# Catherine (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/catherine/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | Greek |
| Meaning | “each of the two”, “pure” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈkæθ(ə)ɹɪn/, 3 syllables |
| Nicknames | Katie, Cathy, Cath, Cate, Cathi, Cathie, Caty |
| Variant spellings | Catharine, Katharine, Katherine, Kathryn, Catheryn, Cathryn, Katheryn, Katrina, Catriona, Catrina, Kathrynne, Katryna |
| US babies named this | 669,611 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 1,822 / 667,789 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 8,442, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Borrowed from French Catherine, from Ancient Greek Αἰκατερίνη (Aikaterínē), *Ἑκατερίνη (*Hekaterínē), of debated meaning, possibly from ἑκάτερος (hekáteros, “each of the two”), or from the name of the goddess Hecate. The apheresis of the first syllable as well as the spelling with ⟨th⟩ in Latin languages, German and English, is due to a folk etymology, dating from Roman times, which associated the name with the Ancient Greek καθαρός (katharós, “pure”). The name belonged to a 4th-century saint and martyr from Alexandria who was tortured on the wheel from where the term Catherine wheel originates.

## What it means

Catherine is grouped under pure.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 1,937 | 161 |
| 2012 | 1,913 | 165 |
| 2013 | 1,868 | 170 |
| 2014 | 1,945 | 170 |
| 2015 | 1,807 | 177 |
| 2016 | 1,669 | 195 |
| 2017 | 1,584 | 198 |
| 2018 | 1,507 | 205 |
| 2019 | 1,312 | 241 |
| 2020 | 1,155 | 267 |
| 2021 | 1,005 | 323 |
| 2022 | 981 | 328 |
| 2023 | 933 | 331 |
| 2024 | 956 | 324 |
| 2025 | 972 | 314 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | 24 | 2,300 |
| 1987 | 24 | 2,343 |
| 1988 | 16 | 3,228 |
| 1989 | 44 | 1,738 |
| 1990 | 23 | 2,791 |
| 1991 | 8 | 6,029 |
| 1992 | 10 | 5,286 |
| 1995 | 11 | 5,180 |
| 1996 | 11 | 5,235 |
| 1997 | 8 | 6,700 |
| 1999 | 9 | 6,620 |
| 2002 | 10 | 6,605 |
| 2004 | 11 | 6,588 |
| 2005 | 8 | 8,418 |
| 2007 | 5 | 12,669 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 217 | 233 |
| 2012 | 232 | 215 |
| 2013 | 218 | 230 |
| 2014 | 179 | 267 |
| 2015 | 187 | 263 |
| 2016 | 163 | 304 |
| 2017 | 155 | 313 |
| 2018 | 104 | 419 |
| 2019 | 101 | 417 |
| 2020 | 102 | 416 |
| 2021 | 95 | 457 |
| 2022 | 83 | 490 |
| 2023 | 78 | 506 |
| 2024 | 66 | 594 |
| 2025 | 66 | 590 |

## In other languages

- Arabic: كَاتْرِين
- Armenian: Կատարինէ
- Bulgarian: Катери́на, Екатери́на
- Catalan: Caterina
- Chinese: 凱瑟琳 /凯瑟琳, 加大肋納 /加大肋纳
- Czech: Kateřina
- Danish: Katharina
- Dutch: Catharijne
- Esperanto: Katarino
- Estonian: Katariina, Kadri
- Finnish: Katariina
- French: Catherine
- Georgian: ეკატერინე
- German: Katharina
- Greek: Αικατερίνη, Κατερίνα, Κάθριν
- Hungarian: Katalin
- Icelandic: Katrín
- Irish: Caitríona
- Italian: Caterina
- Japanese: キャサリン, カトリーヌ

## People named Catherine

- Catherine II of Russia, eighth Emperor of Russia, called the Great, r. 1762–1796 (lived 1729-1796)
- Catherine Zeta-Jones, British actress (born 1969)
- Catherine Deneuve, French actress (born 1943)
- Catherine O'Hara, Canadian-American actress (1954–2026)
- Catherine of Alexandria, Egyptian missionary, saint depicted with a wheel
- Catherine Howard, fifth wife of Henry VIII of England
- Catherine Ashton, British politician (born 1956)
- Catherine Keener, American actress
- Catherine Samba-Panza, Central African politician
- Catherine Coleman, American astronaut, chemist, United States Air Force officer
- Catherine Tate, English comedian, actress and writer
- Catherine Hardwicke, American film director, screenwriter and architect

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.