Catherin
Feminine
A monastery in the Sinai desert has been in continuous use since the sixth century and is named for this name's saint. It has never been destroyed, never abandoned, and never had to start its library again, which is why the oldest complete New Testament in existence was found on its shelves.
How old is the name Catherin?
Catherin first appears in US birth records in 1913 — 112 years ago. The typical Catherin alive today was born around 1983, making them about 42 years old. About 900 people named Catherin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Catherin most popular?
Catherin peaked in 1989, reaching #1149 nationally. See the whole 1989 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Aikaterine to Catherin
The story of Catherin
The manuscript left the monastery in pieces and over a long argument. A German scholar visiting in the middle of the nineteenth century took away leaves of a fourth-century Greek Bible, came back for more, and eventually removed the bulk of it under an arrangement with the monks that the monastery and the scholar described very differently afterwards; most of it ended up in Russia and then, sold by a government short of money, in London. Further leaves turned up at the monastery a century later, in a walled-up room. The four holding institutions have since photographed everything and put it online together, which settles the practical question if not the other one.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The Greek name behind Catherine cannot be read. It appears without explanation, its first syllable has been connected to several unrelated words, and nothing has carried the field. The meanings printed in name books attach to a later spelling rather than to the original.
How the name formed
- Aikaterine
- Catherine
- Catherin
Pronouncing Catherin
KATH-rin
Two or three syllables depending on how fast the middle vowel is said; most English speakers give it two. Dropping the final e changes nothing at all in the sound.
Nicknames for Catherin
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1913
- Most girls named
- 1989143 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1149reached in 1989
- Change vs 2015
- −16.7%5 in 2018, from 6
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Catherins among us
people named Catherin are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Catherin sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Every short form of the standard name works with it unchanged.
- The sound is completely familiar and never mispronounced.
- It is genuinely rare while sounding entirely established.
- Catherine, Katherine and Kathryn are all far commoner and all will be written instead.
- The missing e reads as a typing error rather than a choice.
- There is no settled meaning to give a child who asks.
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Catherin
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Catherins are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 900 people named Catherin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Catherin in 2025?
- Catherin is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Catherin with classmates?
- Catherin will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More C names
The most-given names starting with C, all years combined.
Carol#2239 · Cynthia#1013 · Catherine#313 · Christine#1272 · Carolyn#1222 · Christina#770 · Charlotte#2 · Cheryl#4352
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Catherin? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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