Katherin
Feminine
Katherin is a spelling of Katherine, and the name's origin is one of the great unsolved questions of European naming — the purity reading is a medieval guess.
How old is the name Katherin?
Katherin first appears in US birth records in 1892 — 133 years ago. The typical Katherin alive today was born around 1995, making them about 30 years old. About 3,200 people named Katherin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Katherin most popular?
Katherin peaked in 1989, reaching #717 nationally. Today it ranks #4172, 3,455 places below that high. See the whole 1989 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Aikaterine to Katherin
The story of Katherin
Aikaterine is the name of the martyr of Alexandria, and it appears with no explanation anywhere. Medieval Latin writers connected it to katharos, pure, and rewrote the spelling with a th to match, which is how Katerina became Katherine. The etymology was invented and the spelling followed it — an unusually clear case of a folk etymology changing a name permanently.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The Greek Aikaterine has no established derivation and may be pre-Greek. The universal gloss pure comes from a medieval reinterpretation that reshaped the spelling toward Greek katharos, clean — which is why the th is there and why it does not belong.
How the name formed
- Aikaterine
- Katerina
- Katherine
- Katherin
Related forms: Katherine · Aikaterini · Yekaterina
Pronouncing Katherin
KATH-rin
Two or three syllables, first stressed. Katherin and Katherine are said identically.
Nicknames for Katherin
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
- 1892
- Most girls named
- 200494 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #717reached in 1989
- Change vs 2023
- −20.9%34 in 2025, from 43
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.
Katherin in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Katherine in English — spelling variant
- Aikaterini in Greek — same name
- Yekaterina in Russian — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, Florida.
Katherins among us
people named Katherin are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 47,273 born in 2025 was named Katherin
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Katherin
- #4172
- Katherin on the 2025 chart
- #881
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Katherin went to 34 girls in 2025, but Katheryn is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 79, which makes it the 881st most-given girls’ name of the year — 3,291 places above the chart.
- Katheryn45
- Katherin34
About 1 girl in 20,345 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 47,273 for Katherin itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Lizabeth test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Katherin's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Lizabeth climbed just as high around 1958, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Lizabeth's path sketches the road Katherin is walking now.
Katherin sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Katherin is headed
Katherin should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Katherin beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Katherin in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- One of the great European names with an enormous record behind it.
- Kate and Kathy are both complete short forms with their own histories.
- Read correctly on sight by every English speaker.
- Katherine and Catherine are both standard and this is neither.
- The purity meaning everyone knows is a medieval invention.
- The sound is very widely used, so a classroom may hold more than one.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Katherin 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 Katherin? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Katherin
Feminine · #4172 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Katherins are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 3,200 people named Katherin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Katherin?
- Katherin is one of 2 recorded spellings. Katheryn is the more common one — 45 births in 2025 against 34 for Katherin.
- How popular is the name Katherin in 2025?
- Katherin ranks #4172 among US girl names in 2025, with 34 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Katherin?
- About 1 in every 47,273 US girls born in 2025 was named Katherin — 34 in all.
- Will my child share the name Katherin with classmates?
- Katherin will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Katherin
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Roseanna#4172 · Elida#4172 · Neila#4172 · Savina#4172 · Kendyl#4172 · Zakiya#4172 · Naisha#4172 · Ethel#4172
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Katherin? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Katherin 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