Caitlin

Meaning: Possibly each of the two; popularly linked to pure
Origin: Irish (from Greek via French) — Variant of Catherine · Greek; etymology debated

Nicknames: Cat, Catie, Caity, Cait

Girl's name · #2333 in the US (2025) · 90s wave

Popularity over time

Caitlin reached its best rank, #44, in 1988 and ranked #2333 in 2025. Roughly 112,000 girls have been named Caitlin since 1955.

Across the states

See where Caitlin is more common.

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 10 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Around the world

See how Caitlin ranks in other countries and regions.

#133 in N. Ireland (2025) · #249 in Ireland (2025) · #304 in Scotland (2025) · #1,035 in England & Wales (2025) · #1,506 in Ecuador (2025) · #1,360 in Canada (2024).

Famous Caitlins

Caitlin Moran — English author and broadcaster
Caitlin Clark — American basketball player (born 2002)
Caitlin Foord — Australian soccer player
Caitlin Stasey — Australian actress and singer
Caitlin FitzGerald — American actress (born 1983)

In stories & tradition

Caitlin (Killer Frost) — Justice League (TV series)
Caitlin Todd — NCIS (TV series)
Caitlin Fairchild — Gen¹³ (film)

What Caitlins become

Among 373 notable people named Caitlin:

Sports figures appear 2.05× more often than among typical names — e.g. Caitlin Clark, American basketball player (born 2002).

Spellings & nicknames

Together with its spelling variants Kaitlyn (#802), Katelyn (#1077), and Caitlyn (#2492), Caitlin would rank around #434 with about 710 births last year — the newborns split about 47/32/11/10 across Kaitlyn, Katelyn, Caitlin, and Caitlyn.

Similar names: Caitlyn · Marissa · Kaila · Courtney · Jaclyn · Kassandra

Browse more girl names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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