Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and
other variations, is a feminine
given name
A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...
. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Christian saints,
Catherine of Alexandria
Catherine of Alexandria, also spelled Katherine, was, according to tradition, a Christian saint and Virginity, virgin, who was martyred in the early 4th century at the hands of the emperor Maxentius. According to her hagiography, she was both a ...
.
[
In the early Christian era it came to be associated with the Greek adjective (), meaning 'pure'. This influenced the name's English spelling, giving rise to variants ''Katharine'' and ''Catharine''. The spelling with a middle 'a' was more common in the past. ''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 at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...
.
Popularity and variations
Anglophone use
In Britain and America, ''Catherine'' and its variants have been among the 100 most popular names since 1880. Amongst the most common variants are ''Katherine'' and ''Kathryn''. The spelling ''Catherine'' is common in both English and French. Less-common variants in English include ''Katharine'', ''Catharine'', ''Cathryn'', ''Katheryn'', ''Katharyn'', ''Kathryne'', ''Katheryne'', ''Katherin'', and ''Kathrine''.[Popularity statistics for England and Wales for years 2001, 2011, and 2021―name variant with (rank) shown in brackets:
*
*
**
**
**
* The last appearance of ''Katharine'' in the top 1000 was in 2008 at a rank of 817th and a count . There is no record of the spelling ''Catharine'' appearing in the top 100 girls' names in England and Wales.]
Diminutives include: Katie, Katy, Kate, Kathy, Kathe, Kath, Kay, Kat, Katja or Katya, Kota, Katyusha, Katrya, Kitty, Kit, Kasia; many of these are also sometimes given as independent names.[
'' Kathleen'' or '' Cathleen'', Anglicized forms of the Irish ''Caitlín'', have become established in the US among people with no Irish background, but is less popular in England and Wales. The form '' Karen'', of Danish origin, is now often considered an independent name in English.][
]
Language variants
The following is a list of various forms of the name ''Katherine'', all ultimately associated with a common Greek-language origin of uncertain meaning but influenced by the , 'pure'. These forms are in use as a given name in the language noted, or were formerly. The list includes short or pet forms (hypocorism
A hypocorism ( or ; from Ancient Greek ; sometimes also ''hypocoristic''), or pet name, is a name used to show affection for a person. It may be a diminutive form of a person's name, such as ''Izzy'' for Isabel or ''Bob (given name), Bob'' fo ...
s), associated with ''Katherine'' or one of its variants:
* (Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
)
* Aikaterine (Old French
Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th )
* Cadi ( Welsh)
* Cáit (Irish language">Irish)
* Irish_language.html" ;"title="Welsh language">Welsh)
* Cáit ( Irish)
* Caitlín (Irish language">Irish)
* Caitlyn or Caitlin">Caitlín">Irish_language.html" ;"title="Welsh language">Welsh)
* Cáit ( Irish)
* (Irish language">Irish)
* Caitlyn or (English language">English)[
* Caitria ( Irish)
* Caitrín ( Irish)
* Caitríona ( Irish)
* Caja ( Danish)
* Catherine, Katarina, Katherine, Katerina ( Indonesian)
* Cajsa ( Swedish)
* Caren (name)">Caren (Welsh language">Welsh)
* Swedish language">Swedish)
* Caren (name)">Caren (Welsh language">Welsh)
* Carin (English language">English)
* Carina (Portuguese language">Portuguese)
* Carine ( French; ''Karien'' in ]Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...
)
* Caryn ( English)
* Cat ( English)
* Cát Linh (Vietnamese language, Vietnamese)
* Cătălina ( Romanian)
* Catalina (name), Catalina ( Italian language, Italian, Spanish)
* Catant ( French)
* Catarina ( Galician, Italian language, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Neapolitan)
* Cate ( English)
* Cateline (Old French)[
* Cathelijne ( Dutch)
* Cateliña ( Galician)
* Caterina ( Catalan, Italian language, Italian, Romanian)]
* Caterine (Old French)[
* Cathanne ( English, French)
* Cathareau ( French)
* Catharina ( Dutch, Swedish)
* Catharine ( English)
* Catherin ( English)
* Catherina ( Spanish)
* Catherine ( English, French)
* Catherne (17th century English)][
* Cathey ( Nordic)
* Cathie ( English)
* Cathleen ( English, ]Hiberno-English
Hiberno-English or Irish English (IrE), also formerly sometimes called Anglo-Irish, is the set of dialects of English native to the island of Ireland. In both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, English is the first language in e ...
