Catherene
A feminine given name of Greek origin meaning "pure, clear".
Name Census estimates that about 55 living Americans carry the first name Catherene. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Catherene today is around 78 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Catherene births was 1921 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Catherene. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Catherene is about 78 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Catherenes were born before 1958.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Catherene. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
55
~ 1 in 6,231,897 Americans
Peak year
1921
11 babies that year
Average age
78
years old
1963 SSA rank
#6,717
Tracked since 1905
Census
Catherene in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 144 people with the first name Catherene, which placed it at #46,371 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#46,371
National first-name rank
People counted
144
144 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
54.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Catherene
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Catherene is White at 54.2%. The next largest groups are Black (22.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (9.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Catherene described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Catherene at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White54.2% · 78
- Black or African American22.2% · 32
- Asian and Pacific Islander9.7% · 14
- Hispanic or Latino9.0% · 13
- Two or more races4.9% · 7
Popularity
Catherene: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Catherene from the 1900s through to the 1960s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 81 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Catherene by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Catherene during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Catherene
The given name Catherene finds its origins in the Greek name Katharine, which is derived from the ancient Greek name Aikaterine. This name is a combination of the Greek words "katharos" meaning "pure" and "heiros" meaning "sacred." The name Aikaterine emerged in the late 3rd century AD, during the Byzantine era.
The name Catherene is a variant spelling that evolved from the Greek root name as it spread across Europe in the Middle Ages. It was popularized in England and France during this time, gaining widespread use among the nobility and upper classes. The earliest recorded instance of the spelling "Catherene" dates back to the 12th century.
One of the most notable historical figures bearing this name was Catherene of Siena, an influential philosopher, theologian, and mystic born in 1347. She played a significant role in the medieval Renaissance and was canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church in 1461. Another prominent figure was Catherene the Great, the longest-reigning female ruler of Russia, who reigned from 1762 to 1796.
In the realm of literature, Catherene Parr, the sixth wife of King Henry VIII, was an influential figure in the English Renaissance. She was a patron of the arts and an advocate for religious reform. Catherene de' Medici, born in 1519, was a prominent figure in French history, serving as the Queen Consort of France and later as the regent to her three sons.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Catherene can be found in the 12th century work "The Life of Saint Catherene" by Clemence of Barking, a nun who wrote about the martyrdom of Saint Catherene of Alexandria. This text played a significant role in popularizing the name throughout Europe during the Middle Ages.
These are just a few examples of the notable figures and historical references associated with the name Catherene. Its rich history and deep roots in Greek and European cultures have contributed to its enduring popularity over the centuries.
People
Catherene + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Catherene as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Catherene: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Catherene?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 55 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Catherene going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 6,231,897 US residents.
Is Catherene a common name?
We classify Catherene as "Very Rare". It ranks above 55.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 256 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Catherene most popular?
The single biggest year for Catherene was 1921, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Catherene is about 78 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Catherene in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 144 people with the name Catherene, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #46,371 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Catherene in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Catherene?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Catherene leans strongly female. 147 people counted with this name were female (98.7%), compared with 2 male bearers (1.3%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Catherene?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Catherene is White at 54.2%. The next largest groups are Black (22.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (9.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Catherene most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Catherene in the 2020 Census, accounting for 54.2% (78 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Catherene in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Catherene a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Catherene in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Catherene still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Catherene in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Catherene can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have the name Catherene?
See how many people share the name Catherene on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.