Etymology & Historical Origin of the Baby Name Kaitlyn

Kaitlyn is a fanciful respelling of the traditional Irish name, Caitlín, which is the Celtic equivalent of Catherine. The name was brought to the British Isles in the Middle Ages by way of the Norman French version, Cateline. The Catherine family of names all derives from the Greek “Aikaterinë” (see Catherine) which translates to “pure one, clear, innocent.” The name was borne by an early saint who was martyred in Egypt and came to be associated with courage and purity, qualities that were attractive to the Celts. In Ireland, the Celtic version, Caitlín, proved popular and gave rise to the anglicized versions of K/Cathleen in England. The Irish legend of the Countess of Cathleen was put to pen by William Butler Yeats in 1892. Story goes that during a famine, the beautiful and fair-haired young countess offered her soul to the devil in exchange for food for the starving. Upon her death, the devil came to collect his due, but God interceded so Cathleen could go straight to heaven, so impressed was He that she would not only sacrifice her life, but her very salvation, for others.

All About the Baby Name – Kaitlyn

Personality

OF THE GIRL NAME KAITLYN

The number 11 is a Master Number, and embodies heightened traits of the Two. This personality is on a life journey to find spiritual truth. They are extremely idealistic and intuitive. Elevens have a rare and exceptional spiritual energy that brings a sense of obligation to illuminate the world around them. It's a very powerful responsibility, but these people have far more potential than they know. It's important that they surrender to higher ideals. They have the capacity to see the bigger picture, and they possess the skills to inspire others spiritually. Elevens have strong diplomatic skills and can become great peacemakers. Master numbers can be both a blessing and a curse, as they walk the fine line between greatness and the potential for self-destruction.

Popularity

OF THE GIRL NAME KAITLYN

With this trendy new spelling of an old Irish girls’ name, we’re not surprised to see than Kaitlyn first enters the American popularity charts very recently in the year 1983. The traditional Caitlin (without the accent mark, of course) was first to debut on the U.S. charts in 1976. Once the old Irish name firmly establishes itself on the charts indicating wide acceptance, American parents start to introduce spelling variations (just look at how many forms of the Irish Caitlin are currently on the charts!). This follows a typical pattern of American naming practices. We adopt a personal name into our own lexicon from elsewhere (in this case, Ireland), and then we make up new spellings. At first, we opt for closer phonetic forms of the name – and then, when the name becomes too popular, we start to differentiate ourselves from the pack by essentially making-up wild, almost arbitrary respellings. Not only did Americans succeed in changing the spelling of Caitlín, but we also altered the elocution. The name is traditionally pronounced “Koit-leen” or “Kotch-leen” in Ireland – the name Kate-lynn is more America. Despite Americans current love-affair with Celtic names, we’re still adamant about respellings and inventing new forms. If you are of Irish descent, or a true admirer of Celtic tradition, we suggest you go with Caitlin over Kaitlyn. But we have to concede that Kaitlyn is the more favored.

Quick Facts

ON KAITLYN

GENDER:

Girl

ORIGIN:

American

NUMBER OF SYLLABLES:

2

RANKING POPULARITY:

134

PRONUNCIATION:

KATE-linn

SIMPLE MEANING:

Pure one, clear, innocent

Characteristics

OF KAITLYN

Inspirational

Highly Intuitive

Spiritual Teacher

Extremely Bright

Uplifting

Truth-seeker

Cultural References to the Baby Name – Kaitlyn

Literary Characters

OF THE BABY NAME KAITLYN

We cannot find any significant literary characters by the name of Kaitlyn

Childrens Books

ON THE BABY NAME KAITLYN

We cannot find any childrens books with the first name Kaitlyn


Popular Songs

ON KAITLYN

We cannot find any popular or well-known songs with the name of Kaitlyn


Famous People

NAMED KAITLYN

We cannot find any well-known or significantly famous people with the first name Kaitlyn.

Children of Famous People

NAMED KAITLYN

We cannot find any children of famous people with the first name Kaitlyn

Historic Figures

WITH THE NAME KAITLYN

We cannot find any historically significant people with the first name Kaitlyn