Meaning & Origin
A female given name from Irish, variant of Caitlin.
Katelyn is a girl's and boy's baby name of Irish origin, an anglicized variant of Caitlín, itself the Irish form of Catherine, from the Greek Aikaterine — possibly meaning 'pure' or linked to the goddess Hecate. The -lyn spelling reflects American phonetic styling of the 1990s.
Katelyn peaked in the U.S. top 50 in the mid-2000s, part of a broader Caitlin/Kaitlyn/Katelyn spelling family. Parents today often choose it for its familiar sound and the flexibility of nicknames like Kate or Katy.