Cathy

Did you know?

A few things about Cathy you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Cathy

Cathy Freeman

Australian short-distance runner

Choose Cathy and your child shares a first name with Cathy Freeman, an Australian short-distance runner. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Cathy, like who?” Cathy Freeman's Wikipedia article is available in 50 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Cathy Freeman on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Jason Pini/AusAID, CC BY 2.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 133,333 baby girls born in the US in 2025 was named Cathy, 12 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Cathy would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryCathy first shows up in US birth records in 1918, the first year at least 5 babies got it. It has been in use for 107 years since.
• 🏆Best yearIt was far more popular in 1958, when it ranked #34. Today it's #8,362, so it could be due a comeback.
• 📉Then vs nowCathy was 8.7× more common in 2000 than it is today. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 15,267 baby girls; in 2025, about 1 in 133,333.
• 🍂TrendCathy has slipped 4,099 places over the last five years and now sits at #8,362. Good news if you want a familiar name that fewer kids will share.
• 💬MeaningCathy is an English form of Katherine, which means “pure”. Our records link it to English, Greek and Irish roots.

About the name Cathy

Cathy is a girl name of English, Greek and Irish origin meaning “pure”. It has 5 letters and 2 syllables, starting with C and ending in “-thy”. US birth records list Cathy for girls from 1918 to 2025, in 108 of those 108 years. Its best year was 1958, when it ranked #34 among girl names. In 2025 it ranked #8,362, with 12 babies.

Origin:English namesGreek namesIrish namesLatin names