Kathleen
Pronounced K AE0 TH L IY1 N (ARPABET)
- 2 syllables
- Peaked 1951
- 145 years in use
- 1 spelling
How popular is Kathleen?
Kathleen is a girls' name, and has been in the record since the data starts in 1880. It has been given to 748,838 children — the 37th most common girls' name on record.
It is falling away, down 55% on the previous decade. Its best single year was 1951, when 27,589 children were given it.
Cathleen is counted with it here, since the two are pronounced identically.
Spelling variants
These spellings sound identical to Kathleen and are counted together with it, which is why the totals here are higher than a single-spelling count.
- Cathleen
Characteristics
- 2 syllables
Phonetic detail
- Pronunciations:
- K AE0 TH L IY1 N · K AE2 TH L IY1 N
- Stress pattern:
- 01 · 21
- Syllables:
- 2
Stress digits mark unstressed (0), primary (1) and secondary (2) syllables.
Names like Kathleen
Same first letter and syllable count, peaking around the same time.
Sibling names for Kathleen
Names from the same era with a matching rhythm but a different initial.
Frequently asked questions
- How popular is the name Kathleen?
- Kathleen ranks 37th among girls' names in US records, with 748,838 births since 1880. Over the past decade it accounts for 2,921.
- Is Kathleen a unisex name?
- No. Kathleen is recorded almost entirely as a girls' name; births to the other gender are too few to register as a share.
- When was Kathleen most popular?
- 1951, when 27,589 children were given the name. It has been in use for 145 years and is still recorded as of 2024.
- How else is Kathleen spelled?
- Cathleen. All of these sound the same and are counted together in the totals on this page.