girl's name
Kate
KAYT
- Origin English
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 1
- Letters 4
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 117,843
the United States
#522
2025 births
Kate is a girl's name of Greek origin, a short form of Katherine whose meaning has never actually been established. It ranks 53rd in Ireland and 522nd in the United States, and it is falling in both.
- Kate is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 2007, when 2,550 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 5,756 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Kate 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.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 3,194 |
| 1890s | 3,001 |
| 1900s | 2,063 |
| 1910s | 2,845 |
| 1920s | 1,966 |
| 1930s | 967 |
| 1940s | 1,002 |
| 1950s | 1,259 |
| 1960s | 2,037 |
| 1970s | 5,504 |
| 1980s | 13,618 |
| 1990s | 9,355 |
| 2000s | 20,789 |
| 2010s | 14,470 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 4,006 |
What Kate means
Kate inherits Katherine's meaning, which is unknown. Pure is what almost every source says, but that answer was attached in late antiquity by association with a Greek word, not derived from the name itself.
Where Kate comes from
Kate is the oldest and plainest of Katherine's short forms, in English use since the Middle Ages — Shakespeare uses it in three plays, and in Henry the Fifth the French princess Catherine is Kate throughout. Katherine descends from the Greek Aikaterine, whose derivation is genuinely lost; Hekate and a Greek word meaning each have both been proposed and neither can be shown. What can be shown is the later change: Christian writers linked the name to katharos, pure, and the spelling shifted to Katharina to fit, which is how pure became the standard gloss. Saint Catherine of Alexandria carried the name into every European language. Kate has been registered independently rather than as a short form since the nineteenth century, and it now competes with Katie, Kayla and Catherine for the same parents.
Kate in use
Kate ranks 53rd in Ireland with 94 births in 2025 and 522nd in the United States with 576 births, but only 1,104th in England and Wales, where the fuller forms hold more of the demand. It is falling in our data from a peak in 2007. Our records carry it from 1880, so unlike most short forms in this range it has a continuous rather than a revived history.
How popular is Kate?
In 2025, Kate was given to 576 babies in the United States, ranking #522 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Kate 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.
Names that peaked alongside Kate
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Kate also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Kate over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Kate 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.
Sibling names for Kate
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Kate — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Kate
What does the name Kate mean?
It inherits Katherine's meaning, which is unknown. Pure is the standard answer but was attached later by association.
Is Kate short for Katherine?
Originally yes, and it is the oldest of Katherine's short forms. It has been registered independently since the nineteenth century.
What is the difference between Kate and Katie?
Both are short forms of Katherine. Kate is the older and plainer; Katie adds a diminutive ending.
How popular is Kate?
Fifty-third in Ireland and 522nd in the United States.
Is Kate a girl's or a boy's name?
Kate is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Kate?
Kate has 1 syllable.
Is Kate a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Kate currently ranks #53 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.