Katherine
2025 SSA
Below 5 births
About Katherine
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 is also given to boys.
Pronounced KATH-rin; KATH-uh-rin.
As of October 2026, Katherine ranked #186 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #25 in 1991, Nameberry popularity #186.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank · girls | Births · girls | US rank · boys | Births · boys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #82 | 3,689 | — | 0 |
| 2015 | #84 | 3,454 | — | 0 |
| 2016 | #91 | 3,275 | — | 0 |
| 2017 | #105 | 2,861 | — | 0 |
| 2018 | #112 | 2,676 | — | 0 |
| 2019 | #120 | 2,450 | — | 0 |
| 2020 | #136 | 1,991 | — | 0 |
| 2021 | #157 | 1,819 | — | 0 |
| 2022 | #166 | 1,738 | — | 0 |
| 2023 | #170 | 1,703 | — | 0 |
| 2024 | #175 | 1,740 | — | 0 |
| 2025 | #186 | 1,670 | — | 0 |
World rankings
Katherine for girls
Similar names
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Katherine on lists
Famous Katherines
- Katherine SwynfordGirl
Duchess of Lancaster, wife of John of Gaunt
- KatherineGirl
Princess of Greece and Denmark, daughter of Constantine I
- Katherine Anne "Katie" CouricGirl
American newscaster
- Katherine MansfieldGirl
New Zealand fiction writer
- Katherine Grace "Kat" McNamaraGirl
American actress
- Katherine Anne Porter (born Callie Russell Porter)Girl
American novelist
- Katherine "Kate" ChopinGirl
American novelist
- Katherine Evelyn Anita "Katie" CassidyGirl
American actress
- Katherine Marie HeiglGirl
American actress
- Katherine JenkinsGirl
Welsh operatic mezzo,soprano
- Katherine Sian MoennigGirl
American actress
- Katherine Elizabeth WebbGirl
American model
- Katherine Murray "Kate" MillettGirl
American feminist author
- Katherine Kiernan Maria "Kate" MulgrewGirl
American actress
- Katherine Emily "Kate" HewlettGirl
Canadian actress
- Katherine RundellGirl
British author
- Katherine Elizabeth "Kate" UptonGirl
American model
- Katherine RyanGirl
Canadian,British comedienne
- Katherine Frances "Katy" BrandGirl
English actress
- Katherine Marlea ClarkGirl
U.S. Congresswoman from Massachusetts
- Katherine HarrisGirl
U.S. Congresswoman from Florida
- Katherine EsauGirl
German,American botanist
- Katherine Mary DunhamGirl
American dancer
- Katherine Jane ParkinsonGirl
English actress
- Katherine "Kate" RitchieGirl
Australian actress
- Katherine Clairy BatisGirl
Crown Princess of Yugoslavia as wife of Crown Prince Alexander
- Katherine TudorGirl
Princess of England, daughter of King Henry VII
- Katherine KellyGirl
English Actress
- Katherine "Katie" Beth NolanGirl
American sports personality and television host
- Katherine SchwarzeneggerGirl
daughter of journalist Maria Shriver and actor/politician Arnold Schwarzenegger
- Katherine LangfordGirl
Australian actress
- Katherine Ellen "Kath" SoucieGirl
American actress
- Katherine JohnsonGirl
African,American NASA computer, Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient.
