Kathryn

“Pure” — Greek origin

Girl's name · #729 in the US (2025) · Timeless

Kathryn holds its lane: charted since 1880 and rarely far from where it stands today (#729 in 2025). About 455,000 girls have carried it along the way. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records. Together with its spelling variants Katherine (#186) and Catherine (#314), Kathryn would rank around #82 with about 3,000 births last year — the newborns split about 55/32/13 across Katherine, Catherine, and Kathryn.

Around the world: about 1 in 13,000 girls in Canada (2024).

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 34 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Famous Kathryns

Kathryn Bigelow — American filmmaker (born 1951)
Kathryn Hahn — American actress (born 1973)
Kathryn D. Sullivan — American astronaut (born 1951)
Kathryn Newton — American actress
Kathryn Grayson — American actress and coloratura soprano (1922–2010)

In stories & tradition

Kathryn Janeway — Star Trek: Voyager · Old Wounds
Kathryn Merteuil — Cruel Intentions · Cruel Intentions 2
Kathryn Worthington — Uncanny X-Men

What Kathryns become

Among 878 notable people named Kathryn:

Scientists & scholars appear 1.82× more often than among typical names — e.g. Kathryn C. Thornton, American scientist and NASA astronaut.

Similar names: Katrina · Veronica · Kathleen · Ellen · Katie · Cynthia

Browse more girl names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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