Katherine

Katherine: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning: “pure”
Origin: Greek
Say it: KATH-rin · 2 syllables
Used for: Girls

English form of Katherine, historically linked with Greek katharos 'pure'. Katherine and Catherine are parallel standard spellings of the same traditional name.

English names Names meaning pure Classic names Royal names International names

How popular is Katherine?

2024523 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 Katherine in 20241,740

2024 rank#175 girls

Peak year1887

Total US babies since 1880651,062

Katherine is fading: recent use is about 51% of its level ten years before.

Names like Katherine

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

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

Katherine questions

What does the name Katherine mean?

Katherine means "pure". It comes from Greek. English form of Katherine, historically linked with Greek katharos 'pure'. Katherine and Catherine are parallel standard spellings of the same traditional name.

Is Katherine a boy or girl name?

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

How popular is Katherine?

1,740 US babies were named Katherine in 2024. Its peak year was 1887.

How do you pronounce Katherine?

Katherine is usually pronounced KATH-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.