Katerine
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "pure" or "virginal".
Name Census estimates that about 888 living Americans carry the first name Katerine. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Katerine today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Katerine births was 2006 (50 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Katerine. 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.
People living today
888
~ 1 in 385,985 Americans
Peak year
2006
50 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,589
Tracked since 1938
Popularity
Katerine: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Katerine from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 378 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Katerine 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 Katerine during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Katerines live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Katerine, while Virginia, Maryland, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 29 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Katerine
The name Katerine has its origins in the Greek name Aikaterine, which was derived from the ancient Greek word "katharos" meaning "pure". The name gained popularity in the early Christian era, and was borne by several early Christian saints and martyrs.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name dates back to the 4th century, when a young Christian woman named Katerine of Alexandria was martyred for her faith during the reign of the Roman Emperor Maximinus II. Her story, which recounts her defiance of the emperor and her subsequent torture and execution, became widely known and contributed to the widespread adoption of the name among Christians.
In the Middle Ages, the name Katerine was widely used throughout Europe, particularly in England and France. Notable historical figures with this name include Katherine of Aragon (1485-1536), the first wife of King Henry VIII of England, and Katherine Parr (1512-1548), his sixth and final wife.
In the 16th century, the name was also borne by Katherine Howard (1523-1542), the fifth wife of Henry VIII, who was ultimately executed for adultery. During the same period, another notable Katerine was the French Renaissance writer and feminist, Katherine des Roches (1542-1587), who was renowned for her literary salon and her advocacy for women's education.
In the 17th century, the name was popular among the English aristocracy, including Katherine of Braganza (1638-1705), the wife of King Charles II of England, and Katherine Philips (1631-1664), an English poet known as the "Matchless Orinda".
Throughout history, the name Katerine has been spelled in various ways, including Catherine, Katharine, and Kathryn, but the core meaning of "pure" has remained consistent across different cultures and time periods.
People
Katerine + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Katerine as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Katerine: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Katerine?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 888 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Katerine 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 385,985 US residents.
Is Katerine a common name?
We classify Katerine as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 922 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Katerine most popular?
The single biggest year for Katerine was 2006, when 50 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Katerine is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Katerine a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Katerine 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.
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.