Kathleen

Did you know?

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

⭐ Famous Kathleen

Kathleen Turner

American actress (born 1954)

Choose Kathleen and your child shares a first name with Kathleen Turner, an American actress. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Kathleen, like who?” Kathleen Turner's Wikipedia article is available in 66 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Kathleen Turner on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: ShashiBellamkonda from Potomac, USA, CC BY 2.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 7,994 baby girls born in the US in 2025 was named Kathleen, 201 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Kathleen would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryKathleen has been in use since at least 1880, the first year US birth records were kept. That's 145 years of Kathleens, and counting.
• 🏆Best yearIt was far more popular in 1949, when it ranked #9. Today it's #1,150, so it could be due a comeback.
• 📉Then vs nowKathleen was 7.0× more common in 2000 than it is today. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 1,146 baby girls; in 2025, about 1 in 7,994.
• 🍂TrendKathleen has slipped 146 places over the last five years and now sits at #1,150. Good news if you want a familiar name that fewer kids will share.
• 📍Where it's lovedKathleen is most popular in Pennsylvania, where it ranks #515, followed by Massachusetts (#519) and Ohio (#743). It's in the top 1,000 in 7 states.

About the name Kathleen

Kathleen is a girl name of Celtic Gaelic, Greek and Irish origin. It has 8 letters and 2 syllables, starting with K and ending in “-een”. US birth records list Kathleen for girls from 1880 to 2025, in 146 of those 146 years. Its best year was 1949, when it ranked #9 among girl names. In 2025 it ranked #1,150, with 201 babies.

Origin:Celtic Gaelic namesGreek namesIrish namesScottish names