Catherine

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Екатерина in RU Russia, KZ Kazakhstan, TR Türkiye and 2 more, Katherine in PE Peru, ES Spain, EC Ecuador and 1 more, Katarzyna in PL Poland, SE Sweden and Katrin in DE Germany, AT Austria.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 21 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Catherine is also recorded as 6 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• French given name3.1M records spelled Catherine32 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France, United States, Philippines, Brazil

  Languages: French, Spanish, Portuguese

  Also written Cathérine, Cathèrine, Çatherine, Càtherine, Catherîne

• a separate given name294K records spelled Catherine3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Italy

  Also written Cathérine, Cátherine

• Indonesian given name28K records spelled Catherine6 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Indonesia, United States, Philippines, Malaysia

  Languages: Indonesian, Malay, Malagasy

  Also written 'Catherine, Cathérine

• Italian given name15K records spelled Catherine2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, San Marino, Canada

  Also written Cathérine

• Finnish given name13K records spelled Catherine5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Finland, Hungary, United States, United Kingdom

  Languages: Finnish, Hungarian, Estonian

  Also written Cathérine

• French (Côte d’Ivoire) given name7.1K records spelled Catherine2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Côte d’Ivoire

  Also written Cathérine

85 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Catherine is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In French, From Greek Aikaterinē; etymology uncertain, often linked to 'pure'.

  as a name·Le grand guide des prénoms (Enfant - Education)

• In English, In legend, Trojan princess with the gift of prophecy; also used as an independent name

  as a name·Baby names, 25,350 baby names nicknames for your family, friends pets, including the top 100 names, 2,000 most popular…

• In English, Pure; from Greek katharos. Also used as an independent name.

  as a name·Baby names, 25,350 baby names nicknames for your family, friends pets, including the top 100 names, 2,000 most popular…

• 2 Variant spelling of Katherine. This form of the name is also used in France. Variant: Catharine (English only). Short form: Cath. Pet form: Cathy.

  as a name·A concise dictionary of first names

• In English, A female given name from Ancient Greek.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Catherine of Valoisb. 1401FRQueen consort of England
• Catherine Howardb. 1523GBfifth wife of Henry VIII of England
• Catherine II of Russiab. 1729RUeighth Emperor of Russia, called the Great, r. 1762–1796 (lived 1729-1796)
• Pat Nixonb. 1912USnot in their usual nameFirst Lady of the United States from 1969 to 1974
• Niki de Saint Phalleb. 1930FRnot in their usual nameplastician, painter and sculptor (1930–2002)
• Michèle Laroqueb. 1960FRnot in their usual nameFrench actress
• Catherine Zeta-Jonesb. 1969GBBritish actress (born 1969)
• Katherine Heiglb. 1978USnot in their usual nameAmerican actress (born 1978)
• Catherine, Princess of Walesb. 1982GBmember of the British Royal Family and princess of Wales since 2022
• Kate Bosworthb. 1983USnot in their usual nameAmerican actress

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 2,014 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Catherine?

We estimate roughly 2.1 million people bear Catherine (counting its spellings and scripts) across 12 countries in our records.

In which country does Catherine have the most bearers?

Catherine is most frequently recorded in Russia, where it is most often spelled екатерина.

Where is Catherine most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Catherine is densest in the Czechia — about 1 in 45 people — even though Russia holds more of our records for it.

How common is Catherine compared with other names?

In Russia, Catherine is the 16th most common given name of 418,751 given names recorded there.

Is Catherine a male or female name?

Catherine is a female name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Catherine mean?

Recorded meaning: From Greek Aikaterinē; meaning uncertain, later associated with Greek katharos 'pure'.