Katherine Gender Female Origin Word/Name Greek Other names Nickname(s) Kate, Kath, Cath, Cate, Cat, Kathy, Kathie, Kathi, Katey, Katy, Kay, Kat, Katya, Katyusha, Katie, Kati, Kaki, Kit, Kitty, Kaity, Kasia, Cathy, Kaká, Kah Related names Katheryn, Kathryn, Katharyn, Katherin, Catharine, Cathryn, Katheryne,Catherine, Katharine, Katharina, Katrin, Kare, Karina
This article needs additional citations for . verification (May 2009)
Katherine Gender Female Origin Word/Name Greek Other names Nickname(s) Kate, Kath, Cath, Cate, Cat, Kathy, Kathie, Kathi, Katey, Katy, Kay, Kat, Katya, Katyusha, Katie, Kati, Kaki, Kit, Kitty, Kaity, Kasia, Cathy, Kaká, Kah Related names Katheryn, Kathryn, Katharyn, Katherin, Catharine, Cathryn, Katheryne,Catherine, Katharine, Katharina, Katrin, Kare, Karina Katherine is a feminine name. It is popular in Christian countries, as it was the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria. Origin and meaning [edit ]
The name originated from the Greek
Αἰκατερίνα or Αἰκατερίνη ( Aikaterina, Aikaterinẽ), which is of unknown etymology. The earliest known use of the Greek name is in reference to Saint Catherine of Alexandria. The theory that the name comes from Hecate, the name of the Greek goddess of magic, is regarded by the editors of the Oxford Dictionary of First Names as unconvincing, however this appears as merely an opinion of the editors and their text admits the etymology is unknown. [1 ]
Another potential origin of the name is the Armenian word
Կատար, gadar, meaning peak or summit. In Armenian, the equivalent name is Կատարինէ, Gadarine; coincidentally the ending ինէ -ine is homophonous with the modern Greek verb είναι 'she is', suggesting a macaronic phrase meaning "she is the summit".
The name subsequently came to be associated with the Greek adjective καθαρός (
katharos), meaning "pure", leading to the alternative spellings Katharine and Katherine. The former spelling, with a middle a, was more common in the past and is currently more popular in the United States than in Britain. Katherine, with a middle e, was first recorded in England in 1196 after being brought back from the Crusades. [2 ] Popularity and variations [edit ] English [edit ]
In the US and England, "Katherine" and its variants have been among the 100 most popular names in the US since 1880. The most common variants are "Katherine," "Catherine," and "Katharine". The spelling "Catherine" is common in both English and
French. Less common variants in English include "Katheryn", "Katharyn", "Katherin", "Catharine" and "Cathryn". [3 ] [4 ] [5 ] [6 ]
Kathleen" or " Cathleen", an Anglicized form of the Irish form "Caitlín", has become established in the US among people with no Irish background, but is less popular in England and Wales.
Karen, of Danish origin, is now often considered an independent name in English.
Diminutives include "Katie", "Katy", "Kate", "Kathy", "Kathe", "Kath", "Kay", "Kat", "Katya", "Katyusha", "Kitty", "Kit", "Kasia", "Kaya", "Kaká", "Kah", "Kee" and others.
World languages [edit ] Αικατερίνη (Ekaterini, Aikateríni̱) ( Greek) [2 ] Akaterina ( Turkish) Cadi ( Welsh) Cáit ( Irish) Caitlín ( Irish) [2 ] Caitlin ( English) [2 ] Caitlyn ( English) Caitria ( Irish Gaelic) Caitrín ( Irish Gaelic) Caitrina ( Irish Gaelic) Caitríona ( Irish Gaelic) Caja ( Danish) Cajsa ( Swedish) Caren ( English) Carin ( English) Carina ( Portuguese) Carine ( French; spelled Karien in Afrikaans) Caryn ( English) Cat ( English) Cătălina ( Romanian) Catalina ( Spanish) Catant ( French) Catarina ( Galician, Italian, [2 ] Portuguese, Spanish, Neapolitan) Cate ( English) Cateline (Old French) [2 ] Caterina ( Catalan, Italian) Caterine (Old French) [2 ] Cathanne ( English, French) Cathareau ( French) Catharina ( Dutch, Swedish) Catharine ( English) Catherin ( English) Catherina ( Spanish) Catherine ( English, French) Catherne (17th century English) [2 ] Cathey ( Nordic) Cathie ( English) Cathleen ( English, Hiberno-English) [2 ] Cathrin ( German) Cathrine ( Scandinavian) Cathryn ( English) Cathy ( English) [2 ] Cátia ( Portuguese) Catie ( English) Catina ( Romanian) Catinca ( Romanian) Catja ( Danish) Catlin (Middle English) [2 ] Cato ( Dutch) Catraoine ( Irish) Catreena ( Manx) Catreeney ( Manx) Catrin ( German, Welsh) Catrine ( Swedish) Catrìona ( Scottish Gaelic) [2 ] Ecaterina ( Romanian) Екатерина Ekaterina ( Bulgarian, Macedonian) Екатерина Jekaterina ( Russian; can also be transliterated with [2 ] Ye–) Ekaterina ( Latvian) ეკატერინე Ekaterine ( Georgian) Գադարա Gadara ( Armenian) Կատարինէ Gadarine ( Armenian) Gáhteriinná Sami Gáre Sami Gáren Sami Jekaterina ( Lithuanian) Kaarat Greenlandic Kaarina ( Finnish) Kaatje ( Dutch) Kaća ( Serbian) Կատարա Kadara ( Armenian) Կատարինէ Kadarine ( Armenian) Kadri ( Estonian) Kaety ( English) Káhtariinná Sami Kai ( Swedish) Kaia ( Norwegian) Kaija ( Finnish) Kaila ( English) Kailie ( English, French) Kailani ( Hawaiian) Καιλαύρα / كلارا / Kelavra ( Greek, Hawaiian, Arabic, German) Kailua ( Hawaiian) Καινά / كائنا / Kena ( English, Greek, Arabic) Καίρα / كيرا / Kera ( Greek, Arabic) Καίρη / كيري/カイリ / Keri ( Greek, Arabic, Japanese, Hawaiian) Καίρια (Keria) ( Greek, Arabic) Kaisa ( Estonian, Finnish) Kaisu ( Estonian, Finnish) Kait ( English) Kaitlin ( English) Kaitlyn ( English) Kaitrin ( German, Swedish) Kaitrina ( Dutch, English, German, Swedish) Kaity ( English) Kaj ( Swedish, male) Kaja ( Scandinavian, Polish) Kajsa ( Swedish) Kakalina ( Hawaiian) Kalena ( Hawaiian) Kalina ( Hawaiian) Kalitarina ( Albanian) Kalitrina ( Albanian) Kaltarina ( Albanian) Kaltrina ( Albanian) Κάρα (Kara) ( Greek, Japanese) Káre Sami Káren Sami Karen ( Danish, [2 ] English, [2 ] German, Norwegian, Dutch) Karena ( English) Kari ( Norwegian) Karia ( Norwegian) Kariinná Sami Karin ( Afrikaans, Dutch, Finnish, German, Swedish) Karina ( Afrikaans, German, Polish, Russian) Կարինե / Karine ( Armenian, French) Karyn ( English) Karyna ( English) 笠利 Kasari ( Japanese) Kasia ( Polish) Kat ( English) Kata ( Croatian, Finnish, Hungarian) Katalin ( Basque, Hungarian) Katalina ( Basque, Hungarian) Katariina ( Estonian, Finnish) Katarin ( Basque, Breton) Katarína ( Slovak) Katarina ( Croatian, German, Hungarian, Lithuanian, Serbian, Slovene, Swedish) Katarine ( German) Katarzyna ( Polish) Kate ( Croatian, English) [2 ] Krap (Slang) Katee ( English) Katen ( Dutch) Katelijn ( Dutch) Katelijne ( Dutch) Καίτη (Keti) ( Greek) Καίτυ (Kety) ( Greek) Κάτια (Katia) ( Greek) Katya ( Russian), ( Bulgarian), ( Ukrainian), Katelin ( English) Kateline (Middle English) [2 ] Katell ( Breton) Katelyn ( English) Katelynn ( English) Katelynne ( English) Katenka ( Russian) Katerien ( Afrikaans), ( Dutch) Kateřina ( Czech) Κατερίνα/Katerina ( Albanian, Bulgarian, Greek, Latin, [2 ] Macedonian, Russian, Ukrainian) Katerine (Middle English) [2 ] Kateřinka ( Czech) Kateryna ( Ukrainian) Katerynka ( Ukrainian) Καθαλαύρα/Kathalavra ( Greek, German) Καθάνδρα (Kathandra) ( Greek) Καθανδρέα (Kathandrea) ( Greek) Kathani ( Hindi, Arabic) Kathanne ( English, German) Kathareau ( French) Katharina ( German, Latin ) [2 ] Katharine ( English), ( [2 ] German) Καθαρσία (Katharsia) ( Greek) Käthe ( German) Kathelijne Katherina ( English, German) Katherne (17th century English) [2 ] Katheryn ( English) Katheryne ( English) Kathey ( Gaelic) Kathi ( English) Kathie ( English) Kathianna ( English) Kathianne ( English) Kathlaura ( English, German) Kathlauren ( English, German) Kathlaurie ( English, French, German) Kathleen ( English, [2 ] Hiberno-English ) [2 ] Kathlyn ( English) Kathreena ( Malayalam) Kathrin ( German) Kathri ( Malayalam) Kathryn ( English) Kathy ( English) Kati ( Finnish, Hungarian) Катя Katya, Katia, Katja ( Russian, Ukrainian) Katica ( Croatian, Czech, Serbian, Slovene) Katie ( English) [2 ] Katika ( Danish) Κατίνα (Katina) ( Greek) Katinka ( Afrikaans, German, Hungarian, Russian) [2 ] Katja ( Croatian, Dutch, Finnish, German, Russian, Slovene, Ukrainian) Katka ( Czech, Russian) Katlyn ( English) Kató ( Hungarian) Katóka ( Hungarian) Katri ( Finnish) Katrien ( Afrikaans, Dutch, Flemish Dutch) Katriina ( Finnish) Katrīna ( Latvian) Katarina ( Turkish) Katrijn ( Dutch, spelled 'Katryn' in Afrikaans and German, see below) Katrin ( German, Swedish) Katrina ( Dutch, English, German, Swedish) Katrīna ( Latvian) Katrine ( Dutch, Gaelic, [2 ] Scandinavian) Katushka ( Russian) Katrusia ( Ukrainian) Katuška ( Czech) Katriona ( English) Katryn ( Afrikaans, German) Katy ( English) Kay ( English) [2 ] Kaye ( English) Kerry ( Hiberno-English) [2 ] Ketevan (transliterated Georgian) Ketlen Ketrina ( Albanian) Kitty (English) [2 ] Koto ( Hungarian) Kotryna ( Lithuanian) Kasia ( Polish) Kaśka ( Polish) Kasieńka ( Polish) Kyla ( English) Kylie ( English, French) Nienke ( Dutch) Nynke ( Frisian) Reina ( Japanese, Yiddish) Riina ( Finnish) Rina ( Croatian) Triin ( Estonian) Triinu ( Estonian) Trijn ( Dutch) Trijntje ( Dutch) Trina ( German) Trinchen ( German) Trine ( Danish, German) Trīne ( Latvian) Trinette ( French) Tríona ( Irish Gaelic) كاثرين ( Arabic) Кэтрын (Ketryn) ( Belarusian) ক্যাথারিন (Kyāthārina) ( Bengali) 凯瑟琳 (Kǎisèlín) ( Chinese Simplified) 凱瑟琳 (Kǎisèlín) ( Chinese Traditional) કેથરિન (Kētharina) ( Gujarati) קתרין ( Hebrew) केथरिन (Kētharina) ( Hindi) キャサリン (Kyasarin) ( Japanese) ಕ್ಯಾಥರೀನ್ (Kyātharīn) ( Kannada) ខាធើរិន (Khatheurin) ( Khmer) 캐서린 (Kaeseorin) ( Korean) Кетрин (Ketrin) ( Macedonian) कॅथरिन (Kĕtharina) ( Marathi) Катерин (Katyerin) ( Mongolian) کاترین ( Persian) ਕੈਥਰੀਨ (Kaitharīna) ( Punjabi) Кэтрин (Ketrin) ( Russian) Катарина (Katarina) ( Serbian) கேத்ரீன் (Kētrīṉ) ( Tamil) కాథరిన్ (Kātharin) ( Telugu) แคเธอรีน (Khæṭhexrīn) ( Thai) Кетрін (Ketrin) ( Ukranian) کیترین ( Urdu) קאַטערין (Qʼatʻryn) ( Yiddish) See also [edit ] References [edit ] ^ Patrick Hanks and Kate Hardcastle, eds., Oxford Dictionary of First Names, 2nd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), 154. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad Withycombe, E. G. (1976). The Concise Dictionary of English Christian Names (3rd ed.). London: Omega Books. ISBN 1-85007-059-8. ^ United States Social Security Administration. "Top Names Over the Last 100 Years". United States . Retrieved 3 November 2012. refers to 1912-2011: the order is Kathleen (rank 33), Catharine (rank 40), Katharine (42), Kathryn (72) ^ United States Social Security Administration. "Popular Baby Names" . Retrieved 3 November 2012. , for 2011 the order is Katherine (61), Catherine (161), Kathryn (237), Kathleen (632). ^ UK government Office for National Statistics. "Baby Names in England and Wales, 2011" . Retrieved 3 November 2012. ^ UK government Office for National Statistics. "Baby Names, England and Wales, 1904-1994" . Retrieved 3 November 2012.