Given name & surname
Cato
“one who is all-knowing”
Cato is used as a given name and a surname. One Latin interpretation is “one who is all-knowing.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Latin interpretation is “one who is all-knowing.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Latin.
How it developed
In English usage, Cato as a surname developed from Catherine.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Cato through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 675
- 675 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2025
- 45 babies
- 2025
- 45
- #2,804 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +39%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 45 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 2,804 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 38.6% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. In 2025, Colorado and Texas shared the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (5 each). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 453 as a first name in 2020; 7,852 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Cato’s family of names
In English usage, Cato as a surname developed from the French form Catherine. Cato has a related form in Caeto. Cato has a related form in Caito.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 4
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Cato
- Cato Maximilian Guldbergmathematician and chemist from Norway1836–1902
- Cato Bontjes van Beekmember of the German resistance to Nazism (1920-1943)
- Cato André HansenNorwegian footballer and manager (1972-)
- Cato MenkerudNorwegian rally driverborn 1973
- Cato HansenNorwegian footballer (1988-)
- Cato GuntveitNorwegian footballerborn 1975
- Cato JuneAmerican football player and coach (born 1979)
- Cato T. LaurencinAmerican surgeon, biomedical engineerborn 1959
- Cato HoltetNorwegian footballerborn 1963
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
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