- Katherine Swati Kaling (b. 2017)Girl
daughter of actress/writer Mindy Kaling
- Katherine BowesGirl
Lyon, cousin of Queen Elizabeth II
- Katherine UchidaGirl
Canadian rhythmic gymnast
- Katherine Ann CimorelliGirl
Bass guitarist/singer in the band Cimorelli
- Katherine "Kat" ReynoldsGirl
American soccer player
- Katherine Rose "Kat" GibsonGirl
Contestant on season 4 of Love Island USA
Katherine in pop culture
- Katherine "Kate" Houghton BeckettGirl
main character on TV's "Castle"
- Katherine "Kitty" FreemontGirl
character in Leon Uris' "Exodus"
- Katerina Petrova aka Katherine PierceGirl
character on TV's 'The Vampire Diaries'
- Katherine SolomonGirl
character in 'The Lost Symbol' by Dan Brown
- Katherine "Kitty" FormanGirl
character on TV's "That 70s show"
- Katherine MayfairGirl
character on TV's 'Desperate Housewives'
- Katherine "Kitty" Anne PrydeGirl
also known as Shadowcat, character in Marvel Universe
- Katherine "Kat" HillardGirl
second Pink Ranger in the Power Rangers series
- Katherine GlendenningGirl
character on TV's 'The Paradise'
- Katherine "Kate" KavanaghGirl
minor character in '50 Shades of Grey" series
- KatherineGirl
daughter in Shakespeare's "Henry V"
- Katherine "Kate"Girl
character in Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew"
- Katherine 'Kate' AustenGirl
character on TV's "Lost"
- "An Abundance of KatherinesGirl
" novel by John Green
- Katherine "Kay" CorleoneGirl
character in "The Godfather" series
- Katherine "KateGirl
" character in 'Mortal Engines' by Philip Reeve
- "KatherineGirl
" 1975 movie and main character
- Katherine PlumberGirl
character in Disney's Newsies
- Katherine "kissing Kate" BarlowGirl
character in Louis Sachar's "Holes"
- Katherine "Katie" Abbott NewmanGirl
daughter of Victoria Newman & Billy Abbott on "The Young and the Restless"
- Katherine "Kate" Kane aka BatwomanGirl
DC Comics superhero.
- Katherine "Kate" SandersGirl
character in TV series "Lizzie McGuire"
- Katherine WarrenGirl
character in the "Resident Evil" video game series
- Katherine FullerGirl
theater kid in "From Dusk Till Dawn"
- Katherine "Kate" Olivia HarkerGirl
main character in Victoria Schwab's Monsters of Verity duology
- Katherine "Kitty" Song CoveyGirl
main character in TV series "XO, Kitty" and supporting character in the movie trilogy "To All the Boys..."
- "Robin Hood and Queen Katherine"Girl
A ballad in the 19th century collection "The Child Ballads"
Variations & nicknames
More nicknames
- KateGirl
- KatGirl
- KittyGirl
- KadiGirl
- KadieGirl
- KadyGirl
- KaeGirl
- KataGirl
- KateyGirl
- KathaGirl
- KathieGirl
- KathyGirl
- KatiGirl
- KatiaGirl
- KatieGirl
- KatkaGirl
- KatoGirl
- KattGirl
- KattiGirl
- KattieGirl
- KattyGirl
- KatyGirl
- KatyaGirl
- KayGirl
- KaydeeGirl
- KaydieGirl
- KayeGirl
- KeedieGirl
- KekeGirl
- KettiGirl
- KettieGirl
- KettyGirl
- KickGirl
- KikiGirl
- KitGirl
- KittGirl
- KittiGirl
- KittieGirl
- RinGirl
- RynGirl
- RynnGirl
- CaitGirl
- CaitieGirl
- CaityGirl
- CassGirl
- CasseyGirl
- CassiGirl
- CassieGirl
- CasyGirl
- CatGirl
- CataleenGirl
- CataleenaGirl
- CatalinGirl
- CatalineGirl
- CatarineGirl
- CateGirl
- CatelineGirl
- CathaleenGirl
- CathalineGirl
- CatharinGirl
- CatharinaGirl
- CatharineGirl
- CatharynaGirl
- CatharyneGirl
- CatheeGirl
- CathelinaGirl
- CatherinaGirl
- CatherynGirl
- CathieGirl
- CathirinGirl
- CathleenGirl
- CathlineGirl
- CathlyneGirl
- CathrineGirl
- CathrinnGirl
- KateeGirl
- KathannGirl
- KathanneGirl
- KatharineGirl
- KathereenGirl
- KatherenGirl
- KathereneGirl
- KatherenneGirl
- KatherinGirl
- KatherinaGirl
- KatherynGirl
- KatheryneGirl
- KathiGirl
- KathleenGirl
- KathrineGirl
- KathrynGirl
- KathyrineGirl