Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine

names A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A persona ...

. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints,

Catherine of Alexandria Catherine of Alexandria (also spelled Katherine); grc-gre, ἡ Ἁγία Αἰκατερίνη ἡ Μεγαλομάρτυς ; ar, سانت كاترين; la, Catharina Alexandrina). is, according to tradition, a Christian saint and virgin, wh ...

. In the early Christian era it came to be associated with the Greek adjective (), meaning "pure", leading to the alternative spellings ''Katharine'' and ''Katherine''. The former spelling, with a middle ''a'', was more common in the past and is currently more popular in the United States than in Britain. ''Katherine'', with a middle ''e'', was first recorded in England in 1196 after being brought back from the

Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

Popularity and variations

English

In Britain and the U.S., ''Catherine'' and its variants have been among the 100 most popular names since 1880. The most common variants are ''Katherine,'' ''Kathryn,'' and ''Katharine''. The spelling ''Catherine'' is common in both English and

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

. Less-common variants in English include ''Katheryn'', ''Katharyn'', ''Kathryne'', ''Katheryne'', ''Katherin'', ''Kathrine'', ''

Catharine Catharine may refer to: * Catharine (given name) In geography: * Catharine, New York * St. Catharine, Missouri * Saint Catharine, Kentucky * Catharine, Illinois * Catharine, Kansas * St. Catharines, Ontario See also *Catherina (and similar spe ...

'' and ''Cathryn''. '' Kathleen'' or '' Cathleen'', an Anglicized form of the Irish form ''Caitlín'', has become established in the US among people with no Irish background, but is less popular in England and Wales. The form ''

Karen Karen may refer to: * Karen (name), a given name and surname * Karen (slang), a term and meme for a demanding woman displaying certain behaviors People * Karen people, an ethnic group in Myanmar and Thailand ** Karen languages or Karenic l ...

'', of Danish origin, is now often considered an independent name in English. Diminutives include ''Katie'', ''Katy'', ''Kate'', ''Kathy'', ''Kathe'', ''Kath'', ''Kay'', ''Kat'', ''Katja''/''Katya'', ''Kota'', ''Katyusha'', ''Katrya'', ''Kitty'', ''Kit'', ''Kasia'', and others.

Other languages

* Αἰκατερίνη (

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

) * Aikaterine (

Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligib ...

) * Akaterina (

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

) * Cadi (

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

) * Cáit ( Irish) * Caitlín ( Irish) *

Caitlin Caitlin () is a female given name of Irish origin. Historically, the Irish name Caitlín was anglicized as Cathleen or Kathleen. In the 1970s, however, non-Irish speakers began pronouncing the name according to English spelling rules as , which ...

(

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

) * Caitlyn (

) * Caitria ( Irish) * Caitrín ( Irish) * Caitrina ( Irish) * Caitríona ( Irish) * Caja (

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

) * Cajsa (

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

) * Caren (

) *

Carin Carin is a given name and surname. As a given name it is a variant spelling of Karin. Notable persons with the name Carin include: Persons with the given name * Carin Cone (born 1940), American swimmer * Carin du Rietz (1766–1788), Swedish soldi ...

(

) * Carina ( Portuguese) * Carine (

; spelled Karien in

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

) * Caryn (

) * Cat (

) * Cát Linh ( Vietnamese) * Cătălina (

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

) *

Catalina Catalina may refer to: Arts and media * ''The Catalina'', a 2012 American reality television show * ''Catalina'' (novel), a 1948 novel by W. Somerset Maugham * Catalina (''My Name Is Earl''), character from the NBC sitcom ''My Name Is Earl'' ...

( Italian, Spanish) * Catant (

) * Catarina ( Galician, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish,

Neapolitan Neapolitan means of or pertaining to Naples, a city in Italy; or to: Geography and history * Province of Naples, a province in the Campania region of southern Italy that includes the city * Duchy of Naples, in existence during the Early and Hig ...

) * Cate (

) * Cateline (Old French) * Cateliña ( Galician) * Caterina (

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

, Italian,

) * Caterine (Old French) * Cathanne (

) * Cathareau (

) *

Catharina Catharina is a feminine given name, the Dutch and Swedish spelling of the name Catherine. In the Netherlands, people use a great number of short forms in daily life, including ''Carine'', ''Catelijne'', ''Cato'', ''Ina'', ''Ineke'', ''Kaat'', ''Kaat ...

