girl's name
Katharine
KATH-uh-rin
- Origin Greek
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 9
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 43,518
Northern Ireland
#466
2004 births
Katharine is the spelling closest to the Greek, and that Greek has never been explained — the pure gloss comes from a later association with katharos, clean, applied long after the name existed. The th was inserted to make that association visible.
- Katharine is a name of Greek origin.
- Peaked in 1982, when 946 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 122,805 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Katharine over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 896 |
| 1890s | 1,297 |
| 1900s | 1,246 |
| 1910s | 2,854 |
| 1920s | 2,572 |
| 1930s | 1,724 |
| 1940s | 2,789 |
| 1950s | 3,712 |
| 1960s | 3,114 |
| 1970s | 3,848 |
| 1980s | 7,871 |
| 1990s | 5,315 |
| 2000s | 2,881 |
| 2010s | 915 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 207 |
What Katharine means
Katharine means pure by convention rather than derivation. Its Greek original resists tracing, so the meaning attached to it is inherited rather than established, and the spelling itself records the guess.
Where Katharine comes from
Katharine is a spelling of Catherine that keeps the Greek th, from Aikaterine — a name with no secure derivation. The pure reading comes from a medieval association with katharos, clean, which also explains the spelling: the th was inserted to make the connection visible. Catherine of Alexandria's wheel gives the Catherine wheel, both the firework and the window. Kaitlin, Caitlyn, Karina, Kari and Carine, elsewhere on this site, all sit on the same unexplained root.
Katharine in use
Katharine peaked in the United States in 1982, when 946 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It charts in exactly one of the six markets we track, at 4978th in the United States on 27 births, across 43,518 lifetime births. England and Wales ran its own peak of 152 births in 1997 and Scotland 27 in 1987, both since dropped out of the rankings.
How popular is Katharine?
In 2025, Katharine was given to 27 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Katharine is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Katharine
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Katharine also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Katharine over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
2 nicknames for Katharine
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Katharine in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Katharine
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Katharine — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Katharine
What does the name Katharine mean?
Pure by convention. The Greek original has never been securely derived.
Why is there a th?
It was inserted to make the association with katharos, clean, visible.
What is a Catherine wheel?
Named for the wheel in Catherine of Alexandria's legend — both the firework and the window.
How popular is Katharine?
4978th in the United States, down from a 1982 peak of 946 births.
Is Katharine a girl's or a boy's name?
Katharine is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Katharine?
Katharine has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Katharine?
Katharine is usually shortened to Kate and Kitty.
Is Katharine a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Katharine currently ranks #4,978 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.