Cathy
Cathy is a feminine given name. It is a pet form of Catherine or Cathleen.
Meaning & Origin of Cathy
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Cathy is a feminine given name. It is a pet form of Catherine or Cathleen.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
The Story of Cathy
Cathy first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1918, with 5 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 1958, when 10,942 Cathys were born — ranking #34 that year. As of 2026, Cathy ranks #6,301 for baby girls with 18 births, falling sharply (-36%). In total, more than 170K Cathys have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1910s through the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Names that sound like Cathy
Phonetically similar names — useful when Cathy is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Cathy
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About the name Cathy
Cathy is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1918 and has accumulated 170K births in the dataset. Cathy's peak popularity came in 1958 when it ranked #34. Use the chart and map above to compare Cathy's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 1958 →
- Names of the 1950s →
- Names starting with "C" →
- Browse all girl names →
- Top names of 2026 →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.