Katelyn means pure — the K-ELYN variant of Caitlin, carrying Catherine's Greek purity through a different vowel arrangement than Kaitlyn. The -ELYN ending creates a slightly different visual feel. Same Irish-pure heritage, slightly different creative-spelling approach.
Katelyn is the K-ELYN variant of Caitlin (Irish Catherine) meaning pure. The -elyn ending creates a slightly different visual feel from Kaitlyn while maintaining the same pronunciation.
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First recorded
Earliest known use: Modern K-ELYN variant of Caitlin.
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Today
Katelyn remains a beloved choice, ranking #618 in the US. 133,974 babies have been named Katelyn since 1970.
◈ Sources: Behind the Name, SSA data
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How popular is Katelyn?
1993peak year
Katelyn reached its widest reach during the 1990s. In 1993, 5,975 babies were named Katelyn (ranked #54 nationally). In the present decade it sits around #618, with about 592 babies given the name annually. Katelyn has been declining in recent years. The all-time total comes to roughly 133,974 registrations.
Year-by-year registrations1880–2024 · U.S. Social Security data
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