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Kate as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Kate

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The baby name Kate is a Female name , 1 syllables long and is pronounced /keɪt/ (KAYT).

Kate is English in Origin.

Gender: Female
Syllables: 1.0
Origin: English
Pronunciation: /keɪt/ (KAYT)

What is the meaning of the name Kate ?

The baby name Kate is a Female name , 1 syllables long and is pronounced /keɪt/ (KAYT).

Kate is English in Origin.

Kate is an English short form of Katherine/Catherine, ultimately from Greek Aikaterinē via Latin Katharina and French Catherine. Its meaning is commonly given as "pure," by association with Greek katharos, though the etymology is debated and may relate to the goddess Hecate or an older, unknown root. By the 19th century, Kate was widely used as an independent given name.

As a familiar name in medieval England, Kate spread with the cult of St. Catherine of Alexandria and gained literary visibility in Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. It remains enduring in Britain, Ireland, North America, and Australia. Variants and cognates include Cate, Katy, Katie, Kay, Kit, Kitty; Katherine, Catherine, Kathryn; Irish Cait (from Caitríona), Scottish/Irish Catriona, Welsh Catrin, German Katharina, Scandinavian Katarina, Slavic Katya/Katja, and Polish Katarzyna (diminutive Kasia). The name conveys crisp simplicity while retaining the venerable heritage of Catherine.

Kate has the following similar or variant Names

Famous people with the name Kate

Kate Hudson Actor · Born 1979 · United States Kate Hudson is an American actress best known for films like Almost Famous, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, and Bride Wars. She is the daughter of Goldie Hawn and Bill Hudson and made her film debut in the 1998 drama Desert Blue. Kate Beckinsale Actor · Born 1973 · United Kingdom Kate Beckinsale is an English actress best known for Underworld and also known for films like Pearl Harbor and Serendipity. Born Kathrin Romany Beckinsale on 26 July 1973, she is the only child of actors Richard Beckinsale and Judy Loe and made her screen debut in the 1975 daytime drama Couples. Kate Bush Musician · Born 1958 · United Kingdom Kate Bush is an English singer-songwriter and musician best known for her distinctive voice, imaginative lyrics, and art-pop style. She rose to fame with songs like "Wuthering Heights," "Running Up That Hill," and "Babooshka," and is also known for her inventive dance-based performances.
Kate Upton Actor · Born 1992 · United States Kate Upton is an American model and actress best known for her Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue appearances. She first appeared in the magazine in 2011 and was featured on the cover in 2012, 2013, and 2017. Kate Bosworth Actor · Born 1983 · United States Kate Bosworth is an American actress best known for starring in Blue Crush. She also appeared in The Horse Whisperer and Remember the Titans before landing that breakout lead role. Kate Mara Actor · Born 1983 · United States Kate Mara is an American actress best known for playing Zoe Barnes in House of Cards. She has also appeared in 24, American Horror Story: Murder House, Pose, and A Teacher.

Celebrity babies named Kate

Name Last Name(s) Mother Mother famous for Fame Level Father Father famous for Fame Level
Kate O'Toole Peter O'Toole film director ★★★★★
Kate Burton Richard Burton film director ★★★★★
Kate Mailer Norman Mailer film director ★★★★★
Kate Hudson Goldie Hawn film director ★★★★★ Bill Hudson television actor ★★★★★
Kate Asner Ed Asner comedian ★★★★★
Kate Barry Jane Birkin film director ★★★★★ John Barry musician ★★★★★
Kate Danson Ted Danson television actor ★★★★★

Kate – Popularity by country

Based on birth registration data from national statistics agencies.

