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Katherine as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Katherine

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The baby name Katherine is a Female name , 3 syllables long and is pronounced /ˈkæθərɪn/ (KATH-er-in).

Katherine is Greek in Origin.

Gender: Female
Syllables: 3.0
Origin: Greek
Pronunciation: /ˈkæθərɪn/ (KATH-er-in)

What is the meaning of the name Katherine ?

The baby name Katherine is a Female name , 3 syllables long and is pronounced /ˈkæθərɪn/ (KATH-er-in).

Katherine is Greek in Origin.

Katherine derives from Greek Aikaterine, a name with debated roots; it may connect to the goddess Hecate or, through early Christian reinterpretation, to Greek katharos, “pure,” which shaped the Latin Catharina. The widely accepted modern meaning is “pure” or “clear.” Veneration of Saint Catherine of Alexandria and, later, Catherine of Siena carried the name across medieval Europe, where it became common in England and France and persisted through the Renaissance.

Spelled Katherine in modern English, it alternates with Catherine, Katharine, and Kathryn. Diminutives include Kate, Katie, Kat, Kit, Kathy, Kay, and Kitty; related forms range from Karen and Katrina to Caitlin/Caitlín. International variants include Katerina (Greek), Katarina/Katarína (Slavic and Scandinavian), Ekaterina (Russian), Katarzyna (Polish), Caterina (Italian), and Catharina, Katrin, and Katrine (Germanic and Nordic). The name appears in literature and royal courts - Shakespeare’s Katherina and Princess Katharine - and has sustained popularity in the English-speaking world, signaling elegance with approachable nicknames.

Katherine has the following similar or variant Names

Famous people with the name Katherine

Katherine Heigl Actor · Born 1978 · United States Katherine Heigl is an American actress and model best known for playing Dr. Izzie Stevens on Grey’s Anatomy. She also starred in the films Knocked Up and 27 Dresses. Katherine Langford Actor · Born 1996 · Australia Katherine Langford is an Australian actress best known for playing Hannah Baker in the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why. After early roles in independent films, her breakout performance in 13 Reasons Why (2017–2018) earned her a Golden Globe nomination. Katheryn Winnick Actor · Born 1977 · Canada Katherine Winnick is a Canadian actress best known for playing Lagertha in Vikings. She’s also known for her roles in Wu Assassins, Big Sky, and Bones.
Katherine Waterston Actor · Born 1980 · United States Katherine Waterston is an actress best known for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Inherent Vice. Born in London on March 3, 1980, she is a British-born American performer who made her feature film debut in Michael Clayton (2007). Katherine McNamara Actor · Born 1995 · United States Katherine McNamara is an American actress and singer best known for playing Clary Fray in Shadowhunters. She earned both a Teen Choice Award and a People's Choice Award for her work on the supernatural drama series. Katherine Helmond Actor · Born 1929 · United States Katherine Helmond was an American actress best known for playing Jessica Tate on the sitcom Soap and Mona Robinson on Who's the Boss?. Over a career that lasted six decades, she became a familiar face on television and was widely admired for those standout roles.

Celebrity babies named Katherine

Name Last Name(s) Mother Mother famous for Fame Level Father Father famous for Fame Level
Katherine Schwarzenegger Arnold Schwarzenegger film director ★★★★★
Katherine DeMille Cecil B. DeMille film director ★★★★★
Katherine Thalberg Norma Shearer model ★★★★★ Irving Thalberg film producer ★★★★★
Katherine Wallach Anne Jackson television actor ★★★★★ Eli Wallach television actor ★★★★★
Katherine Flynn Jane Seymour television actor ★★★★★
Katherine Shaffer Anna Wintour journalist ★★★★★
Katherine Waterston Lynn Louisa Woodruff model Sam Waterston television actor ★★★★★

Katherine – Popularity by country

Based on birth registration data from national statistics agencies.