)[
* Cathrin ( German)
* Cathrine ( Scandinavian)
** Cathrinus (Latinized, male)
* Cathryn ( English)
* Cathy ( English)][
* Cati ( Italian language, Italian)]
* Catia ( Italian language, Italian)
* Cátia ( Portuguese)
* Catie ( English)
* Catina ( Romanian)
* Catinca ( Romanian)
* Catja ( Danish)
* Catlin (Middle English)[
* Cato ( Dutch)
* Catraoine ( Irish)
* Catreena ( Manx)
* Catreeney ( Manx)
* Catrien ( Dutch)
* Catrin ( German, Welsh)
* Catrina ( Romanian)
* Catrine ( Swedish)
* Catrinel ( Romanian)
* Catrìona (]Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...
)[
* Catterina ( Italian language, Italian)]
* Catuxa ( Galician)
* Caty ( Italian language, Italian)
* Ecaterina ( Romanian)
* : ka, ეკა
* ''Ekaterina
Ekaterina is a Russian feminine given name, and an alternative transliteration of the Russian Yekaterina. Katya and Katyusha are common diminutive forms of Ekaterina. Its Western counterpart is Catherine (Katherine). Notable people with the na ...
'': ( Bulgarian, Macedonian)
* , or : [
* ]Ekaterina
Ekaterina is a Russian feminine given name, and an alternative transliteration of the Russian Yekaterina. Katya and Katyusha are common diminutive forms of Ekaterina. Its Western counterpart is Catherine (Katherine). Notable people with the na ...
( Latvian)
* : ka, ეკატერინე
* : (Hong Kong Cantonese
Hong Kong Cantonese is a dialect of Cantonese spoken primarily in Hong Kong. As the most commonly spoken language in Hong Kong, it shares a recent and direct lineage with the Guangzhou ( Canton) dialect.
Due to the colonial heritage of Hong ...
)
* : ()
* : ()
* ( Sami)
* ( Sami)
* ( Sami)
* Jekaterina ( Estonian)
* Kaarat ( Greenlandic)
* Kaarin ( Estonian)
* Kaarina ( Finnish)
* Kaatje ( Dutch)
* Kaća ( Serbian)
* : ()
* Kadara: ()
* Kadarine: ()
* Kadi ( Estonian)
* Kadri ( Estonian)
* Kaety ( English)
* ( Sami)
* Kai ( Estonian, Swedish)
* Kaia ( Estonian, Norwegian)
* Kaie ( Estonian)
* Kaight ( English)
* Kaija ( Finnish)
* Kaila ( English)
* Kailan ( English)
* Kailani ( Hawaiian)
* Kaili ( Estonian)
* Kailie ( English, French)
* Kailua ( Hawaiian)
* : , . (Also German)
* Kena: , . (Also English)
* Kera: ;
* Keri, Kerry: ; ; . (Also Hawaiian)
* : . (Also Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
)
* Kairi or Kairia (Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
, Estonian, Greek, Japanese)
* Kaisa ( Estonian, Finnish)
* ''Kai Sa Lin'': ( traditional Chinese)
** ''Kai Se Lin'': zh, s=凯瑟琳 ( simplified Chinese)
* Kaisu ( Finnish)
* Kait ( English)
* Kaitlan ( English)
* Kaitlane ( English)
* Kaitlin ( English)
* Kaitline ( English)
* Kaitlyn ( English)
* Kaitlynne ( English)
* Kaitrin ( German, Swedish)
* Kaitrina ( Dutch, English, German, Swedish)
* Kaity ( English)
* Kaj ( Swedish, male)
* Kaja ( Scandinavian, Estonian, Polish)
* Kajsa ( Swedish)
* Kakalina ( Hawaiian)
* Kalena ( Hawaiian)
* Kalina ( Hawaiian)
* Katerina ( Albanian)
* :
* Kara (Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
, English, , Japanese)
* ( Sami)
* (Sami)
* Karen: derived from the Danish short form of Katherine ( Danish,[ English,][ German, Norwegian, Dutch][)
* Karena ( English)
* Karenina ( English, Scandinavian, Russian)
* Karentina ( English, Scandinavian, Russian)
* Kari ( Norwegian)
* Karia ( Norwegian)
* Karien (]Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...
