Given name
Catherina
“pure”
Catherina is a given name from Ancient Greek. It is used in Latin.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Catherina goes back to Ancient Greek Αἰκατερίνη, meaning “pure.”
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1900. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Catherina through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 933
- 0 boys · 933 girls
- Most popular year
- 1962
- 25 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +100%
- Rising fast
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 5 in 2024. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,169 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Catherina’s family of names
In Latin usage, Catherina has a conventional equivalent in the French form Catherine. In Spanish usage, Catherina has a conventional equivalent in the German form Katharina. In Latin usage, Catherina has a conventional equivalent in the Chinese form 凱瑟琳.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Catherina has relatives in 4 languages. Lines run from its Ancient Greek roots to each of them.
3 related names in 4 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 8
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Catherina
- Elisabeth Heveliusastronomer1647–1693
- Kusumasana DeviQueen of Kandy1560–1613
- Catherina McKiernanIrish long-distance runnerborn 1969
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Catherina, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Karyne
“one who is pure; virginal”
>99% girls
Catheryn
“one who is pure; virginal”
>99% girls
Coleen
“a young peasant girl”
>99% girls
Corinna
“a spear-wielding woman”
>99% girls
Katryna
“one who is pure; virginal”
>99% girls
Theresa
“a harvester”
>99% girls
Karen
“one who is pure; virginal” · “one who is pure; chaste”
1% boys · 99% girls
Dea
“resembling a goddess”
>99% girls