How popular is the baby name Kataleah in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Kataleah.

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Popularity of the baby name Kataleah


Posts that mention the name Kataleah

Where did the baby name Cataleya come from in 2011?

The character Cataleya from the movie "Colombiana" (2011)
Cataleya from “Colombiana”

The curious name Cataleya first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 2011:

  • 2014: 695 baby girls were named Cataleya [rank: 460th]
  • 2013: 687 baby girls were named Cataleya [rank: 448th]
  • 2012: 639 baby girls were named Cataleya [rank: 480th]
  • 2011: 29 baby girls were named Cataleya [debut]
  • 2010: unlisted
  • 2009: unlisted

The next year, it jumped straight into the girls’ top 500. The jump was so big that it qualified Cataleya as the fastest-rising baby name of 2012.

Here’s the graph:

Graph of the usage of the baby name Cataleya in the U.S. since 1880.
Usage of the baby name Cataleya

The sudden trendiness of Cataleya inspired parents to create dozens of variant spellings, such as…

2010201120122013
Cataleya.29*639
[rank: 480th]
687
[rank: 448th]
Kataleya.10*197240
Cattleya.8*123124
Catalaya..51*57
Cattaleya..46*46
Catalia..35*29
Katalaya..32*37
Katalia..26*25
Kattleya..26*29
Catalea..20*9
Kataleah..17*10
Kattaleya..17*23
Katalea..16*19
Katalayah..12*.
Kathaleya..12*6
Cataleyah..11*22
Cateleya..11*8
Kataleyah..10*18
Kathalia..9*.
Cataleah..8*15
Kataleia..8*10
Kataliyah..8*8
Kataliya..7*8
Katilaya..7*11
Cataleia..6*5
Cataliyah..5*5
Catilaya..5*.
Catileya..5*.
Cathaleya...8*
Catalya...6*
Catelaya...6*
Kataleiya...6*
Cattalaya...5*
Kateleya...5*
*Debut

(Catalaya and Cattaleya were the second- and third-highest girl-name debuts of 2012, incidentally.)

So where did the name Cataleya come from?

The action thriller movie Colombiana, which was released in the summer of 2011.

The main character, Cataleya Restrepo (played by Zoë Saldaña), had witnessed her parents being murdered when she was a child in Bogotá. Fifteen years later, after being raised by an uncle in Chicago, she was working as a contract killer and seeking vengeance on the men who killed her family.

The character Cataleya from the movie "Colombiana" (2011)
Cataleya wearing her Cattleya necklace

The character was named after the orchid genus Cattleya (pronounced KAT-lee-uh). She wears a Cattleya necklace that had belonged to her mother, and leaves a lipstick drawing of a Cattleya on each of her victims as a calling card.

The genus Cattleya, native to the tropical rainforests of South America, was named in honor of British horticulturalist William Cattley. His surname, a variant of Catley, can refer to any of several places in England called Catley.

What are your thoughts on the name Cataleya? (How would you spell it?)

P.S. Zoë Saldaña also plays Neytiri in the Avatar films.

Sources:

Images: © 2011 Sony Pictures

The top girl-name debuts of 2012

lotus bud

Katniss and Daenerys have arrived, you guys! Time to start the party.

The debut name party, that is.

Here are the girl names that debuted the highest on the SSA’s 2012 baby name list:

  1. Kimbella, 52 baby girls
  2. Catalaya, 51
  3. Cattaleya, 45
  4. Daleyza, 41
  5. Aaradhya, 38
  6. Catalia, 34
  7. Katalaya, 32
  8. Katalia, 26
  9. Kattleya, 26
  10. Aayat, 23
  11. Karliah, 23
  12. Daenerys, 21
  13. Catalea, 20
  14. Iviona, 19
  15. Itzae, 18
  16. Kataleah, 17
  17. Kattaleya, 17
  18. Katalea, 16
  19. Nirvi, 15
  20. Brely, 14
  21. Merliah, 14
  22. Aamilah, 13
  23. Anabrenda, 13
  24. Carliana, 13
  25. Kinsler, 13
  26. Lynnley, 13
  27. Abishai, 12
  28. Adylee, 12
  29. Ahri, 12
  30. Brenlynn, 12
  31. Drayah, 12
  32. Jeiza, 12
  33. Katalayah, 12
  34. Kathaleya, 12
  35. Katniss, 12
  36. Sebella, 12
  37. Analeyah, 11
  38. Aubreelynn, 11
  39. Cataleyah, 11
  40. Cateleya, 11
  41. Ireoluwa, 11
  42. Jonier, 11
  43. Nahyla, 11
  44. Noomi, 11
  45. Payzlie, 11
  46. Renesmae, 11
  47. Yandy, 11

And a selection from the 10-babies-and-under group: Scarlettrose, Eevee, Venba, Eponine, Swayzi, Anemone, Aoibheann, Hunnie, Kambreigh, Mlak, Paislyn, Paislynn, Paizly, Parizoda, Adn, Alanoud, Annabellelee, Ayoola, Bellaluna, Callalily, Cataliyah, Catilaya, Catileya, Cymphonique, Eilonwy, Ellyot, Fiore, Goodness, Hannabella, Heartlynn, Inchara, Kymbella, Myjoy, Nymeria, Pfeiffer, Renezmae, Sorella, Timberlynn.

Where do the names above come from?

Here are some likely explanations:

  • Aaradhya – from the daughter of Indian actress Aishwarya Rai. The baby was born in late 2011, but not named until early 2012.
  • Catalaya, Cattaleya, Catalia, Katalaya, Katalia, etc. – variants of Cataleya, which debuted last year. (And which now happens to be skyrocketing in popularity.) Cataleya was a character in the 2011 movie Columbiana.
  • Daenerys – from “Game of Thrones” character Daenerys Targaryen. (Last year’s fifth-highest debut was her title, Khaleesi.)
  • Eponine – from Les Miserables character Eponine Thenardier.
  • Karliah – from a character in the video game Skyrim. (Another Skyrim name we’ve seen used as a baby name is Dovahkiin.)
  • Katniss – from Hunger Games character Katniss Everdeen.
  • Kimbella, Kymbella – from reality show “Love & Hip Hop” cast member Kimberly “Kimbella” Vanderhee.
  • Merliah – from Barbie in A Mermaid Tale 2 (2012) character Merliah Summers.
  • Noomi – from Swedish actress Noomi Rapace, who was in the 2011 movies The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.
  • Pfeiffer – from Michelle Pfeiffer…?
  • Renesmae, Renezmae – variants of Renesmee, which debuted in 2009. Renesmee is a character in the Twilight series.
  • Sebella – from the daughter of Puerto Rican actress Roselyn Sanchez. The baby was born in early 2012.
  • Yandy – from reality show “Love & Hip Hop” cast member Yandy Smith.

Can you come up with explanations for any of the others?

P.S. Here’s last year’s debut list.

Source: SSA

Image: Adapted from LotusBud0048a (public domain) by Frank “Fg2” Gualtieri