Katherine

“Variant of Catherine — Debated; possibly 'each of the two' (Greek), popularly linked to 'pure'” — Greek via French origin

Girl's name · #186 in the US (2025) · Timeless

Katherine has appeared in US records since 1880 — best rank #25 (1991) · 650,926 babies named Katherine all-time · 1 in 960 girls born in 2025.

Around the world: about 1 in 2,000 girls in Canada (2024) · about 1 in 3,600 girls in Scotland (2025) · about 1 in 4,200 girls in Ireland (2025).

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 44 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Famous Katherines

Katherine Johnson — African-American mathematician
Katherine Heigl — American actress (born 1978)
Katherine Mansfield — New Zealand author (1888–1923)
Katherine Maher — chief executive officer and president of National Public Radio
Katherine Langford — Australian actress (born 1996)

Among 1,412 notable people named Katherine:

Scientists & scholars appear 1.48× more often than among typical names — e.g. Katherine Johnson, African-American mathematician.

Browse more girl names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.