Catharine as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Catharine

What is the meaning of the name Catharine ?

The baby name Catharine is a Female name , 3 syllables long and is pronounced /ˈkæθərɪn/ (KATH-ə-rin) or /ˈkæθrɪn/ (KATH-rin).

Catharine is Greek in Origin.

Catharine is an English spelling of the classic name Catherine/Katherine, ultimately from Greek Aikaterine (Αικατερίνη). The etymology is uncertain: it may have pre-Greek roots or be linked by folk etymology to the goddess Hecate; from late antiquity its spelling was reshaped to echo Greek katharos, "pure", which became the customary meaning.

The name spread throughout medieval Christendom via the cults of Saint Catherine of Alexandria and, later, Catherine of Siena. Catharine, the -a- spelling, appears frequently in Early Modern English and Scots records and was especially favored in the 18th and 19th centuries in Britain and North America (e.g., historian Catharine Macaulay, educator Catharine Beecher). Related forms include Catherine, Katherine, Katharine; Katharina, Caterina, Katarina; Katrina, Katrin, Karin; Dutch/German Catharina; Polish Katarzyna; Russian Yekaterina/Ekaterina; French Catherine; Irish Caitríona and Scottish Gaelic Catrìona. Common short forms are Kate, Cate, Cathy, and Kitty.