( Dutch,

) *

(

) * Catherin (

) * Catherina ( Spanish) * Catherine (

) * Catherne (17th century English) * Cathey ( Nordic) * Cathie (

) * Cathleen (

Hiberno-English Hiberno-English (from Latin ''Hibernia'': "Ireland"), and in ga, Béarla na hÉireann. or Irish English, also formerly Anglo-Irish, is the set of English dialects native to the island of Ireland (including both the Republic of Ireland a ...

) * Cathrin (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

) * Cathrine ( Scandinavian) ** Cathrinus (Latinized, male) * Cathryn (

) * Cathy (

) * Cati ( Italian) * Catia ( Italian) * Cátia ( Portuguese) * Catie (

) * Catina (

) * Catinca (

) * Catja (

) * Catlin (Middle English) * Cato ( Dutch) * Catraoine ( Irish) * Catreena (

Manx Manx (; formerly sometimes spelled Manks) is an adjective (and derived noun) describing things or people related to the Isle of Man: * Manx people **Manx surnames * Isle of Man It may also refer to: Languages * Manx language, also known as Manx ...

) * Catreeney (

) * Catrien ( Dutch) * Catrin (

) * Catrine (

) * Catrinel (

) * Catrina (

) * Catrìona (

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

) * Catterina ( Italian) * Catuxa ( Galician) * Caty ( Italian) * Ecaterina (

) * ეკა ''Eka'' (Georgian language, Georgian) * Екатерина ''Ekaterina'' (Bulgarian language, Bulgarian, Macedonian language, Macedonian) * Екатерина ''Ekaterina, Jekaterina, Yekaterina'' (Russian language, Russian) * Ekaterina (Latvian language, Latvian) * ეკატერინე ''Ekaterine'' (Georgian language, Georgian) * ''Gaa Fu Lin'' (Hong Kong Cantonese) * Գադարա ''Gadara'' (Armenian language, Armenian) * Կատարինէ ''Gadarine'' (Armenian language, Armenian) * Gáhteriinná Sami languages, Sami * Gáre Sami languages, Sami * Gáren Sami languages, Sami * Jekaterina (Estonian language, Estonian) * Kaarat Greenlandic language, Greenlandic * Kaarin (Estonian language, Estonian) * Kaarina (name), Kaarina (Finnish language, Finnish) * Kaatje ( Dutch) * Kaća (Serbian language, Serbian) * Кацярына / Kaciaryna (Belarusian language, Belarusian) * Կատարա ''Kadara'' (Armenian language, Armenian) * Կատարինէ ''Kadarine'' (Armenian language, Armenian) * Kadi (Estonian language, Estonian) * Kadri (name), Kadri (Estonian language, Estonian) * Kaety (

) * Káhtariinná Sami languages, Sami * Kai (name), Kai (Estonian language, Estonian,

) * Kaia (Estonian language, Estonian, Norwegian language, Norwegian) * Kaie (Estonian language, Estonian) * Kaight (

) * Kaija (Finnish language, Finnish) * Kaila (

) * Kaili (Estonian language, Estonian) * Kailie (

) * Kailani (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian) * Καιλαύρα / كلارا / Kelavra (Greek language, Greek, Hawaiian language, Hawaiian, Arabic language, Arabic,

) * Kailua (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian) * Καινά / كائنا / Kena (

, Greek language, Greek, Arabic language, Arabic) * Καίρα / كيرا / Kera (Greek language, Greek, Arabic language, Arabic) * Καίρη / كيري/カイリ / Keri (Greek language, Greek, Arabic language, Arabic, Japanese language, Japanese, Hawaiian language, Hawaiian) * Καίρια (Keria) (Greek language, Greek, Arabic language, Arabic) * Kairi (disambiguation), Kairi (Arabic language, Arabic, Estonian language, Estonian, Greek language, Greek, Japanese language, Japanese) * Kairia (Arabic language, Arabic, Estonian language, Estonian, Greek language, Greek, Japanese language, Japanese) * Kaisa (name), Kaisa (Estonian language, Estonian, Finnish language, Finnish) * ''Kai Sa Lin'' (Traditional Chinese characters, traditional Chinese) * 凯瑟琳 ''Kai Se Lin'' (Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese) * Kaisu (Finnish language, Finnish) * Kait (

