Cathleen

Cathleen: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning: “pure”
Origin: Irish
Say it: kath-LEEN · 2 syllables
Used for: Girls

Cathleen is an Anglicized Irish form of Caitlín, the Irish form of Katherine/Catherine. It shares the traditional meaning 'pure'.

Irish names English names Names meaning pure Classic names Vintage names

How popular is Cathleen?

20243.3 per million US babies

Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Compare with another name

Babies named Cathleen in 202411

Peak year1958

Total US babies since 188029,922

Cathleen is fading: recent use is about 47% of its level ten years before.

Names like Cathleen

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

Catalinapure · Spanish
Katherinepure · Greek
Catherinepure · Greek
Karenpure · Danish
Katiepure · English
Kathrynpure · Greek
Katepure · Greek
Caitlinpure · Irish

Cathleen questions

What does the name Cathleen mean?

Cathleen means "pure". It comes from Irish. Cathleen is an Anglicized Irish form of Caitlín, the Irish form of Katherine/Catherine. It shares the traditional meaning 'pure'.

Is Cathleen a boy or girl name?

Cathleen is mainly a girl's name in US records (100% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Cathleen?

11 US babies were named Cathleen in 2024. Its peak year was 1958.

How do you pronounce Cathleen?

Cathleen is usually pronounced kath-LEEN.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.