Kataleya is a modern spelling of Cataleya, a name taken from the cattleya orchid, which botanists named after the English plant collector William Cattley; the flower sense "orchid" is what parents hear in it. The name was invented for the heroine of the 2011 action film Colombiana, played by Zoe Saldana, and has been especially popular in Hispanic American families since. Kataleya entered the US top 1000 in 2018 and has climbed to number 459 in 2025, its best rank yet.