My name is Catherine. If
you look “Catherine” up in a book of baby names, you’ll find the meaning is “pure.”
Origins of
Catherine
This name is derived
from the Greek Aikaterina and the Latin Katharina. Why is the name
spelled with a "C" in much of the world? When the name was introduced
into Anglo-Saxon Britain, it was spelled with a "C" because the
letter "K" did not yet exist in the English alphabet.
Catherine, spelled with
a “C” is more old-fashioned, romantic, and feminine than its variant,
Katherine, spelled with a “K”, although the latter spelling has become more
popular in recent decades.
The name Catherine is a
very popular name around the world. In the United States, its popularity peaked
in the early 1900’s, and then began to fall. Despite a brief revival in the
1950’s, it has steadily declined. It may no longer be a fashionable name, but
it is still among the top 200 names. It is probably far higher if you add all
its variants together.
Famous Women
Named Catherine
Catherine has a great
history.
It is the name of a
number of saints, Including St. Catherine of Alexandria, the patron saint of
philosophers, students, craftsmen, nurses, and librarians.
It is a name with a
royal lineage. Queen Catherine of Aragon was the first wife of the notorious
Henry the VII. Catherine the Great was an Empress of Russia. It is also the
name of the Catherine Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, the wife of Prince
William who is second in line as heir to the English throne. (She is sometimes
called Kate, but she hates that name and never uses it for herself.)
Catherine has also been
the name of some of the great romantic heroines of literature, including
Heathcliff’s love in Wuthering Heights and the passionate nurse Catherine
Barkley in Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms.
In popular culture, we
have a few famous actresses: Catherine Zeta Jones and Catherine Deneuve
are two of them renowned for their beauty and talent.
Variations
of Catherine
Here are a few of the
variants and nicknames of Catherine/Katherine—just the ones most popular in
English- speaking countries.
Cat/Kat/Kitty/Kit
Cate/Kate/Katie/Katy
Cathy/Cathie/Cathe/Cathi/Kathy/Kathie/Kathe/Kathi
Cath/Kath
Catterina/Katrina
Catherina/Katherina
Catharine/Katharine
Cathryn/Kathryn
Caryn/Karen
Cathleen/Kathleen
Caitlyn/Caitlin/Kaitlyn/Kaitlin
There a dozens and
dozens more.
We are a
vast army, we descendants of Aikaterina.
This is a great book if you are choosing a name for your baby or if you want to know more about name. The Name Book: Over10,000 Names - Their Meanings, Origins, and Spiritual Significance
© Catherine Giordano
2017
Picture Credits (from
left to right):
Catherine of Aragon by
Public Domain
Catherine Middleton by
Maximus0970 CC-3.0
Catherine Zeta Jones by
David Shankbone CC 3.0
Catherine Deneuve by
Georges Biard CC 3.0
