Katherine (given name)

Infobox Given Name Revised
name = Katherine

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imagesize=200
caption="Catherine of Alexandria", by Carlo Crivelli. The name Catherine became famous in Christian communities because of this early saint
pronunciation=
gender = female
meaning =
region =
nickname = Kate, Kath, Cath, Cate, Cat, Kathy, Kathie, Kathi, Katey, Katy, Kay, Kat, Katya, Katyusha, Katie, Kati, Kaki, Kit, Kitty, Kaity, and Cathy
origin =
related names = Katheryn, Kathryn, Katharyn, Katherin, Catharine, Cathryn, Katheryne,
footnotes =

Katherine is a feminine given name of Greek origin, which is popular in historically Christian countries, owing to its having been the name of one of the first Christian saints, Saint Catherine of Alexandria.

Origin and meaning

The name is derived from the Greek name "Αικατερίνη" ("Aikaterínē"), of debated origin and meaning. Theories include:

*from the Greek (catharsis) see Aristotle's Poetics, meaning to purge or to cleanse - pure/purity of emotion
*from ἑκάτερος (hekáteros), meaning "each of the two, singly"Fact|date=October 2007
*from the goddess Hecate.
*from the Greek word αἰκία (aikía) "injurious treatment" [cite book
last = Liddell
first = H.G.
authorlink = H. G. Liddell
coauthors = Scott
title = Greek-English Lexicon
publisher = Oxford
date =
location =
pages =
url =
doi =
id =
isbn = ]

The Romans, through folk etymology, associated the name with the greek καθαρός (katharós) "pure" which led to the variant spelling "Katharine"/"Katharina". The spelling Katharine is more popular in the United States than in Britain and also more popular in the past Fact|date=October 2007. The form Catherine, corresponding with the French version, is also common in English.

Less common variants in English include Katheryn, Kathryn, Katharyn, Kathyrn, Katherin, Catharine, and Cathryn. The form Karen, of Danish origin, is now often considered an English name in its own right. Diminutives include Kate, Kath, Cath, Cate, Kathy, Kathie, Kathi, Katey, Katy, Kay, Kat, Katya, Katyusha, Katie, Kati, Kaki, Kit, Kitty, Katheryne, Kaitie, Kady, Kaity, Cat and Cathy.

Variants

*Aikaterine (Greek)
*Cadi (Welsh)
*Cáit (Irish)
*Caitlín (Irish)
*Caitlin (English)
*Caitlyn (English)
*Caitria (Irish Gaelic)
*Caitrín (Irish Gaelic)
*Caitríona (Irish Gaelic)
*Caitrḯona (Scottish)
*Caja (Danish)
*Cajsa (Swedish)
*Caren (English)
*Carin (English)
*Carina (Portuguese)
*Carine (French)
*Caryn (English)
*Cătălina (Romanian)
*Catalina (Spanish)
*Catant (French)
*Catarina Galician), (Italian), (Portuguese), (Spanish)
*Cate (English)
*Caterina (Catalan), (Italian), (Portuguese)
*Catharina (Dutch), (Swedish)
*Catharine (English)
*Catherin (English)
*Catherina (Spanish)
*Catherine (English), (French)
*Cathie (English)
*Cathleen (English), (Irish)
*Cathrin (German)
*Cathrine (Scandinavian)
*Cathryn (English)
*Cathy (English)
*Cátia (Portuguese)
*Catina (Romanian)
*Cato (Dutch)
*Catraoine (Irish Gaelic)
*Catreena (Manx)
*Catreeney (Manx)
*Catrin (German), (Welsh)
*Catrina (Irish), (Scottish)
*Catrine (Swedish)
*Catriona (Irish), (Scottish)
*Catrona (Scottish)
*Ecaterina (Romanian)
*Ekaterina (Bulgarian), (Macedonian, (Russian)
*Jekaterina (Russian)
*Kaarina (Finnish)
*Kaatje (Dutch)
*Kadri (Estonian)
*Kaety (English)
*Kai (Swedish)
*Kaia (Norwegian)
*Kaija (Finnish)
*Kaisa (Estonian), (Finnish)
*Kaitlin (English)
*Kaitlyn (English)
*Kaj (Swedish)
*Kaja (Scandinavian)
*Kajsa (Swedish)
*Kakalina (Hawaiian)
*Kalena (Hawaiian)
*Karen (Danish), (English), (German), (Norwegian)
*Karena (English)
*Kari (Norwegian)
*Karin (Dutch), (Finnish), (German), (Swedish)
*Karina (German), (Polish), (Russian)
*Karyn (English)
*Karyna (English)
*Katarzyna (Polish)
*Kat (English)
*Kata (Finnish), (Hungarian)
*Katalin (Basque), (Hungarian)
*Katariina (Estonian), (Finnish)
*Katarin (Basque), (Breton)
*Katarína (Slovakian)
*Katarina (Croatian), (German), (Hungarian), (Lithuanian), (Serbian), (Slovenian), (Swedish)
*Katarine (German)
*Kate (English)
*Katee (English)
*Katelijn (Dutch)
*Katelijne (Dutch)
*Katelin (English)
*Katell (Breton)
*Katelyn (English)
*Katelynn (English)
*Katenka (Russian)
*Kateřina (Czech)
*Katerina (Bulgarian), (Greek), (Macedonian), (Russian)
*Katerinka (Czech)
*Katharina (German)
*Katharine (English), (German)
*Käthe (German)
*Katherina (English), (German)
*Katheryn (English)
*Katheryne (English)
*Kathi (English)
*Kathie (English)
*Kathleen (English), (Irish)
*Kathlyn (English)
*Kathrin (German)
*Kathryn (English)
*Kathy (English)
*Kathyrn (American)
*Kati (Finnish), (Hungarian)
*Katia (Russian)
*Katica (Czech), (Slovenian)
*Katie (English)
*Katina (Greek)
*Katinka (German), (Russian)
*Katja (Finnish), (German), (Slovenian)
*Katka (Czech), (Russian)
*Katlyn (English)
*Kató (Hungarian)
*Katóka (Hungarian)
*Katri (Finnish)
*Katrien (Dutch)
*Katriina (Finnish)
*Katrijn (Dutch)
*Katrin (German), (Swedish)
*Katrina (Dutch), (English), (Irish), (German), (Swedish)
*Katrine (Dutch), (Scandinavian)
*Katushka (Russian)
*Katuška (Czech)
*Katriona (English)
*Katryn (German)
*Katy (English)
*Katya (Russian)
*Kay (English)
*Kaye (English)
*Koto (Hungarian)
*Reina (Yiddish)
*Trina (German)
*Trinchen (German)
*Trine (Danish), (German)
*Trinette (French)
*Yekaterina (Russian)

ee also

*Katherine
*
*
*

References