# Katharine (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/katharine/  
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 | “pure” |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 41,241 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 11 / 41,230 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 1,130, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

A variant spelling of Catherine, based on the folk etymology that it would derive from Greek καθαρός (katharos "pure").

## What it means

Katharine 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 | 134 | 1,615 |
| 2012 | 110 | 1,844 |
| 2013 | 109 | 1,857 |
| 2014 | 89 | 2,147 |
| 2015 | 89 | 2,146 |
| 2016 | 62 | 2,784 |
| 2017 | 73 | 2,476 |
| 2018 | 56 | 2,946 |
| 2019 | 66 | 2,638 |
| 2020 | 45 | 3,427 |
| 2021 | 31 | 4,455 |
| 2022 | 42 | 3,680 |
| 2023 | 34 | 4,238 |
| 2024 | 28 | 4,828 |
| 2025 | 27 | 4,935 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | 6 | 5,979 |
| 1985 | 5 | 7,076 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 31 | 963 |
| 2008 | 41 | 817 |
| 2009 | 19 | 1,467 |
| 2010 | 26 | 1,218 |
| 2011 | 17 | 1,665 |
| 2012 | 11 | 2,338 |
| 2013 | 10 | 2,460 |
| 2014 | 13 | 2,058 |
| 2016 | 7 | 3,214 |
| 2017 | 5 | 4,063 |
| 2018 | 5 | 3,985 |
| 2019 | 5 | 4,001 |
| 2020 | 5 | 3,899 |
| 2022 | 4 | 4,645 |
| 2023 | 4 | 4,709 |

## People named Katharine

- Katharine Hepburn, American actress (1907–2003)
- Katharine Ross, American actress
- Katharine Graham, American publisher, editor and author
- Katharine McPhee, American recording artist, singer and songwriter
- Katharine Isabelle, Canadian actress
- Katharine Lee Bates, American poet and songwriter (1859-1929)
- Katharine Cornell, American actress, theatre manager and producer (1893-1974)
- Anna Katharine Green, American novelist (1846–1935)
- Katharine Drexel, American Catholic sister and saint
- Katharine Houghton, American actress, playwright
- Mary Katharine Brandegee, American botanist (1844-1920)
- Katharine Hayhoe, Canadian atmospheric scientist

## 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.