Katherine

Did you know?

A few things about Katherine you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Katherine

Katherine Johnson

African-American mathematician

Choose Katherine and your child shares a first name with Katherine Johnson, an African-American mathematician. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Katherine, like who?” Katherine Johnson's Wikipedia article is available in 79 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Katherine Johnson on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: NASA, Public domain (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 962 baby girls born in the US in 2025 was named Katherine, 1,670 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Katherine would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryKatherine has been in use since at least 1880, the first year US birth records were kept. That's 145 years of Katherines, and counting.
• 🏆Best yearIt was far more popular in 1991, when it ranked #25. Today it's #186, so it could be due a comeback.
• 📉Then vs nowKatherine was 4.3× more common in 2000 than it is today. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 224 baby girls; in 2025, about 1 in 962.
• 🍂TrendKatherine has slipped 50 places over the last five years and now sits at #186. Good news if you want a familiar name that fewer kids will share.
• 📍Where it's lovedKatherine is most popular in Washington, D.C., where it ranks #73, followed by Alabama (#78) and South Carolina (#95). It makes the top 1,000 in almost every state.
• 💬MeaningIn Greek, Katherine means “possibly pure”.

About the name Katherine

Katherine is a girl name of Greek origin meaning “possibly pure”. It has 9 letters and 3 syllables, starting with K and ending in “-ine”. US birth records list Katherine for girls from 1880 to 2025, in 146 of those 146 years. Its best year was 1991, when it ranked #25 among girl names. In 2025 it ranked #186, with 1,670 babies.

Origin:Greek names