Country Gender Year Rank Born of
Ireland Girls 2025 #1 — 874
Germany Girls 2024 #1 — 417
FJ Girls 0 #9 1 583
KR Girls 0 #15 1 572
BW 0 #18 2 960
BN 0 #31 2 2,297
NA 0 #33 1 2,537
MO 0 #34 19 2,706
MV Girls 0 #34 2 2,021
EE 0 #36 2 1,051
HN Girls 0 #38 1 884
ID 0 #39 1 2,238
MT 0 #39 5 1,767
GE 0 #40 5 997
PH 0 #41 56 5,607
New Zealand Girls 2010 #43 74 98
RU Girls 0 #48 4,754 11,913
NG Girls 0 #54 5,215 15,093
CM 0 #56 1 2,592
TW 0 #57 44 4,523
CY 0 #59 2 1,632
LU 0 #61 6 2,830
PH Girls 0 #64 516 13,098
CN 0 #71 15 3,857
JP 0 #72 6 4,057
AZ Girls 0 #75 1 1,051
RU 0 #76 174 3,641
BG 0 #78 5 1,799
MV Boys 0 #79 1 3,375
QA 0 #84 17 7,011
RS 0 #84 1 923
BW Girls 0 #85 67 4,216
GH Girls 0 #85 618 6,973
BN Girls 0 #88 19 5,459
LT 0 #88 1 949
MD Girls 0 #88 5 865
KZ 0 #89 6 1,452
GE Girls 0 #90 15 1,564
JM 0 #92 2 3,714
TW Girls 0 #92 231 8,139
AF Girls 0 #94 1 2,402
ID Girls 0 #99 4 3,319
OM 0 #102 15 6,215
CY Girls 0 #105 17 3,755
GE Boys 0 #110 1 2,055
AE 0 #114 64 10,220
HU 0 #114 2 1,675
KW 0 #114 8 5,216
GR 0 #115 20 3,911
Norway Girls 2022 #119 4 435
EC 0 #119 3 2,502
MT Girls 0 #120 32 3,773
MO Girls 0 #121 142 7,056
CR 0 #127 32 5,526
EE Girls 0 #127 12 1,888
MU 0 #127 10 3,613
Switzerland Girls 2024 #128 8 1,786
IQ 0 #133 1 3,533
PA 0 #135 4 3,797
RS Girls 0 #136 2 1,651
JO 0 #139 2 2,158
GH 0 #142 113 5,396
CN Girls 0 #144 288 8,829
LT Boys 0 #151 1 2,166
BW Boys 0 #153 2 4,685
CZ 0 #154 32 3,154
RS Boys 0 #154 1 2,277
QA Girls 0 #156 167 15,378
HR Girls 0 #159 173 3,687
HR 0 #160 20 2,081
NG 0 #162 104 5,926
HK Girls 0 #163 926 16,104
PR Girls 0 #163 5 3,171
DK 0 #164 40 5,198
DK Girls 0 #166 175 7,429
LU Girls 0 #167 19 4,850
SI Girls 0 #172 6 2,769
Sweden Girls 2022 #174 6 1,568
HU Boys 0 #174 1 3,954
PL Girls 0 #176 315 5,096
KZ Girls 0 #179 188 5,862
MT Boys 0 #179 1 4,064
LT Girls 0 #180 15 1,904
PL 0 #181 32 2,600
UY 0 #181 2 2,477
Belgium Girls 2012 #184 26 406
CZ Girls 0 #184 189 5,378
ZA Girls 0 #184 3,187 25,928
SG 0 #186 84 11,010
AR 0 #193 1 2,915
IR 0 #198 32 4,221
BG Girls 0 #200 24 3,559
GR Girls 0 #200 43 6,293
NA Girls 0 #202 23 7,146
AL Girls 0 #205 18 4,141
HU Girls 0 #208 16 3,308
PS 0 #208 11 5,692
SG Girls 0 #208 532 18,916
JP Girls 0 #210 36 6,592
AO Girls 0 #214 4 4,575
Canada Girls 2024 #217 69 2,795
LU Boys 0 #220 1 4,970
HK 0 #225 132 8,483
KW Girls 0 #225 327 19,177
EC Girls 0 #226 14 3,650
AE Girls 0 #228 363 20,968
MO Boys 0 #232 3 5,842
MU Girls 0 #234 118 8,539
PT 0 #235 12 4,161
BD 0 #239 3 5,992
ZA 0 #243 209 14,421
EC Boys 0 #246 1 3,322
CO Girls 0 #249 2,977 16,140
JM Girls 0 #249 11 7,507
TW Boys 0 #250 7 7,111
NA Boys 0 #253 1 6,830
HR Boys 0 #256 4 3,997
MY 0 #265 66 12,352
IL 0 #274 9 6,291
SA 0 #278 18 10,560
PE 0 #287 24 6,350
JM Boys 0 #293 1 6,876
KZ Boys 0 #293 4 6,578
JO Girls 0 #297 29 7,570
OM Girls 0 #298 99 15,987
CZ Boys 0 #301 5 6,530
AL Boys 0 #303 1 5,122
JP Boys 0 #303 1 7,909
CO 0 #320 175 7,768
CN Boys 0 #324 8 9,639
GH Boys 0 #326 20 8,138
DK Boys 0 #332 1 7,401
GT 0 #334 5 5,948
