Katharine

Katharine: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning
“pure”
Origin
Greek
Say it
KATH-uh-rin · 3 syllables
Used for
Girls

Katharine is a traditional English spelling of Katherine, from Greek Aikaterine. Its association with Greek katharos 'pure' is longstanding, though the earliest etymology is not fully certain.

How popular is Katharine?

20248.4 per million US babies
1880192019602000
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.

Babies named Katharine in 202428

2024 rank#4,759 girls

Peak year1887

Total US babies since 188041,215

Katharine is fading: recent use is about 35% of its level ten years before.

Names like Katharine

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

Katharine questions

What does the name Katharine mean?

Katharine means "pure". It comes from Greek. Katharine is a traditional English spelling of Katherine, from Greek Aikaterine. Its association with Greek katharos 'pure' is longstanding, though the earliest etymology is not fully certain.

Is Katharine a boy or girl name?

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

How popular is Katharine?

28 US babies were named Katharine in 2024. Its peak year was 1887.

How do you pronounce Katharine?

Katharine is usually pronounced KATH-uh-rin.

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.