, Dutch, ''Carine'' in French)
* ( Sami)
* Karin (Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...
, Dutch, Estonian, Faroese, Finnish, German, Swedish)
* Karina ( English)
* Karine ( Armenian; French)
* Karoun (Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
, Armenian)
* Kary ( Norwegian)
* Karyn ( English)
* Karyna ( English, Polish)
* :
* :
* Kat ( English)
* Kata ( Croatian, Finnish, Hungarian)
* Katalin (Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
, Hungarian)
* Katalina (Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
, Esperanto
Esperanto (, ) is the world's most widely spoken Constructed language, constructed international auxiliary language. Created by L. L. Zamenhof in 1887 to be 'the International Language' (), it is intended to be a universal second language for ...
, Hungarian)
* Katariina ( Estonian, Finnish)
* Katarin (Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
, Breton language, Breton)
* Katarína (Slovak language, Slovak)
* Katarina (given name), Katarina (Bosnian language, Bosnian, Croatian, Esperanto
Esperanto (, ) is the world's most widely spoken Constructed language, constructed international auxiliary language. Created by L. L. Zamenhof in 1887 to be 'the International Language' (), it is intended to be a universal second language for ...
, German, Hungarian, Macedonian, Serbian, Slovene language, Slovene, Swedish)
* Katarine ( German)
* Katarino (Esperanto
Esperanto (, ) is the world's most widely spoken Constructed language, constructed international auxiliary language. Created by L. L. Zamenhof in 1887 to be 'the International Language' (), it is intended to be a universal second language for ...
)
* Katarzyna ( Polish)
** Kasia ( Polish)
** ( Polish)
** ( Polish)
* Kate (given name), Kate ( Croatian, English)[
* Katelijn ( Dutch)
* Katelijne ( Dutch)
* Katelin ( English)
* Kateline (Middle English)][
* Katell (Breton language, Breton)
* Katelyn ( English)
* Katelynn ( English)
* Katelynne ( English)
* Katen ( Dutch)
* Katenka ( Russian)
* Kateri (Mohawk language, Mohawk)
* Katerien (Afrikaans language, Afrikaans, Dutch)
* Katerine (]Old French
Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th [2-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...
)
* :
* :
* Katia ( Italian language, Italian)
* ( Portuguese)
* Katia:
* Kateřina (Czech language, Czech)
* Katerina (; Albanian, Bulgarian, Latin,[ Macedonian, Russian)
* Katerine (Middle English)][
* Katerino (]Esperanto
Esperanto (, ) is the world's most widely spoken Constructed language, constructed international auxiliary language. Created by L. L. Zamenhof in 1887 to be 'the International Language' (), it is intended to be a universal second language for ...
)
* Kateryna (Ukrainian language, Ukrainian)
* Katerynka (Ukrainian language, Ukrainian)
* Katey ( English)
* : . (Also German)
* :
* :
* Kathani (Hindi language, Hindi, Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
)
* Kathanna ( English, German)
* Kathanne ( English, French)
* Kathareau ( French)
* Katharina ( German, Latin[)
* Katharine ( English,][ German, Dutch)
* :
* Käthe ( German)
* Kathelijne ( Dutch)
* Katherina ( English, German)
* Katherne (17th century English)][
* Katheryn ( English)
* Katheryne ( English)
* Kathey (Gaelic languages, Gaelic)
* Kathi ( English)
* Kathie ( English)
* Kathianna ( English)
* Kathianne ( English)
* Kathlaura ( English, German)
* Kathlauren ( English, German)
* Kathlaurie ( English, French, German)
* Kathleanna ( English, German)
* Kathleanne ( English, French)
* Kathleen ( English,][ ]Hiberno-English
Hiberno-English or Irish English (IrE), also formerly sometimes called Anglo-Irish, is the set of dialects of English native to the island of Ireland. In both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, English is the first language in e ...
