Data for a given year is not made available until well into the next year.

Data reflects what was recorded and has not been edited for errors, so for example the gender associated with a name may be incorrect.

The more babies that are given a particular name, the higher the popularity ranking. If multiple names have the same usage, the tie is broken by assigning popularity rank in alphabetical order. Therefore in the case of names with fewer occurrences, names with the same number of occurrences may have vastly different rankings because they will be interranked alphabetically.

To safeguard privacy, the SSA does not include names with less than 5 occurrences.

Please note, we update the data each May when the SSA releases new figures. All data changes at that time, including previous years, which will change minutely based on new information.