Declining since 2015, #11,932 for girls today.
Popularity of Katniss since 2012
Babies named Katniss per year in U.S. Social Security records.
Data table (by decade)
| Decade | Girls |
|---|---|
| 2010s | 149 |
| 2020s | 60 |
Meaning & origin
Katniss is a literary coinage that entered the U.S. baby name lexicon exclusively through Suzanne Collins's Hunger Games trilogy. First recorded in Social Security Administration data in 2012, the year of the first film adaptation, it reached a peak rank of 11932 in 2014 and has since seen falling usage. The name's trajectory reflects a classic Hollywood spike: rapid rise followed by gradual decline. Its popularity is concentrated among parents drawn to strong, independent fictional heroines, though its appearances in any state's top-name lists have been too sparse to report. At a 1-in-229610 incidence, Katniss remains a rare but recognizable choice, a testament to the outsized cultural impact of a single character.
Katniss is a coinage by author Suzanne Collins for her dystopian series The Hunger Games (2008). The name is taken from the katniss plant, also known as arrowhead or swamp potato, a wild edible root. Its modern use as a given name began after the 2012 film adaptation, with a peak in popularity in 2014.
“Katniss” around the world
Where Katniss lands in the latest official birth statistics abroad, matched to the U.S. spelling.
France
10
babies in 2024
Sources: INSEE (France).
Nicknames & variants
Nicknames: Kat, Niss
Sibling names for Katniss
Names that share Katniss's style, for a brother or sister.
