Katarzyna
Feminine
Katarzyna is the Polish form of a name the whole of Europe shares, and the cluster in the middle of it is one of the most interesting things in Polish spelling: those two letters record a sound that used to be an r and is not one any more.
How old is the name Katarzyna?
Katarzyna first appears in US birth records in 1980 — 45 years ago. The typical Katarzyna alive today was born around 1996, making them about 29 years old. About 700 people named Katarzyna are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Katarzyna most popular?
Katarzyna peaked in 1998, reaching #3068 nationally. See the whole 1998 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Aikaterine to Katarzyna
Our story of Katarzyna
Polish spells one sound two different ways, and the reason is history rather than carelessness. The pair of letters in the middle of this name is said like the s in measure, but it is written with an r because that is what it used to be: a rolled r produced with the tongue in a position that gradually turned it into a buzz, a change Czech went through as well and still writes with a single letter of its own. Polish kept the old spelling and added a separate letter for the same sound arriving by a different route, so the language now has two ways to write one noise and schoolchildren have to learn which words take which. The clue is that the r-spelling usually appears where a related word still has a plain r. A name built this way carries a sound change inside it, preserved on the page after the mouth has moved on.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The name's meaning has never been established. The Greek word for pure was attached to it centuries after it was already in use, and the h in the English spellings was inserted to support that connection. The original is probably not Greek at all, and no derivation has held up.
How the name formed
- Aikaterine
- Katharina
- Katarzyna
Related forms: Katherine · Katharina · Yekaterina · Caterina · Caitríona
Pronouncing Katarzyna
kah-tah-ZHIH-nah
Four syllables. Polish stress is fixed on the second-to-last syllable, so the weight falls on the third. The rz in the middle is a single sound, the one in measure, and not an r followed by a z.
Nicknames for Katarzyna
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
- 1980
- Most girls named
- 199841 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3068reached in 1998
- Change vs 2022
- +33.3%8 in 2023, 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.
Katarzyna in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Katherine in English — same name
- Katharina in German — same name
- Yekaterina in Russian — same name
- Caterina in Italian — same name
- Caitríona in Irish — same name
Katarzynas among us
people named Katarzyna 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
Katarzyna 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 full, unaltered Polish form, which carries weight in a Polish family.
- Kasia is a warm, short, everyday form that works in English mouths as well.
- The English Katherine is available as an equivalent wherever the full form is too much.
- English speakers will not get the middle of it right without being told, and it takes explaining every time.
- Four syllables and an unfamiliar cluster make it hard to spell from hearing.
- The name's meaning is genuinely unknown, and the tidy Greek gloss often given is a later invention.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Katarzyna to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Katarzyna? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Katarzyna
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Katarzynas 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 Katarzyna are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Katarzyna in 2025?
- Katarzyna is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Katarzyna with classmates?
- Katarzyna will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More K names
The most-given names starting with K, all years combined.
Karen#1279 · Kimberly#302 · Kathleen#1150 · Katherine#186 · Kelly#851 · Kathryn#729 · Kayla#364 · Kathy#3249
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Katarzyna? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Katarzyna and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle