# Katherine
**Katherine** is a feminine given name of English usage, one of the standard English spellings of a name that goes back to the Greek **Aikaterine** (Αἰκατερίνη) and has been common in England since the 12th century.[1](https://www.behindthename.com/name/katherine) In the United States it has been recorded since the first year of [Social Security](https://www.edgepedia.org/social-security) name data, 1880, and remains in regular use, ranking #186 among girls' names in 2025.[2](https://ninan.org/name/katherine/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Origin | Greek Aikaterine (Αἰκατερίνη); the etymology is debated, and the association with Greek *katharos* ("pure") is a later folk etymology[1](https://www.behindthename.com/name/katherine) |
| English history | Common in England since the 12th century in many spellings; Katherine and Catherine became standard in the later Middle Ages[1](https://www.behindthename.com/name/katherine) |
| US births since 1880 | 652,750 recorded births, of which 650,926 girls and 1,824 boys[2](https://ninan.org/name/katherine/) • [3](https://www.humanverse.com/name/katherine) |
| Peak | 1990, with 11,657 US births, per one SSA-based analysis; another puts the peak in 1988 with 11,154 girls[2](https://ninan.org/name/katherine/) • [4](https://nameyearbook.com/name/katherine) |
| 2025 standing | #186 among US girls, 1,670 births; #872 in England and Wales[2](https://ninan.org/name/katherine/) • [5](https://www.behindthename.com/name/katherine/top/england-wales) |
| Living bearers | Roughly 481,000 to 488,000 estimated living Americans named Katherine, with a median age of 39[2](https://ninan.org/name/katherine/) • [3](https://www.humanverse.com/name/katherine) |
| Common short forms | Kate, Katie, Kathy, and Kitty, among many others[6](https://www.behindthename.com/name/catherine) |
## Etymology
The name comes from the Greek Aikaterine (Αἰκατερίνη), whose origin is disputed. Proposed sources include an earlier Greek name Hekaterine (Ἑκατερινη), from *hekateros* meaning "each of the two"; the name of the goddess Hecate; the Greek word *aikia*, meaning "torture"; or a Coptic name meaning "my consecration of your name."[1](https://www.behindthename.com/name/katherine) In the early Christian era the name became associated with the Greek [adjective](https://www.edgepedia.org/adjective) *katharos*, meaning "pure," and the Latin spelling was changed from Katerina to Katharina to reflect that association.[1](https://www.behindthename.com/name/katherine) The etymological dictionary record agrees that the -h- was introduced in the 16th century, probably by folk etymology from *katharos*.[7](https://www.etymonline.com/word/Catherine)
## The saint and the spread of the name
The name was borne by a semi-legendary 4th-century saint and martyr from [Alexandria](https://www.edgepedia.org/alexandria) who, according to the tradition, was tortured on a spiked wheel; the etymological record dates her martyrdom to 307 and describes her as a legendary virgin of the time of Maximinus.[1](https://www.behindthename.com/name/katherine) • [7](https://www.etymonline.com/word/Catherine) The saint was first venerated in Syria, and returning crusaders introduced the name to [Western Europe](https://www.edgepedia.org/western-europe).[1](https://www.behindthename.com/name/katherine) Her popularity as a medieval saint accounts for the enduring use of the given name; the [Catherine wheel](https://www.edgepedia.org/breaking-wheel), a fireworks device known from 1760, and a type of pear attested from the 1640s both take their names from her.[7](https://www.etymonline.com/word/Catherine)
In England the name has been common since the 12th century in many spellings, with Katherine and Catherine becoming the standard forms in the later Middle Ages; both spellings remain in regular use in the [English-speaking world](https://www.edgepedia.org/english-speaking-world).[1](https://www.behindthename.com/name/katherine) Historical bearers include [Catherine of Siena](https://www.edgepedia.org/catherine-of-siena), a 14th-century mystic; [Catherine de' Medici](https://www.edgepedia.org/catherine-de-medici), a 16th-century French queen; three of Henry VIII's wives, including Catherine of Aragon; and two empresses of Russia, including Catherine the Great.[1](https://www.behindthename.com/name/katherine)
## Popularity in the United States
Katherine appears in the [Social Security Administration](https://www.edgepedia.org/social-security-administration)'s name data from its first year, 1880, and has held a top-100 place in 132 separate years.[2](https://ninan.org/name/katherine/) Its best recorded rank is 26th.[3](https://www.humanverse.com/name/katherine) The year with the most births recorded under the name is given as 1990, with 11,657 births, by one SSA-based analysis, and as 1988, with 11,154 girls, by another that measures per 1,000 girls recorded; the two sources do not agree.[2](https://ninan.org/name/katherine/) • [4](https://nameyearbook.com/name/katherine)
