Given name
Cathleen
“one who is pure; virginal”
Cathleen is a variant of Catherine. One English interpretation is “one who is pure; virginal.” Its derivation is not certain.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Cathleen is a variant of Catherine. One English interpretation is “one who is pure; virginal.” Its derivation is not certain.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In Irish use, Cathleen is used as a spelling variant of Kathleen.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1896. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Cathleen through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 29,933
- 10 boys · 29,923 girls
- Most popular year
- 1958
- 1,159 babies
- 2025
- 10
- #9,581 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −20%
- Easing
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 10 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 9,581 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 19.7% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 1,159 in 1958. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 24,815 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Cathleen’s family of names
Cathleen has an alternative spelling in Kathleen. Cathleen has a related form in Kathleen. Cathleen has a related form in Catherine.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Cathleen
- Cathleen Synge MorawetzCanadian mathematician (1923–2017)
- Cathleen NesbittBritish actress (1888-1982)
- Cathleen TschirchGerman athlete and athletics coachborn 1979
- Nomaindiya MfeketoSouth African politicianborn 1952
- Cathy RigbyAmerican actress, speaker, and former artistic gymnast (born 1952)
- Cathleen MartiniGerman bobsledderborn 1982
- Cathleen RundGerman swimmerborn 1977
- Cathleen SchineAmerican writerborn 1953
- Cathleen CordellAmerican actress (1915-1997)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Cathleen, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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“a young peasant girl”
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Maureen
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Gwen
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Janet
“God is gracious”
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Lorna
“crowned with laurel; from the laurel tree”
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