How to say it
ca · ta · LE · ya
/ˌkɑt.əˈleɪ.ə/
Feminine
Cataleya
Cattleya orchid
What it means
From the Cattleya orchid genus (named for 19th-century English horticulturalist William Cattley). Colombia's national flower. Zoë Saldana's character in Colombiana (2011) gave it 21st-century English-language cinema anchor.
Cataleya is a Spanish-language given name from Cattleya, a genus of showy orchids named for the 19th-century English horticulturalist William Cattley (the genus was first identified and named by John Lindley in 1824). The Cattleya orchid is Colombia's national flower. The 2011 Luc Besson-produced film Colombiana, starring Zoë Saldana as Cataleya Restrepo, gave the name decisive English-language cinema anchor for the spelling Cataleya. As a first name it surged in Latino communities through the 2010s; it entered the US top 500 in 2018. Common short: Cata or Leya.
Popularity over time
peaked at #236 in 2024, currently #238 in 2025.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, names given to at least 5 babies in a year, 1880–present. See where the names are moving
Heads-up notes
- Pop culture
Colombiana (2011 film with Zoë Saldana) is the dominant English-language cinema anchor; the orchid is Colombia's national flower.
Who's worn it
Historical figures, characters, and public faces who share the name. The cultural surface, for whatever weight you want to give it.
- Cataleya Restrepo (Colombiana) Zoë Saldana's avenging-daughter character, 2011
Spelling variants
- Cattleya
- Catalea
Names with the same feeling
See Cataleya from another angle
By meaning
By style