Katherine

Greek

"pure"

Katherine Origin and Meaning

The name Katherine is a girl's name of Greek origin meaning "pure".

Katherine is one of the oldest, most diverse, and all-around best names: it's powerful, feminine, royal, saintly, classic, popular, and adaptable. Long one of the top girls' names starting with K, Katherine has now been unseated on the popularity list by upstarts Kennedy and Kinsley, but a dip in popularity only adds to its charm.

Katherine also has a wealth of spellings, short forms, and admirable namesakes. The Katherine spelling has been the preferred one in recent years, though Catherine (now associated with the Duchess of Cambridge) has a gentle vintage appeal, while the Katharine spelling relates to actress Kate Hepburn. Sleeker, more modern-feeling Kathryn has in fact been used for centuries and is still popular if not exactly stylish, and the Irish have favored Kathleen.

Katherine's origins are lost in the mists of time. The earliest version in Ancient Greece was Ekaterine, which may have come from the name of a folk dance. Later, the spelling was changed under the influence of the Greek word katharos, meaning "pure" — a desirable virtue.

Katherine has been used for countless literary figures over the centuries, from the spirited heroine of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew to the BFF in Fifty Shades of Grey to characters on TV's Castle and The Vampire Diaries.

Martin Short and Tim Allen have daughters named Katherine.

A profusion of nicknames includes Kate, Katie, Kathy, Kath, Kat, Kitty, Kay, and Kick. Among international variations are Catriona, Catarina, and Katrina. Two literary namesakes are Katherine Anne Porter and Katherine Mansfield.

Katherine Rank in US Top 1000

# 169 in the US

Katherine Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 354 on Nameberry

Katherine Popularity

• 169 US 2023
• 354 Nameberry 2024
• 480 England 2021
• 112 Mexico 2021

20 Names Similar to Katherine

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Katherine.

• Catherine
• Elizabeth
• Kate
• Margaret
• Anne
• Caroline
• Anna
• Sarah
• Emily
• Rebecca
• Julia
• Alexandra
• Mary
• Claire
• Emma
• Jane
• Victoria
• Helen
• Diana
• Charlotte

Famous People Named Katherine

• Katherine Swynford Duchess of Lancaster, wife of John of Gaunt
• Katherine Princess of Greece and Denmark, daughter of Constantine I
• Katherine Anne "Katie" Couric American newscaster
• Katherine Mansfield New Zealand fiction writer
• Katherine Grace "Kat" McNamara American actress
• Katherine Anne Porter (born Callie Russell Porter) American novelist
• Katherine "Kate" Chopin American novelist
• Katherine Evelyn Anita "Katie" Cassidy American actress
• Katherine Marie Heigl American actress
• Katherine Jenkins Welsh operatic mezzo,soprano
• Katherine Sian Moennig American actress
• Katherine Elizabeth Webb American model
• Katherine Murray "Kate" Millett American feminist author
• Katherine Kiernan Maria "Kate" Mulgrew American actress
• Katherine Emily "Kate" Hewlett Canadian actress
• Katherine Rundell British author
• Katherine Elizabeth "Kate" Upton American model
• Katherine Ryan Canadian,British comedienne
• Katherine Frances "Katy" Brand English actress
• Katherine Marlea Clark U.S. Congresswoman from Massachusetts
• Katherine Harris U.S. Congresswoman from Florida
• Katherine Esau German,American botanist
• Katherine Mary Dunham American dancer
• Katherine Jane Parkinson English actress
• Katherine "Kate" Ritchie Australian actress
• Katherine Clairy Batis Crown Princess of Yugoslavia as wife of Crown Prince Alexander
• Katherine Tudor Princess of England, daughter of King Henry VII
• Katherine Kelly English Actress
• Katherine "Katie" Beth Nolan American sports personality and television host
• Katherine Schwarzenegger daughter of journalist Maria Shriver and actor/politician Arnold Schwarzenegger
• Katherine Langford Australian actress
• Katherine Ellen "Kath" Soucie American actress
• Katherine Johnson African,American NASA computer, Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient.
• Katherine Swati Kaling (b. 2017) daughter of actress/writer Mindy Kaling
• Katherine Bowes Lyon, cousin of Queen Elizabeth II
• Katherine Uchida Canadian rhythmic gymnast
• Katherine Ann Cimorelli Bass guitarist/singer in the band Cimorelli
• Katherine "Kat" Reynolds American soccer player

Katherine in Pop Culture

• Katherine "Kate" Houghton Beckett main character on TV's "Castle"
• Katherine "Kitty" Freemont character in Leon Uris' "Exodus"
• Katerina Petrova aka Katherine Pierce character on TV's 'The Vampire Diaries'
• Katherine Solomon character in 'The Lost Symbol' by Dan Brown
• Katherine "Kitty" Forman character on TV's "That 70s show"
• Katherine Mayfair character on TV's 'Desperate Housewives'
• Katherine "Kitty" Anne Pryde also known as Shadowcat, character in Marvel Universe
• Katherine "Kat" Hillard second Pink Ranger in the Power Rangers series
• Katherine Glendenning character on TV's 'The Paradise'
• Katherine "Kate" Kavanagh minor character in '50 Shades of Grey" series
• Katherine daughter in Shakespeare's "Henry V"
• Katherine "Kate" character in Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew"
• Katherine 'Kate' Austen character on TV's "Lost"
• "An Abundance of Katherines " novel by John Green
• Katherine "Kay" Corleone character in "The Godfather" series
• Katherine "Kate " character in 'Mortal Engines' by Philip Reeve
• "Katherine " 1975 movie and main character
• Katherine Plumber character in Disney's Newsies
• Katherine "kissing Kate" Barlow character in Louis Sachar's "Holes"
• Katherine "Katie" Abbott Newman daughter of Victoria Newman & Billy Abbott on "The Young and the Restless"
• Katherine "Kate" Kane aka Batwoman DC Comics superhero.
• Katherine "Kate" Sanders character in TV series "Lizzie McGuire"
• Katherine Warren character in the "Resident Evil" video game series
• Katherine Fuller theater kid in "From Dusk Till Dawn"
• Katherine "Kate" Olivia Harker main character in Victoria Schwab's Monsters of Verity duology