Caitlin

Irish variation of Catherine

"pure"

Caitlin Origin and Meaning

The name Caitlin is a girl's name of Irish origin meaning "pure".

An Irish and Welsh form of Catherine, Caitlin was a boom name of the eighties, rocketing from obscurity (Americans first heard it via the wife of doomed poet Dylan Thomas) to the height of popularity in the space of a decade. The original name was gradually eclipsed by its myriad spelling variations -- Katelyn and Kaitlyn both soon topping it on the popularity lists.

Now, most forms of Caitlin, including this most-authentic one, have started to dip, though there have been thousands of girls named Caitlin -- and Katelyn and Kaitlyn ad infinitum -- every year for the past three decades. So, while Caitlin is certainly one of the loveliest variations of Catherine, it's been overused to the point of semi-retirement, at least in the U.S. Cait might be a short form.

Actor Breckin Meyer named his daughter Caitlin in 2003. Caitlyn Jenner also brought a renewed fame to the name, though she uses the -lyn variation.

Caitlin Rank in US Top 1000

# 609 in the US

Caitlin Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 793 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Caitlin

• 609 US 2015
• 793 Nameberry 2025
• 798 Unique 2020
• 833 England 2023
• 89 Scotland 2015
• 91 Ireland 2014
• 98 Australia 2014
• 96 New Zealand 2014
• 450 Germany 2016

20 Names Similar to Caitlin

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Caitlin.

• Alison
• Briana
• Sher
• Cassi
• Kathryn
• Daniella
• Kirsten
• Carolyn
• Sara
• Michaela
• Jodi
• Jenna
• Chelsea
• Gabriela
• Geneveve
• Julianna
• Ana
• Rickie
• Megan
• Aubreyanna

Famous People Named Caitlin

• (Wendilyn Marielle) Caitlin "Cait" Brennan American singer and writer
• Caitlin Davies English writer
• Caitlin Flanagan American writer
• Caitlín Rebekah Kiernan Irish,American fantasy novelist
• Catherine Elizabeth "Caitlin" Moran English journalist
• Caitlin Thomas English author and wife of poet Dylan Thomas
• Caitlin Tiffany Glass American actress
• Caitlin Doughty American mortician and author
• Caitlin Cary American country music singer
• Katherine Anne "Caitlin" Clarke American actress and singer
• Caitlin Lynn American country music singer of duo Caitlin & Will
• Caitlin Elisabeth Rose American country music singer
• Caitlin Elizabeth Wachs American actress
• Caitlin Elizabeth Carmichael American actress
• Caitlin Mallory American ice dancer
• Caitlin Ariana Sanchez American voice actress
• Caitlin Alexandra Hill American YouTuber
• Caitlin Kinney American dancer and TV personality
• Lauren Caitlin "Caite" Upton Miss Teen South Carolina USA 2007
• Caitlin McCarthy American actress
• Caitlin McClatchey Scottish swimmer
• Caitlin Ashley Fein American actress; twin sister Amanda Fein
• Caitlin Jean Stasey Australian actress
• Caitlin Campbell New Zealand footballer
• Caitlin Cahow American ice hockey player
• Caitlin "Kitty" Carruthers American figure skater
• Caitlin Cunningham Australian basketball player
• Caitlin Lever Canadian softball player
• Caitlin Leverenz American swimmer
• Caitlin Lowe American softball player and Olympian
• Caitlin Jade Foord Australian footballer
• Caitlin "Caity" Friend Australian footballer
• Caitlin FitzGerald American actress
• Caitlin Fladager Canadian Instagram star
• Caitlin Brunell Miss Alabama 2014, daughter of NFL player Mark Brunell
• Caitlin Rivers Crowell daughter of singers Rodney Crowell and Rosanne Cash; granddaughter of singer Johnny Cash
• Caitlin Cassidy daughter of actor/producer Shaun Cassidy
• Caitlin Marie Waltrip Kinnaird, daughter of NASCAR driver Michael Waltrip
• Caitlin McCarthy daughter of singer Alison Moyet and Kim McCarthy
• Caitlin Kelly daughter of reality TV personality Deirdre "White Dee" Kelly
• Caitlin Willow Meyer (b. 2003) daughter of actor Breckin Meyer
• Caitlin Jennings (b. 2006) daughter of Jeopardy! champ Ken Jennings

The name Caitlin in Pop Culture

• Caitlin main character in "Mockingbird" by Kathryn Erskine
• Caitlin "Kate" Todd character in TV's "NCIS"
• Caitlin Caine character in the movie "The Long Kiss Goodnight"
• Caitlin Atwater character in the movie "The Staircase Murders"
• Caitlin O'Shea character in the movie "Falling Up"
• Caitlin Cooke character in animated series "6teen"
• Caitlin Ryan character on TV's "Degrassi: The Next Generation"
• Caitlin Sommers main character in the novel "Summer Sisters"
• Caitlin Snow aka Killer Frost, character in the CW TV show "The Flash," based off the DC Comics comic books of the same name
• Caitlin Strucker character on TV's "The Gifted"
• Caitlin Spencer character in the movie "Take The Lead"