Katherina
Feminine · “reshaped as 'pure”
Katherina is the fullest Latin form of a name whose origins nobody has ever settled. The Greek Aikaterine is genuinely obscure; the familiar meaning, pure, was attached to it later by people who thought it should mean something. Shakespeare used this exact spelling for the shrew of the title, and its American peak is 1892.
How old is the name Katherina?
Katherina first appears in US birth records in 1889 — 136 years ago. The typical Katherina alive today was born around 1984, making them about 41 years old. About 1,400 people named Katherina are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Katherina most popular?
Katherina peaked in 1892, reaching #1017 nationally. Today it ranks #5917, 4,900 places below that high. See the whole 1892 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Aikaterine to Katherina
The story of Katherina
Saint Catherine of Alexandria, whose legend places her as a scholar martyred on a spiked wheel, was among the most venerated saints of medieval Europe, and her name spread everywhere: Katharina in German, Caterina in Italian, Ekaterina in Russian, Katalin in Hungarian, Catherine in French and English. The Latin Katherina was the formal written form throughout. Shakespeare's Katherina in The Taming of the Shrew, printed in 1623, uses it, and the character is called Kate throughout the play — which is the same shortening every European language made. American use of the full Latin form peaked with German and Central European migration around 1890.
Meaningscholars disagree
reshaped as 'pure'; the original meaning is unknown
Greek Aikaterine has no secure derivation. Proposals connect it to Hekate, to a word meaning 'each of two', and to several other roots, none convincingly. What is documented is what happened next: early Christian writers associated the name with katharos, 'pure', and the spelling shifted to Katharina to match. So the familiar meaning is a genuine part of the name's history and not its origin — the name was made to mean pure rather than found to mean it.
How the name formed
- Aikaterine
- Katharina
- Katherina
Related forms: Katharina · Caterina · Ekaterina · Catherine · Katalin
Pronouncing Katherina
kath-uh-REE-nah
Four syllables, stress on the third. German says kah-tah-REE-nah with a plain t. English speakers often say kath-uh-RY-nah with a long i, which is the main variation heard in America.
Nicknames for Katherina
High
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
- 1889
- Most girls named
- 199737 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1017reached in 1892
- Change vs 2023
- 0.0%20 in 2025, from 20
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.
Katherina in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Katharina in German — spelling variant
- Caterina in Italian — related form
- Ekaterina in Russian — related form
- Catherine in English — related form
- Katalin in Hungarian — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas.
Katherinas among us
people named Katherina are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 80,363 born in 2025 was named Katherina
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Katherina 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
Katherina beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Katherina in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Kate, Katya, Kitty and Rina give it four short forms across four traditions.
- It is the fullest and most formal form of one of the most-used names in Europe.
- It has an unusually long documented history in every European language.
- Katherina, Katharina and Catherina all circulate as one name.
- The vowel in the third syllable is said two different ways in American English.
- The famous meaning, pure, is a later attachment rather than an origin.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Katherina 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 Katherina? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Katherina
Feminine · #5917 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Katherinas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,400 people named Katherina are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Katherina in 2025?
- Katherina ranks #5917 among US girl names in 2025, with 20 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Katherina?
- About 1 in every 80,363 US girls born in 2025 was named Katherina — 20 in all.
- Will my child share the name Katherina with classmates?
- Katherina will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Katherina
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Elda#5917 · Saloma#5917 · Fawn#5917 · Sarafina#5917 · Jaymie#5917 · Jania#5917 · Kimberlynn#5917 · Patsy#5917
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Katherina? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Katherina 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