Kate

Kate: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning: “pure”
Origin: Greek
Say it: KAYT · 1 syllable
Used for: Girls

Short form of Katherine/Catherine, traditionally linked to Greek katharos 'pure.' Kate has long been used as an independent English given name as well as a nickname.

English names Names meaning pure Classic names Short names International names

How popular is Kate?

2024171 per million US babies

Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Compare with another name

Babies named Kate in 2024569

2024 rank#534 girls

Peak year1880

Total US babies since 188085,500

Kate is fading: recent use is about 45% of its level ten years before.

Names like Kate

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

Catalinapure · Spanish
Katherinepure · Greek
Catherinepure · Greek
Karenpure · Danish
Katiepure · English
Kathrynpure · Greek
Caitlinpure · Irish
Katerinapure · Greek

Kate questions

What does the name Kate mean?

Kate means "pure". It comes from Greek. Short form of Katherine/Catherine, traditionally linked to Greek katharos 'pure.' Kate has long been used as an independent English given name as well as a nickname.

Is Kate a boy or girl name?

Kate is mainly a girl's name in US records (100% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Kate?

569 US babies were named Kate in 2024. Its peak year was 1880.

How do you pronounce Kate?

Kate is usually pronounced KAYT.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.