Kathleen
A girls’ name of Greek origin, meaning pure; a form of Katherine.
How Kathleen has moved
View as table
| Year | US rank |
|---|---|
| 2015 | #823 |
| 2016 | #841 |
| 2017 | #873 |
| 2018 | #885 |
| 2019 | #943 |
| 2021 | #985 |
Kathleen by the numbers
In 2025, 34 babies in England and Wales were named Kathleen. In the US, 310 were, though that figure is from 2017, the most recent full year we hold.
It is used at about the same rate on both sides of the Atlantic.
Its American peak was 26,714 babies in 1951, so it is a 1950s name that has since fallen a long way.
Other names that come from Katherine
Like Kathleen, each of these traces back to Katherine: a form of it, a name built from it, or a son or daughter of it. Not always the same sex.
- Katiepure; a diminutive of Katherine770 in the US (2017)
- Katelynpure; a modern variant of Katherine760 in the US (2017)
- Kathrynpure; variant spelling of Katherine744 in the US (2017)
- Kitdiminutive of Christopher or Katherine413 in England and Wales (2025)
- Kaelynpure; a modern variant of Katelyn or Katherine332 in the US (2017)
- Katrinavariant of Katherine; pure or unsullied193 in the US (2017)
- Katerinapure; a form of Katherine167 in the US (2017)
- Karipure; a form of Katherine153 in the US (2017)
Spelled almost the same
Other names in the records within a letter or two of Kathleen. Close spellings are not always related names, but they are usually worth seeing together.
Sounds like Kathleen
Names that are said the same way as Kathleen, however they are written. Sounding alike does not mean they share a history.
Other names that mean purity
Like Kathleen, each of these has purity in its meaning. Different names, different histories, the same idea.
Names about as common as Kathleen
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