Cathleen

femaleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Cathleen: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Cathleen: Recorded since 1965, its highest recorded position is #262, and it was last ranked in 2015.

2registrars recorded it
23times a registrar ranked it
51years from first to last
#262highest recorded position
7groupings it qualifies for

Region

Falling

among girls in England and Wales · 1996–2015

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#3795
1999	#3900
2000	#3247
2003	#4373
2005	#4798
2008	#5545
2009	#4564
2015	#5730

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

FallingEngland and Wales · Girls

Recorded in official data among girls in Republic of Ireland in 15 of the 26 years from 1965 to 1990.

Official data from 2 national registrars across 2 regions, 1965–2015 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1965
First recorded at #262 among girls in Republic of Ireland in 1965 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Republic of Ireland · Girls
Highest recorded1965–1990
Highest recorded position: #262 among girls in Republic of Ireland, in 1965 (recorded 1965–1990).
Republic of Ireland · Girls
Most recent2015
Most recently recorded at #5730 among girls in England and Wales, in 2015.
England and Wales · Girls

Cathleen appears in 2 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Republic of Ireland · Girls, which has ranked it in 15 years beginning in 1965, and has registered 61 births with the name.

Cathleen across 2 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

Cathleen's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
Republic of Ireland · Girls	#262 (1965)	#262 (1965)	#446 (1990)	15 of 26	61 (1965–1990)	7 (1965)
England and Wales · Girls	#3795 (1996)	#3247 (2000)	#5730 (2015)	8 of 20	26 (1996–2015)	4 (2000)

Cathleen by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Cathleen in Republic of Ireland · Girls, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1960s	19	4 of 10	5
1970sbusiest	24	6 of 10	4
1980s	14	4 of 10	4
1990s	4	1 of 10	4

Across Republic of Ireland · Girls, the 1970s were its busiest decade — the 6 years of it this list covers, averaging 4 births a year.

See the names Republic of Irelandhas recorded the most births with →

Cathleen appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

Popularity data

Official popularity data is available for 2 regions, from 1965 to 2015. Highest recorded position: #262 in Republic of Ireland in 1965.

Cathleen's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2015	England and Wales	female	#5730	3	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	female	#4564	4	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	female	#5545	3	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	female	#4798	3	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	female	#4373	3	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	female	#3247	4	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	female	#3900	3	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	female	#3795	3	High	Verified
1990	Republic of Ireland	female	#446	4	High	Verified
1983	Republic of Ireland	female	#476	4	High	Verified
1982	Republic of Ireland	female	#523	3	High	Verified
1981	Republic of Ireland	female	#471	4	High	Verified
1980	Republic of Ireland	female	#542	3	High	Verified
1978	Republic of Ireland	female	#522	3	High	Verified
1977	Republic of Ireland	female	#429	5	High	Verified
1975	Republic of Ireland	female	#503	3	High	Verified
1974	Republic of Ireland	female	#490	3	High	Verified
1973	Republic of Ireland	female	#402	5	High	Verified
1970	Republic of Ireland	female	#363	5	High	Verified
1968	Republic of Ireland	female	#401	3	High	Verified
1967	Republic of Ireland	female	#354	4	High	Verified
1966	Republic of Ireland	female	#310	5	High	Verified
1965	Republic of Ireland	female	#262	7	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
Republic of Ireland hub — collected by CSO Ireland

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 2 registrars between 1965 and 2015, ranked in 23 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #262, first reached in 1965.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 7 births, registered in Republic of Ireland in 1965.

Its record falls into 12 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 6 years.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1996, and 31 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

6decades with a ranked yearRecorded in 6 decades →
4 yearslongest unbroken run of ranked years
12separate stretches the record falls into10 or more separate stretches →
6 yearslongest absence inside the recorded period4 to 9 years missing →
#5,730position in 2015, its most recent recorded year
31 yearsyears between the first and last registrar to record itAcross 21 to 40 years →
7births registered in its largest year, 1965Under 25 births →

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Catherina · #198, 36y
Catherine · #2, 75y
Cathrin · #229, 31y
Cathrina · #293, 19y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 2 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Bernadine · #262, 19y
Antoin · #263, 20y
Madelene · #264, 28y
Osian · #264, 28y

Also first recorded in the 1960s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1960 and 1969.

Bernadine · #262, 19y
Blanaid · #262, 19y
Corinna · #262, 34y
Jana · #262, 58y

Cathleen was ranked #262 in Republic of Ireland · Girls in 1965. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Cathleen and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Cathleen without appearing here.

Cathleen moved ahead of

Ellinor Compare
In 2008 they stood at #5545 and #3860 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2009 that had become #4564 and #5556.
Kristy Compare
In 2008 they stood at #5545 and #3860 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2009 that had become #4564 and #5556.
Camilla Compare
In 1989 they stood at #476 and #438 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 1990 that had become #446 and #517.
Jeanette Compare
In 1989 they stood at #476 and #347 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 1990 that had become #446 and #517.

Moved ahead of Cathleen

Jamie Compare
In 1977 they stood at #429 and #468 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 1978 that had become #522 and #291.
Lena Compare
In 1973 they stood at #402 and #449 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 1974 that had become #490 and #300.
Cara Compare
In 1972 they stood at #363 and #396 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 1973 that had become #402 and #248.
Sophia Compare
In 1977 they stood at #429 and #468 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 1978 that had become #522 and #388.

Moved the opposite way to Cathleen

Aisling Compare
Between 1965 and 1990 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Cathleen went from #262 to #446 while Aisling went from #121 to #9.
Alison Compare
Between 1965 and 1990 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Cathleen went from #262 to #446 while Alison went from #117 to #38.
Amanda Compare
Between 1965 and 1990 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Cathleen went from #262 to #446 while Amanda went from #129 to #33.
Amy Compare
Between 1965 and 1990 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Cathleen went from #262 to #446 while Amy went from #262 to #12.

Moved the same way as Cathleen

Alice Compare
Between 1965 and 1990 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Cathleen went from #262 to #446 and Alice from #60 to #110.
Angela Compare
Between 1965 and 1990 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Cathleen went from #262 to #446 and Angela from #21 to #190.
Ann Compare
Between 1965 and 1990 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Cathleen went from #262 to #446 and Ann from #5 to #47.
Anna Compare
Between 1965 and 1990 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Cathleen went from #262 to #446 and Anna from #30 to #66.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Official popularity data is available for 2 regions, from 1965 to 2015. Highest recorded position: #262 in Republic of Ireland in 1965. Source data last verified 2026-07-25.

Cathleen

Cathleen at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Cathleen across 2 official records

Cathleen by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Cathleen appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1960s

Names published alongside Cathleen

Cathleen and the names beside it

Cathleen moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Cathleen

Moved the opposite way to Cathleen

Moved the same way as Cathleen

Cathleen at a glance

Cathleen across 2 official records

Cathleen by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Cathleen appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1960s

Names published alongside Cathleen

Cathleen and the names beside it

Cathleen moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Cathleen

Moved the opposite way to Cathleen

Moved the same way as Cathleen