) * Kaitlan (

) * Kaitlane (

) * Kaitlin (

) * Kaitline (

) * Kaitlyn (

) * Kaitlynne (

) * Kaitrin (

) * Kaitrina ( Dutch,

) * Kaity (

) * Kaj (name), Kaj (

, male) * Kaja ( Scandinavian, Estonian language, Estonian, Polish language, Polish) * Kajsa (

) * Kakalina (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian) * Kalena (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian) * Kalina (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian) * Katerina (Albanian language, Albanian) * Κάρα (Kara (name), Kara) (Arabic language, Arabic,

, Greek language, Greek, Japanese language, Japanese) * Káre (Sami languages, Sami) * Káren (Sami languages, Sami) *

(

, Norwegian language, Norwegian, Dutch) * Karena (

) * Karenina (

, Scandinavian, Russian language, Russian) * Karentina (

, Scandinavian, Russian language, Russian) * Kari (Norwegian language, Norwegian) * Kary (Norwegian language, Norwegian) * Karia (Norwegian language, Norwegian) * Karien (

, Dutch) * Kariinná (Sami languages, Sami) * Karin (given name), Karin (

, Dutch, Estonian language, Estonian, Faroese language, Faroese, Finnish language, Finnish,

) * Karina (name), Karina (

, Polish language, Polish, Russian language, Russian,

) * Կարինե / Karine (Armenian language, Armenian,

) * Karoun (Arabic language, Arabic, Armenian language, Armenian) * Karyn (

) * Karyna (

, Polish language, Polish) * 笠利 ''Kasari'' (Japanese language, Japanese) * Kat (disambiguation), Kat (

) * Kata (name)#Given name, Kata (Croatian language, Croatian, Finnish language, Finnish, Hungarian language, Hungarian) * Katalin (Basque language, Basque, Hungarian language, Hungarian) * Katalina (Basque language, Basque, Esperanto, Hungarian language, Hungarian) * Katariina (Estonian language, Estonian, Finnish language, Finnish) * Katarin (Basque language, Basque, Breton language, Breton) * Katarína (Slovak language, Slovak) * Katarina (given name), Katarina (Bosnian language, Bosnian, Croatian language, Croatian, Esperanto,

, Hungarian language, Hungarian, Macedonian language, Macedonian, Serbian language, Serbian, Slovene language, Slovene,

) * Katarine (

) * Katarino (Esperanto) * Katarzyna (Polish language, Polish) * Kate (given name), Kate (Croatian language, Croatian,

) * Kate (

) * Katerine (

) * Katen ( Dutch) * Katelijn ( Dutch) * Katelijne ( Dutch) * Καίτη (Keti) (Greek language, Greek) * Καίτυ (Kety) (Greek language, Greek) * Katia ( Italian) * Kátia ( Portuguese) * Κάτια (''Katia'') (Greek language, Greek) * Katya (Russian language, Russian), (Bulgarian language, Bulgarian), (Ukrainian language, Ukrainian) * Katelin (

) * Kateline (Middle English) * Katell (Breton language, Breton) * Katelyn (

) * Katelynn (

) * Katelynne (

) * Katenka (Russian language, Russian) * Kateri (Mohawk language, Mohawk) * Katerien (Afrikaans language, Afrikaans), ( Dutch) * Kateřina (Czech language, Czech) * Κατερίνα/Katerina (Albanian language, Albanian, Bulgarian language, Bulgarian, Greek language, Greek, Latin, Macedonian language, Macedonian, Russian language, Russian, Ukrainian language, Ukrainian) * Katerine (Middle English) * Katerino (Esperanto) * Kateřina (Czech language, Czech) * Kateryna (Ukrainian language, Ukrainian) * Katerynka (Ukrainian language, Ukrainian) * Καθαλαύρα/Kathalavra (Greek language, Greek,

) * Καθάνδρα (Kathandra) (Greek language, Greek) * Καθανδρέα (Kathandrea) (Greek language, Greek) * Kathani (Hindi language, Hindi, Arabic language, Arabic) * Kathanna (

