Catherine de' Medici's court festivals

Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and other variations, is a feminine given name. 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.

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.

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:
*
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**
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* 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 (hypocorisms), associated with ''Katherine'' or one of its variants:

* (Ancient Greek)
* Aikaterine (Old French

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