Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Katherine?
Births per year, rank history and how many Katherines are alive today.
Katherine (female) is an uncommon spelling of the girls' name Catherine in England and Wales, ranked 872nd in 2025 with 40 babies given the name. This spelling of the name peaked in 1984, when around 1,400 babies were given the name, the 29th most popular that year. It has declined since 1984; the 2025 figure is roughly 3% of its peak. Numbers have been falling in recent years. At least 44,000 babies have been named Katherine in England and Wales since 1964. Figures before 1996 are estimates. Common short forms of Katherine include Katie, Kate and Kay.
Across all spellings of the name, the Catherine you are most likely to meet is around 62 years old - or else around 29: the name has two living generations. Half of all Catherines born in England and Wales are between 36 and 67, and there are at least 130,000 of them alive today. If you walk into a room of 100 females, there's roughly a 34% chance that at least one of them will be called Catherine.
How many babies are named Katherine each year?
Includes all spellings: Katherine, Catherine, Katharine, Kathryn. Figures before 1996 are estimates.
Where does the Katherine spelling rank?
Where does the Catherine spelling rank?
Where does the Katharine spelling rank?
Where does the Kathryn spelling rank?
Where this data comes from
Figures from 1996 onwards are the Office for National Statistics' annual baby-name registrations for England and Wales, which record every name given to three or more babies in a year. Figures before 1996 are estimates: the ONS published only top-100 rankings at ten-year intervals back to 1904, so counts for those years are modelled from the rankings, calibrated against Douglas Galbi's long-run research into English name frequencies, and shown with an uncertainty band. Estimates of living bearers combine these birth figures with national life tables and ONS mid-year population estimates.
One limit worth naming: these figures count names as registered at birth. Anyone who changes their name later in life - including trans people, and anyone who adopts a different name by deed poll or simply by use - is not reflected here. Birth registrations record where a name began, not the name a person lives with.
Common questions
When was the name Katherine most popular?
The most popular form of the name, Catherine, peaked in 1964, when around 3,800 babies in England and Wales were given the name. The Katherine spelling itself peaked in 1984, with around 1,400 babies.
How many people are called Katherine?
At least 130,000 people named Katherine in any spelling born in England and Wales are alive today.
How old is the typical Katherine?
Most living Katherines are between 36 and 67; the most common age is about 62. There is a second cluster around 29.
Is Katherine becoming more or less popular?
Declining: recent figures are a fraction of the 1964 peak.