Country Gender Year Rank Born of
Ireland Girls 2025 #1 — 874
PA Girls 0 #8 2,245 9,861
SV Girls 0 #16 3 458
BF Girls 0 #17 1 315
BW 0 #19 1 960
HN 0 #21 2 704
PA 0 #24 131 3,797
CR Girls 0 #35 2,144 11,342
HN Girls 0 #35 4 884
ID 0 #39 1 2,238
MO 0 #42 11 2,706
MT 0 #43 1 1,767
CL Girls 0 #50 10,212 14,098
PR 0 #51 5 1,497
CM 0 #56 1 2,592
CY 0 #57 4 1,632
CR 0 #60 106 5,526
CL 0 #63 1,215 6,867
EC Girls 0 #64 283 3,650
PH 0 #64 33 5,607
CN 0 #70 16 3,857
TW 0 #73 28 4,523
JP 0 #76 2 4,057
EC 0 #80 36 2,502
BG 0 #82 1 1,799
CO Girls 0 #82 13,508 16,140
LT 0 #88 1 949
PE Girls 0 #88 6,236 14,861
QA 0 #89 12 7,011
PE 0 #92 306 6,350
KZ 0 #94 1 1,452
ID Girls 0 #99 4 3,319
PR Girls 0 #99 65 3,171
BN Girls 0 #107 8 5,459
HU 0 #115 1 1,675
CO 0 #116 998 7,768
CY Girls 0 #118 8 3,755
OM 0 #118 4 6,215
SG Girls 0 #119 960 18,916
KW 0 #120 2 5,216
Norway Girls 2001 #127 12 519
GR 0 #130 6 3,911
BO Girls 0 #131 1,345 9,488
CN Girls 0 #135 311 8,829
RS Girls 0 #136 2 1,651
EE Girls 0 #138 5 1,888
BW Girls 0 #148 4 4,216
UY 0 #148 30 2,477
MT Girls 0 #150 4 3,773
HK Girls 0 #151 1,036 16,104
LT Boys 0 #151 1 2,166
AE 0 #155 23 10,220
SG 0 #155 120 11,010
MO Girls 0 #157 97 7,056
PH Girls 0 #161 270 13,098
United States Girls 2024 #164 1,740 8,487
RU 0 #173 17 3,641
Sweden Girls 2022 #178 2 1,568
CZ 0 #182 5 3,154
HK 0 #183 189 8,483
LU Girls 0 #185 6 4,850
TW Girls 0 #189 91 8,139
AR 0 #190 4 2,915
UY Girls 0 #195 534 6,731
LT Girls 0 #199 2 1,904
GT Girls 0 #200 422 7,500
DK 0 #203 4 5,198
Canada Girls 2024 #211 75 2,795
PL 0 #211 2 2,600
GR Girls 0 #212 31 6,293
NA Girls 0 #212 13 7,146
JP Girls 0 #215 31 6,592
RU Girls 0 #215 445 11,913
AO Girls 0 #216 2 4,575
PS 0 #223 4 5,692
HU Girls 0 #225 1 3,308
BG Girls 0 #227 5 3,559
IR 0 #228 4 4,221
BO 0 #234 155 6,868
QA Girls 0 #236 81 15,378
JM Girls 0 #242 18 7,507
EC Boys 0 #245 2 3,322
GH 0 #245 4 5,396
PT 0 #247 4 4,161
MY 0 #252 79 12,352
NG 0 #254 11 5,926
TW Boys 0 #256 1 7,111
GT 0 #258 57 5,948
IL 0 #277 6 6,291
SA 0 #278 18 10,560
HR Girls 0 #292 3 3,687
KZ Girls 0 #295 26 5,862
GH Girls 0 #298 27 6,973
DK Girls 0 #303 14 7,429
Canada Boys 1993 #305 6 1,751
CZ Girls 0 #315 27 5,378
CN Boys 0 #329 3 9,639
MU Girls 0 #331 21 8,539
BR 0 #332 14 5,969
JO Girls 0 #333 7 7,570
PL Girls 0 #333 22 5,096
OM Girls 0 #344 53 15,987
SD Girls 0 #355 4 7,678
YE 0 #372 10 8,639
MX 0 #373 41 8,339
Spain 0 #376 77 2,326
NL 0 #376 16 2,481
MY Girls 0 #377 898 24,821
Finland Girls 0 #380 12 1,368
ZA 0 #388 60 14,421
France Girls 2021 #398 8 3,185
Austria Girls 0 #399 22 1,885
BD Girls 0 #401 6 8,413
PH Boys 0 #403 6 11,440
EG 0 #405 8 6,387
