Cathrine
Feminine
Cathrine is missing a letter in English and missing nothing at all in Norwegian. Cathrine is the ordinary Norwegian and Danish spelling of this name, used there without comment; in English it reads as Catherine with an e knocked out. The syllable that letter stands for is one English has never actually said.
How old is the name Cathrine?
Cathrine was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Cathrine alive today was born around 1955, making them about 70 years old. About 4,600 people named Cathrine are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Cathrine most popular?
Cathrine peaked in 1881, reaching #393 nationally. See the whole 1881 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Aikaterine to Cathrine
The story of Cathrine
Catherine spread across medieval Europe on the strength of a legendary martyr and became one of a handful of names every Christian country used, which means every one of those countries spelled it its own way. Scandinavian languages dropped the interior vowel that Latin had and settled on Cathrine and Katrine. English kept the vowel on the page and stopped saying it, which is the reverse arrangement. So the two spellings record the same simplification made in two different places, one in the mouth and one on the page.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Greek Aikaterine has no established origin. The reading pure comes from katharos and was attached by Christian writers centuries after the name existed — an interpretation strong enough to change the spelling, since the th in Catherine was inserted to make the false etymology visible. That is a documented act of editing rather than an etymology. The honest answer is that the meaning is not known, and every spelling of the name inherits that equally.
How the name formed
- Aikaterine
- Catherine
- Cathrine
Related forms: Cathrine · Cathrine · Katrin · Catherine
Pronouncing Cathrine
KATH-rin
KATH-rin, two syllables, stress at the front. Catherine is said the same way by most English speakers — the middle vowel has been silent for a very long time — so this spelling writes down the actual pronunciation rather than the historical one.
Nicknames for Cathrine
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
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 1958173 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #393reached in 1881
- Change vs 2014
- −44.4%5 in 2019, from 9
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.
Cathrine in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Cathrine in Norwegian — same name
- Cathrine in Danish — same name
- Katrin in Swedish — same name
- Catherine in French — same name
Cathrines among us
people named Cathrine 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
Cathrine 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
- It is the standard Norwegian and Danish spelling rather than an English respelling of anything.
- The spelling matches how English speakers genuinely say the name.
- Cathy, Kit and Rina are three short forms in three different traditions.
- Catherine and Katherine are both standard in English and this will be corrected toward one of them.
- Because the missing letter is silent, defending it is a purely visual argument.
- The name is one of the most widely used in Europe, so the spelling is the only thing distinguishing it in a room.
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What they receive
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Cathrine
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Cathrines are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 4,600 people named Cathrine are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Cathrine in 2025?
- Cathrine is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Cathrine with classmates?
- Cathrine 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 Cathrine? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Cathrine and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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