Cato

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

⭐ Famous Cato

Cato Maximilian Guldberg

Mathematician and chemist from Norway

Choose Cato and your child shares a first name with Cato Maximilian Guldberg, a mathematician and chemist from Norway. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Cato, like who?” Cato Maximilian Guldberg's Wikipedia article is available in 27 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Cato Maximilian Guldberg on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Photogravure by H. Riffart, Berlin. Scanned, image processed and uploaded by Kuebi = Armin Kübelbeck, Public domain (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 38,023 baby boys born in the US in 2025 was named Cato, 45 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Cato would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryCato has been in use since at least 1880, the first year US birth records were kept. That's 145 years of Catos, and counting.
• 🏆Best yearIt was far more popular in 1891, when it ranked #700. Today it's #2,798, so it could be due a comeback.
• 📈Then vs nowCato is 11× more common today than it was in 2000. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 400,000 baby boys; in 2025, about 1 in 38,023.
• 🚀TrendCato has climbed 476 places in the US rankings over the last five years and now sits at #2,798. Fast risers like this often keep climbing, so expect to hear it more.
• 📍Where it's lovedCato is most popular in Colorado, where it ranks #849. It's in the top 1,000 in 1 state.
• 💬MeaningIn Latin, Cato means “shrewd, wise”.

About the name Cato

Cato is a boy name of Latin origin meaning “shrewd, wise”. It has 4 letters and 2 syllables, starting with C and ending in “-ato”. US birth records list Cato for boys from 1880 to 2025, in 57 of those 146 years. Its best year was 1891, when it ranked #700 among boy names. In 2025 it ranked #2,798, with 45 babies.

Origin:Latin names