# Cathy (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/cathy/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /ˈkæθi/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Cathi, Cathie, Kathi, Kathie, Kathy |
| US babies named this | 170,646 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 343 / 170,303 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 58, 1996 to 2025 |

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 47 | 3,419 |
| 2012 | 56 | 3,015 |
| 2013 | 59 | 2,876 |
| 2014 | 48 | 3,338 |
| 2015 | 64 | 2,749 |
| 2016 | 53 | 3,111 |
| 2017 | 31 | 4,499 |
| 2018 | 44 | 3,516 |
| 2019 | 30 | 4,564 |
| 2020 | 32 | 4,286 |
| 2021 | 22 | 5,604 |
| 2022 | 20 | 6,040 |
| 2023 | 25 | 5,156 |
| 2024 | 20 | 5,990 |
| 2025 | 12 | 8,463 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1959 | 23 | 1,671 |
| 1960 | 21 | 1,779 |
| 1961 | 19 | 1,888 |
| 1962 | 20 | 1,811 |
| 1963 | 9 | 2,888 |
| 1964 | 18 | 1,909 |
| 1965 | 5 | 3,992 |
| 1966 | 12 | 2,351 |
| 1967 | 8 | 3,028 |
| 1968 | 7 | 3,417 |
| 1969 | 10 | 2,891 |
| 1970 | 11 | 2,917 |
| 1971 | 9 | 3,402 |
| 1973 | 5 | 5,204 |
| 1974 | 5 | 5,318 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 9 | 1,755 |
| 1997 | 4 | 3,174 |
| 1998 | 7 | 2,165 |
| 1999 | 5 | 2,770 |
| 2000 | 4 | 3,247 |
| 2001 | 4 | 3,262 |
| 2002 | 4 | 3,409 |
| 2003 | 4 | 3,594 |
| 2004 | 4 | 3,725 |
| 2006 | 3 | 5,061 |
| 2007 | 3 | 5,201 |
| 2008 | 4 | 4,524 |
| 2016 | 3 | 5,785 |

## People named Cathy

- Cathy Freeman, Australian short-distance runner
- Cathy Moriarty, actress
- Cathy Weseluck, Canadian actress (born 1970)
- Cathy O'Donnell, American actress (1923–1970)
- Cathy Berberian, American mezzo-soprano and composer
- Cathy McMorris Rodgers, American politician (born 1969)
- Cathy Ferguson, American swimmer
- Cathy Yan, American director and producer
- Cathy O'Neil, American mathematician
- Cathy Lee Crosby, American actress
- Cathy Cavadini, American voice actress
- Cathy Downs, American actress (1924–1976)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.