[)
* Kathlyn ( English)
* Kathreena (Malayalam language, Malayalam)
* Kathrina ( German)
* Kathrin ( German)
* Kathru (Malayalam language, Malayalam)
* Kathryn ( English)
* Kathy ( English)
* Kati ( Estonian, Finnish, Hungarian)
* ''Katya, Katia, Katja'': ;
* Katica ( Croatian, Czech language, Czech, Serbian, Slovene language, Slovene, Hungarian)
* Katie ( English)][
* Katika ( Danish)
* :
* Κatina, Katinja (]Esperanto
Esperanto (, ) is the world's most widely spoken Constructed language, constructed international auxiliary language. Created by L. L. Zamenhof in 1887 to be 'the International Language' (), it is intended to be a universal second language for ...
)
* Katinka (Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...
, German, Hungarian, Russian)[
* Katixa (]Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
)
* Katja ( Croatian, Dutch, Finnish, German, Russian, Slovene language, Slovene, Ukrainian language, Ukrainian)
* Katka (Czech language, Czech, Russian)
* Káťa (Czech language, Czech)
* Kačka (Czech language, Czech)
* Kačenka (Czech language, Czech)
* Katlyn ( English)
* Kätlin ( Estonian)
* : ka, კატო
* Kató ( Hungarian)
* Katóka ( Hungarian)
* Katre ( Estonian)
* Katri ( Finnish)
* Katrian (Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...
, Dutch, Dutch language, Flemish Dutch)
* Katriana ( Portuguese, Spanish)
* Katrianna ( Danish, Dutch, English, German, Norwegian, Swedish)
* Katrianne ( English, French)
* Katrien (Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...
, Dutch, Dutch language, Flemish Dutch)
* Katriin ( Estonian)
* Katriina ( Finnish)
* Katrijn ( Dutch, also 'Katryn' in Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...
and German)
* Katriona ( English)
* Katrin ( Estonian, Faroese, German, Swedish)
* Katrina (given name), Katrina ( English, German, Dutch)
* Katrīna ( Latvian)
* Katrine (; Dutch, French, Scottish Gaelic,[ Scandinavian)
* Katrinka ( Dutch, German, Russian)
* Katrusia (Ukrainian language, Ukrainian)
* Katryn (]Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...
, German, spelt in )
* Katushka ( Russian)
* Katuška (Czech language, Czech)
* Katy (given name), Katy ( English)
* Katya ( Russian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian language, Ukrainian)
* Kay ( English)[
* Kaye ( English)
* Kerry (]Hiberno-English
Hiberno-English or Irish English (IrE), also formerly sometimes called Anglo-Irish, is the set of dialects of English native to the island of Ireland. In both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, English is the first language in e ...
)[
* ''Keta'': ka, ქეთა
* ''Ketevan'': ka, ქეთევან
* ''Keti'': ka, ქეთი
* Ketlen
* Ketlin ( Estonian)
* ''Keto'': (Georgian language, Georgian)
* Ketrina ( Albanian)
* Kitty (English)][
* Koto ( Hungarian)
* Kotryna (Lithuanian language, Lithuanian)
* Kyla ( English)
* Kysa (Finnish)
* Nienke ( Dutch)
* Nynke (West Frisian language, Frisian)
* Reina (given name), Reina ( Japanese, Yiddish language, Yiddish)
* Riin ( Estonian)
* Riina (given name), Riina ( Estonian, Finnish)
* Rina ( Croatian)
* Triin ( Estonian)
* Triinu ( Estonian)
* Trijn ( Dutch)
* Trijntje ( Dutch)
* Trina (name), Trina ( German)
* Trinchen ( German)
* Trine ( Danish, German)
* Trīne ( Latvian)
* Trinette ( French)
* Triona (disambiguation), Tríona ( Irish)
]
Notable people
See also
*
*
*
*
*
* St. Catherine (disambiguation)
Notes and references
External links
* Name statistics for Northern Ireland:
**
* Name statistics for Scotland:
** {{cite web , title=Babies' First Names , url=https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/statistics-and-data/statistics/statistics-by-theme/vital-events/names/babies-first-names , website=National Records of Scotland , date=31 May 2013 , publisher=Government of the United Kingdom , language=en
Feminine given names
Given names
Given names of Greek language origin
English-language feminine given names