boy's name

Cato

  • Origin Dutch
  • Gender Boy
  • Syllables 2
  • Letters 4
  • Popularity Uncommon
  • Births on record 730

Cato is a boy's name with 2 syllables. In 2025 it was given to 45 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.

  • Cato is a name of Dutch origin.
  • Peaked in 2025, when 45 babies were given the name.
  • It has been rising over the past decade.
  • Today about 1 in 73,676 babies in the United States is given this name.
  • 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.

Cato over time

Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.

217
'80 '90 '10 '20 '30 '40 '50 '60 '70 '80 '90 '00 '10 '20
Show the numbers
Births named Cato by decade in the United States
Decade Births
1880s 6
1890s 8
1910s 49
1920s 41
1930s 10
1940s 28
1950s 16
1960s 6
1970s 17
1980s 18
1990s 11
2000s 58
2010s 190
2020s (to 2025) 217

How popular is Cato?

In 2025, Cato was given to 45 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.

Where Cato is used

United States #2,814 45 in 2025
Canada #3,198 5 in 2019
England & Wales #5,924 3 in 2024

The bar shows how near the top of each country's list the name sits, on a scale where #1 fills the row and #1,000 is a sliver. The figures beside it are the real rank and the babies recorded that year.

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.

Names that peaked alongside Cato

These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.

Parents who like Cato also like

Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Cato over the last century — the same taste, a different name.

Sibling names for Cato

Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Cato — the two things that make a sibling set grate.

Common questions about Cato

How popular is the name Cato?

In 2025, Cato was given to 45 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.

Is Cato a girl's or a boy's name?

Cato is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.

How many syllables are in Cato?

Cato has 2 syllables.

When was Cato most popular?

Cato peaked in 2025, when 45 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.

Is Cato a good name?

That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Cato currently ranks #2,814 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.