The name has been declining in recent years. In 2025 it ranked #186 with 1,670 births, down from #61 in 2011, and one analysis reports the ten-year count falling 52 percent; another puts the 2023–2025 share of births 25 percent below the 2018–2020 level.[2](https://ninan.org/name/katherine/) • [8](https://www.behindthename.com/name/katherine/top/united-states) • [4](https://nameyearbook.com/name/katherine) Although the name is used almost entirely for girls, SSA data records 1,824 boys named Katherine since 1880.[3](https://www.humanverse.com/name/katherine)
Estimates of living American bearers vary with method: about 488,000 by one survival-weighted calculation, about 481,000 by another, and about 456,593 by a third. All are estimates rather than headcounts, produced by weighting each recorded birth year by the chance of a person born that year still being alive under SSA life tables; because such tables know nothing about migration, the figure is described as a floor for a name often carried by immigrants rather than born to them.[2](https://ninan.org/name/katherine/) • [3](https://www.humanverse.com/name/katherine) • [9](https://www.namecensus.com/first-names/katherine-meaning-and-history/) The median age of living Katherines is 39, meaning half were born before 1986.[2](https://ninan.org/name/katherine/) • [3](https://www.humanverse.com/name/katherine)
In [England and Wales](https://www.edgepedia.org/england-and-wales), where counts come from the [Office for National Statistics](https://www.edgepedia.org/office-for-national-statistics), Katherine has fallen further: it ranked #48 in 1996 and #872 in 2025, with 0.014 percent of girls given the name.[5](https://www.behindthename.com/name/katherine/top/england-wales)
## Variants and related names
Katherine and Catherine are the two standard English spellings; in the United States the K spelling has been more popular since 1973.[1](https://www.behindthename.com/name/katherine) English variants include Katharine, Kathryn, Katheryn, and Cathryn, with diminutives including Kate, Katie, Kathy, Kitty, and Kay.[6](https://www.behindthename.com/name/catherine) The name has cognates across Europe: Katharina and Katrin in German, Catherine in French, Catalina in Spanish, Caterina in Italian, Katarzyna in Polish, Katalin in Hungarian, Yekaterina and Katerina in Russian, and Kaarina in Finnish.[10](https://ans-names.pitt.edu/ans/article/download/2750/2479/6898) Within the [British Isles](https://www.edgepedia.org/british-isles), derivatives include Caitlín in Irish Gaelic, Catrin in Welsh, and Catriona in Scots Gaelic.[10](https://ans-names.pitt.edu/ans/article/download/2750/2479/6898)
The short form Kate has been used independently since the Middle Ages and appears in Shakespeare's *The Taming of the Shrew* (1593) as a short form of Katherina.[11](https://namewise.app/compare/caitlin-vs-kate) Caitlin is the Anglicized form of the Irish Caitlín, itself a cognate within the wider Katherine family of names.[11](https://namewise.app/compare/caitlin-vs-kate)
## References
1. [Katherine – Meaning, origin and history, Behind the Name](https://www.behindthename.com/name/katherine)
2. [Katherine – how many people are named Katherine?, ninan.org](https://ninan.org/name/katherine/)
3. [Katherine – name popularity, meaning and history, Humanverse](https://www.humanverse.com/name/katherine)
4. [How Many Babies Are Named Katherine? Popularity Since 1880, Name Year Book](https://nameyearbook.com/name/katherine)
5. [Katherine – Popularity in England & Wales, Behind the Name](https://www.behindthename.com/name/katherine/top/england-wales)
6. [Catherine – Meaning, origin and history, Behind the Name](https://www.behindthename.com/name/catherine)
7. [Catherine – Etymology, Origin & Meaning, Online Etymology Dictionary](https://www.etymonline.com/word/Catherine)
8. [Katherine – Popularity in the United States, Behind the Name](https://www.behindthename.com/name/katherine/top/united-states)
9. [Katherine: Name Meaning, History, and Popularity, Name Census](https://www.namecensus.com/first-names/katherine-meaning-and-history/)
10. [Names: A Journal of Onomastics, American Name Society](https://ans-names.pitt.edu/ans/article/download/2750/2479/6898)
11. [Caitlin vs Kate, Namewise](https://namewise.app/compare/caitlin-vs-kate)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Languages and linguistics › Names and onomastics › Individual given names (by language and gender) › Classical and European names*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license