PT Girls 0 #410 42 7,952
Spain Girls 0 #411 860 5,561
UY Boys 0 #412 2 5,922
KW Girls 0 #424 92 19,177
Germany 0 #428 10 2,542
AE Girls 0 #434 120 20,968
PA Boys 0 #464 18 9,305
NG Girls 0 #465 384 15,093
AR Girls 0 #469 132 8,289
CR Boys 0 #475 13 10,188
AR Boys 0 #482 2 7,628
PS Girls 0 #493 31 10,981
IQ Girls 0 #494 11 11,303
GT Boys 0 #499 1 7,625
IR Girls 0 #501 30 8,334
BH 0 #516 38 17,937
CM Girls 0 #517 24 11,671
RU Boys 0 #524 3 12,621
HK Boys 0 #550 8 12,905
LY 0 #558 2 12,703
IR Boys 0 #565 1 10,162
CM Boys 0 #575 1 12,054
BO Boys 0 #578 15 9,244
IL Girls 0 #580 38 11,648
MX Girls 0 #597 847 17,781
BD Boys 0 #605 1 10,045
CL Boys 0 #605 61 13,390
IT 0 #625 90 4,183
LB 0 #638 21 13,263
IN Girls 0 #647 8 13,121
Finland Girls 2026 #658 81 3,895
IQ Boys 0 #697 1 13,071
SY 0 #713 16 11,684
SG Boys 0 #733 7 17,960
SA Girls 0 #757 179 25,931
BR Girls 0 #773 170 12,708
Germany Girls 0 #774 65 4,949
BR Boys 0 #784 2 12,213
IT Girls 0 #788 844 9,415
KW Boys 0 #803 4 18,755
ZA Girls 0 #809 345 25,928
CO Boys 0 #817 104 15,656
PE Boys 0 #830 49 14,506
NL Girls 0 #853 103 5,933
TN 0 #858 8 13,765
United States Boys 2015 #877 9 7,337
EG Girls 0 #914 46 14,742
OM Boys 0 #914 5 17,948
EG Boys 0 #925 1 15,035
NG Boys 0 #993 9 16,906
MX Boys 0 #1,026 8 16,355
IN Boys 0 #1,039 1 16,750
MA 0 #1,114 15 20,986
AE Boys 0 #1,138 6 22,615
DZ 0 #1,163 14 20,130
MY Boys 0 #1,178 5 25,439
TR 0 #1,192 20 19,440
ZA Boys 0 #1,269 4 25,619
SA Boys 0 #1,685 7 28,008

Katherine is popular in 85 countries — most recent births per country:

France
Ireland
Scotland, United Kingdom
Canada
Norway

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People also ask about Katherine

Katherine is predominantly a girl's name.
Katherine is a 3 syllable name, pronounced /ˈkæθərɪn/ (KATH-er-in).
Common nicknames and spelling variations include Catherine, Katharine, Kathryn, Katheryn, Kathrine and Katharyn.
Across languages, Katherine has these equivalents: Aikaterine (ancient Greek), Ekaterini / Ekaterina / Yekaterina (Greek, Russian), Kateryna (Ukrainian), Caterina (Italian), Catalina (Spanish), and 8 more.
Yes, very popular — Katherine ranked #1 in Ireland in 2025, and appears in official birth registries across 9 countries.
Katherine ranks highest in Ireland (#1 in 2025).
Katherine's popularity is holding steady. It moved from #1 in 2015 to #1 in 2025 in Ireland.
Yes — 15 notable people named Katherine are in our database, including Katherine Heigl (Actor), Katherine Langford (Actor), Katheryn Winnick (Actor).
Yes — at least 7 celebrity couples have chosen Katherine for their child, including Arnold Schwarzenegger.