Kathryn

Did you know?

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

⭐ Famous Kathryn

Kathryn Bigelow

American filmmaker (born 1951)

Choose Kathryn and your child shares a first name with Kathryn Bigelow, an American filmmaker. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Kathryn, like who?” Kathryn Bigelow's Wikipedia article is available in 72 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Kathryn Bigelow on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Bryan Berlin, CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 4,219 baby girls born in the US in 2025 was named Kathryn, 381 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Kathryn would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryKathryn has been in use since at least 1880, the first year US birth records were kept. That's 145 years of Kathryns, and counting.
• 🏆Best yearIt was far more popular in 1951, when it ranked #45. Today it's #729, so it could be due a comeback.
• 📉Then vs nowKathryn was 8.5× more common in 2000 than it is today. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 498 baby girls; in 2025, about 1 in 4,219.
• 🍂TrendKathryn has slipped 204 places over the last five years and now sits at #729. Good news if you want a familiar name that fewer kids will share.
• 📍Where it's lovedKathryn is most popular in Alabama, where it ranks #318, followed by South Carolina (#347) and Pennsylvania (#349). It's in the top 1,000 in 26 states.
• 💬MeaningKathryn is an English form of Katherine, which means “pure”. Our records link it to Celtic Gaelic, English and Greek roots.

About the name Kathryn

Kathryn is a girl name of Celtic Gaelic, English and Greek origin meaning “pure”. It has 7 letters and 2 syllables, starting with K and ending in “-ryn”. US birth records list Kathryn for girls from 1880 to 2025, in 146 of those 146 years. Its best year was 1951, when it ranked #45 among girl names. In 2025 it ranked #729, with 381 babies.

Origin:Celtic Gaelic namesEnglish namesGreek names