Catherine
Meaning
traditionally "pure"
Goes by Cate, Cathy, Kate, Katie, and 2 more
Name day: April 29 in the Roman calendar of saints (Saint Catherine of Siena).
The story
Catherine is one of Europe's great traveling classics, but its meaning is less settled than most name books suggest. It comes from the Greek Aikaterine, whose deeper origin is uncertain; early Christians associated it with katharos, 'pure,' and that association helped shape later spellings. Saints, empresses, and queens carried Catherine across languages, producing Catarina, Catalina, Ekaterina, Caitlin, and dozens more. The American curve is the opposite of a fashion spike. Catherine starts strong, stays strong through almost the entire twentieth century, and only eases modestly in the 2020s. Its secret may be the number of lives inside it: Catherine for ceremony, Cate or Kate for clean simplicity, Cathy for midcentury warmth, Kit for surprise. The root may resist a neat answer, but the record does not. Catherine endures.
Catherine around the world
One shared root links 26 names across 8 languages.
Shared root: from Greek Aikaterine, linked since early Christian times to katharos "pure", though the name's true origin predates that folk etymology
The constellation
19 more branches of this family
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Catherine peaked in the 1900s and the 1910s in nearly equal measure.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
2,556 people · the #4,354 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 76,923 · median age 22
Among people named Catherine living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1990s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 336 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Catherine
People given the name Catherine in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1950 to 1999. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Catherine deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Catherine truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Catherine fits with your family’s names and surname.
Where Catherine travels
Chinese American · A dignified English classic used across generations in Chinese American families.
Keep exploring
Names like Catherine · Nicknames for Catherine · Chinese American baby names · Saint names for babies and confirmation · Names of kings and queens
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