Katharine
Girl nameKatharine has been given to 41,241 babies in the U.S. since 1880. It peaked in 1982.
Meaning & origin
A variant spelling of Catherine, based on the folk etymology that it would derive from Greek καθαρός (katharos "pure").
Origin: Ancient Greek
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Popularity over time births per year, 1880–2025
Total babies
41,241
Peak year
1982 (946 babies)
Rank in 2025
Below top 1000
First recorded
1880
10-year trend
▼ -70%
Gender split
100% girls / 0% boys
Rank through the decades
Katharine's rank among U.S. girl names at 25-year milestones.
| Year | Girls rank |
|---|---|
| 1900 | #273 |
| 1925 | #453 |
| 1950 | #415 |
| 1975 | #517 |
| 2000 | #669 |
— means outside the top 1000 that year.
Spellings & variants
Names one letter away from Katharine — alternate spellings parents actually use.
Famous people named Katharine
Katharine Hepburn
American actress (1907–2003)
Katharine Ross
American actress
Katharine Graham
American publisher, editor and author
Katharine McPhee
American recording artist, singer and songwriter
Notability data from Wikidata (CC0).
Names with a similar vibe
Same primary gender, peaked around the same years, and roughly as common as Katharine.
FAQ
How popular is the name Katharine?
Katharine has been given to 41,241 babies in the U.S. since 1880. It ranked below the top 1000 in 2025.
When did the name Katharine peak?
Katharine peaked in 1982, when 946 babies were given the name.
Is Katharine a girl or boy name?
Katharine is primarily a girl name (100% of babies named Katharine are girls).
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