girl's name
Caitlin
KAYT-lin
- Origin Irish
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 7
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 160,401
Northern Ireland
#120
2024 births
Caitlin is a girl's name of Greek origin, the Irish form of Katherine, and its English mispronunciation generated a whole family of new names. It ranks 120th in Northern Ireland and 256th in Ireland, and it is falling.
- Caitlin is a name of Irish origin.
- Peaked in 1988, when 7,274 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 42,506 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1955.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Caitlin over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1950s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1950s | 46 |
| 1960s | 410 |
| 1970s | 1,277 |
| 1980s | 33,755 |
| 1990s | 49,128 |
| 2000s | 22,315 |
| 2010s | 4,935 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 560 |
What Caitlin means
Caitlin inherits Katherine's meaning, which is genuinely unknown. Pure is the standard gloss, but it was attached in late antiquity by association with a Greek word rather than derived from the name.
Where Caitlin comes from
Caitlin is the Irish form of Cateline, the Old French version of Katherine, which descends from the Greek Aikaterine — a name whose derivation is lost. Early Christian writers linked it to katharos, pure, and respelled it to match, which is how pure became the answer everyone gives. In Irish, Caitlín is said KOYT-leen, because the t is broad and the ao-type vowel does not behave as English expects. English speakers reading it cold said KATE-lin instead, and that reading was then respelled phonetically to produce Katelyn, Kaitlyn, Katelynn and a dozen others — an entire naming family generated by a mispronunciation. Cathleen and Kathleen are older anglicizations of the same name, and Caitríona is the separate Irish form closer to Catherine.
Caitlin in use
Caitlin ranks 120th in Northern Ireland with 17 births in 2024 and 256th in Ireland, and it is falling in our data from a peak in 1988. Our records carry it from 1955. It holds 1,032nd in England and Wales and 2,332nd in the United States, where the Katelyn and Kaitlyn respellings absorbed most of the demand and are counted separately.
How popular is Caitlin?
In 2025, Caitlin was given to 78 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Caitlin is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
How Caitlin is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Caitlín | Caitlín is a rare spelling of Caitlin, written with a fada and recorded 68 times, mostly in Ireland. | 68 |
Names that peaked alongside Caitlin
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Caitlin also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Caitlin over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Caitlin in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
- Irish
- Caitilin
Sibling names for Caitlin
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Caitlin — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Caitlin
What does the name Caitlin mean?
It inherits Katherine's meaning, which is unknown. Pure was attached later by association with a Greek word.
How is Caitlín said in Irish?
KOYT-leen. The English KATE-lin reading is a mispronunciation that stuck.
Where did Katelyn and Kaitlyn come from?
They are phonetic respellings of the English mispronunciation of Caitlín — a naming family generated by a misreading.
How popular is Caitlin?
120th in Northern Ireland and 256th in Ireland.
Is Caitlin a girl's or a boy's name?
Caitlin is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Caitlin?
Caitlin has 2 syllables.
Is Caitlin a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Caitlin currently ranks #120 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.