Katherine is a highly popular girls' name in United States, ranking #33 in 1998 with 8,205 recorded births. The name reached its all-time peak in 1996 with 8,878 births ranking #31. In 1998, approximately 1 in every 215 girls born was named Katherine. STABLE Recent data shows the name is currently stable.
Katherine is a long-established classic usually understood to mean 'pure'. It is elegant, steady, and one of the most enduring formal girls' names in English.
The name spread widely in Christian Europe through saints and royal use, which helped create a large family of related forms in many languages. Its history gives it both familiarity and depth.