# Kathy (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/kathy/  
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 | not recorded |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Cathi, Cathie, Cathy, Kathi, Kathie |
| US babies named this | 334,870 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 739 / 334,131 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 111, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Kath + -y.

## 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 | 171 | 1,352 |
| 2012 | 176 | 1,335 |
| 2013 | 139 | 1,560 |
| 2014 | 142 | 1,539 |
| 2015 | 126 | 1,690 |
| 2016 | 159 | 1,451 |
| 2017 | 111 | 1,849 |
| 2018 | 91 | 2,107 |
| 2019 | 76 | 2,365 |
| 2020 | 83 | 2,183 |
| 2021 | 72 | 2,469 |
| 2022 | 75 | 2,437 |
| 2023 | 60 | 2,834 |
| 2024 | 64 | 2,708 |
| 2025 | 48 | 3,274 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1969 | 14 | 2,363 |
| 1970 | 12 | 2,798 |
| 1971 | 17 | 2,326 |
| 1972 | 12 | 2,911 |
| 1973 | 12 | 2,939 |
| 1974 | 7 | 4,398 |
| 1975 | 12 | 3,153 |
| 1976 | 6 | 5,281 |
| 1978 | 5 | 6,298 |
| 1979 | 5 | 6,545 |
| 1980 | 7 | 5,233 |
| 1982 | 7 | 5,322 |
| 1983 | 5 | 6,785 |
| 1984 | 5 | 6,843 |
| 1988 | 5 | 7,910 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 9 | 1,805 |
| 2000 | 8 | 1,995 |
| 2002 | 7 | 2,301 |
| 2004 | 4 | 3,725 |
| 2007 | 7 | 2,895 |
| 2008 | 9 | 2,487 |
| 2009 | 5 | 3,936 |
| 2010 | 6 | 3,533 |
| 2011 | 3 | 5,785 |
| 2013 | 4 | 4,739 |
| 2014 | 4 | 4,684 |
| 2016 | 6 | 3,609 |
| 2019 | 3 | 5,591 |
| 2020 | 3 | 5,493 |
| 2025 | 3 | 5,927 |

## People named Kathy

- Kathy Acker, American novelist, playwright, essayist, and poet (1947–1997)
- Kathy Hochul, 57th governor of state New York since 2021
- Kathy Baker, American actress (born 1950)
- Kathy Reichs, American writer and forensic anthropologist
- Kathy Najimy, American actress
- Kathy Hilton, American actress and television personality (born 1959)
- Kathy Kirby, British singer (1938–2011)
- Kathy Burke, British actress
- Kathy Kreiner, Canadian alpine skier
- Kathy Smallwood-Cook, Athletics (sport) competitor
- Kathy Watt, Australian cyclist
- Kathy Mattea, American musician, activist

## 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.