) * Kathanne (

) * Kathareau (

) * Katharina (

, Latin) * Katharine (

), (

) ( Dutch) * Καθαρσία (Katharsia) (Greek language, Greek) * Käthe (

) * Kathelijne ( Dutch) * Katherina (

) * Katherne (17th century English) * Katheryn (

) * Katheryne (

) * Kathey (Gaelic languages, Gaelic) * Kathi (

) * Kathie (

) * Kathianna (

) * Kathianne (

) * Kathlaura (

) * Kathlauren (

) * Kathlaurie (

) * Kathleanna (

) * Kathleanne (

) * Kathleen (

) * Kathlyn (

) * Kathreena (Malayalam language, Malayalam) * Kathrina (

) * Kathrin (

) * Kathru (Malayalam language, Malayalam) * Kathryn (

) * Kathy (

) * Kati (Estonian language, Estonian, Finnish language, Finnish, Hungarian language, Hungarian) * Катя ''Katya, Katia, Katja'' (Russian language, Russian, Ukrainian language, Ukrainian) * Katica (Croatian language, Croatian, Czech language, Czech, Serbian language, Serbian, Slovene language, Slovene, Hungarian language, Hungarian) * Katie (

) * Katika (

) * Κατίνα (Katina) (Greek language, Greek) * Κatina, Katinja (Esperanto) * Katinka (

, Hungarian language, Hungarian, Russian language, Russian) * Katixa (Basque language, Basque) * Katja (Croatian language, Croatian, Dutch, Finnish language, Finnish,

, Russian language, Russian, Slovene language, Slovene, Ukrainian language, Ukrainian) * Katka (Czech language, Czech, Russian language, Russian) * Katlyn (

) * Kätlin (Estonian language, Estonian) * კატო ''Kato'' (Georgian language, Georgian) * Kató (Hungarian language, Hungarian) * Katóka (Hungarian language, Hungarian) * Katre (Estonian language, Estonian) * Katri (Finnish language, Finnish) * Katrian (

, Dutch, Dutch language, Flemish Dutch) * Katriana ( Portuguese, Spanish) * Katrianna (

, Dutch,

, Norwegian language, Norwegian,

) * Katrianne (

) * Katrien (

, Dutch, Dutch language, Flemish Dutch) * Katriin (Estonian language, Estonian) * Katriina (Finnish language, Finnish) * Katrijn ( Dutch, spelled 'Katryn' in

and

, see below) * Katrin (Estonian language, Estonian, Faroese language, Faroese,

) * Katrina (given name), Katrina (

, Dutch,

, Esperanto,

, Norwegian language, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish,

) * Katrīna (Latvian language, Latvian) * Katrine ( Dutch,

, Gaelic, Scandinavian) * Katrinka ( Dutch,

, Russian language, Russian) * Katushka (Russian language, Russian) * Katrusia (Ukrainian language, Ukrainian) * Katuška (Czech language, Czech) * Katriona (

) * Katryn (

) * Katy (given name), Katy (

) * Kay (

) * Kaye (

) * Kerry (

) * ქეთა ''Keta'' (Georgian language, Georgian) * ქეთევან ''Ketevan'' (Georgian language, Georgian) * ქეთი ''Keti'' (Georgian language, Georgian) * ქეთო ''Keto'' (Georgian language, Georgian) * Ketlen * Ketlin (Estonian language, Estonian) * Ketrina (Albanian language, Albanian) * Kitty (English) * Koto (Hungarian language, Hungarian) * Kotryna (Lithuanian language, Lithuanian) * Кася / Kasia (Belarusian language, Belarusian) * Kasia (disambiguation), Kasia (Polish language, Polish) * Kaśka (Polish language, Polish) * Kasieńka (Polish language, Polish) * Kyla (

) * Kylie (name), Kylie (

) * Kysa (Finnish) * Nienke ( Dutch) * Nynke (West Frisian language, Frisian) * Qatherine (

) * Quatherine (

) * Reina (given name), Reina (Japanese language, Japanese, Yiddish language, Yiddish) * Riin (Estonian language, Estonian) * Riina (given name), Riina (Estonian language, Estonian, Finnish language, Finnish) * Rina (Croatian language, Croatian) * Triin (Estonian language, Estonian) * Triinu (Estonian language, Estonian) * Trijn ( Dutch) * Trijntje ( Dutch) * Trina (name), Trina (

) * Trinchen (

) * Trine (

) * Trīne (Latvian language, Latvian) * Trinette (

) * Tríona (Irish language, Irish Gaelic)

References

Feminine given names Given names Given names of Greek language origin