Catriona
Feminine
Catriona is the Scottish Gaelic form of a name the whole of Europe shares, and English-speaking readers have been guessing at how to say it for well over a century. A novel is the reason most of them have met it at all.
How old is the name Catriona?
Catriona first appears in US birth records in 1965 — 60 years ago. The typical Catriona alive today was born around 2002, making them about 23 years old. About 700 people named Catriona are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Catriona most popular?
Catriona peaked in 1998, reaching #3648 nationally. See the whole 1998 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Catherine to Catriona
Our story of Catriona
Robert Louis Stevenson wrote a sequel to Kidnapped and named it after the girl in it, and in doing so put a Gaelic spelling in front of an enormous English-language readership who had no idea what to do with it. The Gaelic is said with the stress on the second syllable and a sound in the middle that English does not have; English readers looked at the letters and produced cat-ree-OH-na, which is how most American bearers now say it. Neither is wrong for the person carrying it — a name is said the way its owner says it — but the gap between page and mouth is wide enough that bearers spend their lives correcting people or deciding not to. The novel is also, incidentally, one of the few Victorian sequels that is genuinely better than the book it follows.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The name's meaning has never been established. The Greek word for pure was attached to it long after it was in use and the h in the English spellings was inserted to support that connection, which is now generally rejected. The Gaelic form inherits the blank exactly.
How the name formed
- Catherine
- Caitrìona
- Catriona
Related forms: Caitrìona · Caitríona · Catherine
Pronouncing Catriona
kuh-TREE-nuh
Three or four syllables depending on the family. The Gaelic is closer to ka-TREE-uh-na with the stress on the second syllable; American bearers often use four syllables and put the weight on the third.
Nicknames for Catriona
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
- 1965
- Most girls named
- 199832 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3648reached in 1998
- Change vs 2022
- −50.0%5 in 2024, from 10
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.
Catriona in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Caitrìona in Scottish Gaelic — same name
- Caitríona in Irish — same name
- Catherine in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California.
Catrionas among us
people named Catriona 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
Catriona 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 genuine Gaelic form rather than an approximation of one.
- Triona and Kate are both available and come from opposite ends of the name.
- The family behind it is understood everywhere in Europe.
- There is no settled English pronunciation, so it will be said several ways.
- Catrina, Katriona and Katrina will all be written for it.
- The name's meaning has never been established, so there is nothing to give.
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What they receive
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Catriona
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Catrionas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 700 people named Catriona are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Catriona in 2025?
- Catriona is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Catriona with classmates?
- Catriona 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 Catriona? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Catriona and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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