Kathrine
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "pure" or "chaste".
Name Census estimates that about 10,547 living Americans carry the first name Kathrine. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kathrine today is around 48 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kathrine births was 1956 (275 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kathrine. 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
11K
~ 1 in 32,498 Americans
Peak year
1956
275 babies that year
Average age
48
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,861
Tracked since 1880
Popularity
Kathrine: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kathrine from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 2,288 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kathrine 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 Kathrine during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kathrines live
The SSA's state-level files cover 39 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Kathrine, while New Hampshire, Idaho, New Mexico recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 234 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kathrine
The name Kathrine is derived from the Greek name Katharina, which itself is a combination of the Greek words katharos, meaning "pure", and the name Aikaterine. The earliest recorded use of the name dates back to the 4th century BCE in ancient Greek texts.
In the early Christian era, the name gained popularity due to its association with the martyr Saint Catherine of Alexandria, who lived in the 4th century CE. The legend of Saint Catherine inspired many artistic depictions and literary works throughout the Middle Ages, further spreading the name across Europe.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Kathrine of Siena, an influential philosopher and theologian who lived from 1347 to 1380. She is renowned for her mystical visions and her role in persuading the papacy to return to Rome from Avignon.
In the 16th century, the name was popularized by Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of King Henry VIII of England. Their daughter, Mary I of England, was also known as Mary Tudor or Bloody Mary, and she reigned as Queen of England from 1553 to 1558.
Another notable bearer of the name was Catherine the Great, the Empress of Russia who ruled from 1762 to 1796. She is celebrated for her expansion of the Russian Empire and her patronage of the arts and culture.
In literature, one of the most famous characters bearing the name is Catherine Earnshaw from Emily Brontë's classic novel Wuthering Heights, published in 1847. The character's tragic love story with Heathcliff has become an enduring literary icon.
Moving into the 20th century, Catherine Deneuve, the renowned French actress known for her roles in films like Belle de Jour and Indochine, was born in 1943 and continues to be an influential figure in the entertainment industry.
People
Kathrine + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kathrine 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
Kathrine: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kathrine?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10,547 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kathrine 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 32,498 US residents.
Is Kathrine a common name?
We classify Kathrine as "Uncommon". It ranks above 97.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 15,760 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kathrine most popular?
The single biggest year for Kathrine was 1956, when 275 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kathrine is about 48 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Kathrine a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kathrine 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.