Finland Girls 0 #339 53 1,368
PL Boys 0 #339 2 6,459
NL 0 #340 52 2,481
IR Girls 0 #349 191 8,334
CR Girls 0 #350 190 11,342
SD Girls 0 #353 6 7,678
BR 0 #356 5 5,969
Austria Girls 0 #357 64 1,885
MU Boys 0 #365 5 8,477
PH Boys 0 #367 17 11,440
CM Girls 0 #370 176 11,671
Germany 0 #370 69 2,542
BO 0 #372 10 6,868
France Girls 2021 #377 29 3,185
PT Girls 0 #383 69 7,952
MX 0 #388 26 8,339
JO Boys 0 #389 1 7,057
EG 0 #390 11 6,387
YE 0 #390 9 8,639
CL 0 #393 19 6,867
Spain 0 #396 57 2,326
PA Girls 0 #401 81 9,861
BD Girls 0 #405 2 8,413
PS Girls 0 #427 97 10,981
United States Girls 2024 #436 569 8,487
RU Boys 0 #449 57 12,621
IQ Girls 0 #460 45 11,303
SD Boys 0 #464 3 10,523
UY Girls 0 #468 43 6,731
IL Girls 0 #478 141 11,648
AR Boys 0 #483 1 7,628
GT Girls 0 #483 23 7,500
BH 0 #485 69 17,937
LY 0 #491 45 12,703
PA Boys 0 #505 1 9,305
CR Boys 0 #509 2 10,188
HK Boys 0 #511 17 12,905
SA Girls 0 #512 459 25,931
Germany Girls 0 #514 378 4,949
IT Girls 0 #523 1,700 9,415
BO Girls 0 #536 76 9,488
MY Girls 0 #536 525 24,821
IT 0 #543 175 4,183
PS Boys 0 #559 3 10,655
IR Boys 0 #561 5 10,162
AR Girls 0 #567 33 8,289
CM Boys 0 #568 8 12,054
PE Girls 0 #568 454 14,861
BD Boys 0 #604 2 10,045
LB 0 #608 51 13,263
BO Boys 0 #618 5 9,244
IN Girls 0 #619 13 13,121
IL Boys 0 #625 1 10,983
NL Girls 0 #629 339 5,933
Finland Girls 2026 #646 93 3,895
CL Boys 0 #655 11 13,390
CL Girls 0 #689 163 14,098
Spain Girls 0 #689 309 5,561
IQ Boys 0 #689 9 13,071
SY 0 #691 38 11,684
QA Boys 0 #696 12 18,093
SG Boys 0 #732 8 17,960
KW Boys 0 #754 16 18,755
BR Boys 0 #781 5 12,213
TN 0 #808 22 13,765
EG Girls 0 #810 150 14,742
MX Girls 0 #834 374 17,781
BR Girls 0 #839 103 12,708
NG Boys 0 #840 112 16,906
United States Boys 2005 #846 5 7,175
EG Boys 0 #861 26 15,035
PE Boys 0 #867 12 14,506
OM Boys 0 #870 12 17,948
CO Boys 0 #880 41 15,656
Spain Boys 0 #921 10 5,610
MX Boys 0 #972 11 16,355
IN Boys 0 #1,033 7 16,750
MA 0 #1,056 73 20,986
AE Boys 0 #1,076 17 22,615
ZA Boys 0 #1,090 89 25,619
DZ 0 #1,095 82 20,130
MY Boys 0 #1,099 13 25,439
TR 0 #1,124 88 19,440
IT Boys 0 #1,446 26 10,046
SA Boys 0 #1,579 36 28,008

Kate is popular in 95 countries — most recent births per country:

Norway
Ireland
France
Scotland, United Kingdom
Canada

Did we miss something about this name? Let us know!

People also ask about Kate

Kate is predominantly a girl's name.
Kate is a one syllable name, pronounced /keɪt/ (KAYT).
Common nicknames and spelling variations include Katie, Katy, Kat, Kathy, Kay and Katey.
Yes, very popular — Kate ranked #1 in Ireland in 2025, and appears in official birth registries across 13 countries.
Kate ranks highest in Ireland (#1 in 2025).
Kate's popularity is holding steady. It moved from #1 in 2015 to #1 in 2025 in Ireland.
Yes — 26 notable people named Kate are in our database, including Kate Hudson (Actor), Kate Beckinsale (Actor), Kate Bush (Musician).
Yes — at least 7 celebrity couples have chosen Kate for their child, including Peter O'Toole.