Catherine (Yekaterina) the Great (née Princess Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg) as a Grand Duchess
Though I’ve previously featured the many nicknames for Katherine in all its forms, and my personal favourite forms of the name, I’ve never done a post on the name itself in all of its many international variations.
Katherine derives from the Greek name Aikaterine, which has a disputed etymology. It may come from another Greek name, Hekaterine, with the root hekateros (each of the two), or be derived from Hecate/Hekate (possibly from the root hekas, far off). It also may come from the Greek word aikia (torture), or a Coptic name meaning “my consecration of your name.” Eventually, it became associated with the Greek word katharos (pure), and the Latin spelling was thus changed from Katerina to Katharina.
The name has been extraordinarily popular ever since the fourth century, on account of St. Catherine of Alexandria, an early Christian martyr. Because some scholars believe she was fictitious or confused with Neo-Platonist philosopher Hypatia of Alexandria and St. Dorothea of Alexandria, she was removed from the General Roman Calendar in 1969. In 2002, she was put back in as an optional memorial.
Princess Katarina Konstantinović of Serbia, 1848–1910
The spelling Katherine has long been a staple of the U.S. Top 100, from 1880–1934, in 1936, and 1940–2016. Its highest rank to date was #25 in 1991. The spelling Catherine (which is also French) has also long been a Top 100 mainstay, from 1880–1997 and 1999–2001. It was in the Top 50 until 1939, and then again from 1942–61, with its highest rank of #18 in 1914 and 1917.
Kathryn was in the U.S. Top 100 from 1881–1928, 1941–68, and 1974–2001. Its highest rank was #45 in 1951.
Other forms of the name include:
1. Katharina is German and Scandinavian.
2. Katarina is Scandinavian, German, Slovenian, Sorbian, Serbian, and Croatian. The alternate form Katarína is Slovak.
3. Katarzyna is Polish.
4. Kateryna is Ukrainian.
5. Katsyaryna is Belarusian.
6. Katariina is Estonian and Finnish.
7. Katerina is Macedonian, Bulgarian, Russian, and Greek. Kateřina is Czech, and Katerína is Icelandic.
8. Katarin is Breton.
9. Katelijn is Flemish.
10. Katelijne is also Flemish.
Hungarian singer and actor Katalin Karády (1910–1990), who was posthumously honoured by Yad Vashem in 2004 as Righteous Among the Nations for hiding a group of Jewish children in her apartment
11. Katharine is German and English.
12. Katalin is Hungarian and Basque.
13. Kattalin is also Basque.
14. Kotryna is Lithuanian.
15. Katrina is English. The alternate form Katrīna is Latvian; Katrína is Icelandic; and Katrîna is Greenlandic.
16. Kakalina is Hawaiian. For obvious reasons, I wouldn’t recommend this name in an Anglophone area.
17. Katell is Breton.
18. Kateri is Mohawk, pronounced Gah-deh-lee.
19. Katarzëna is Kashubian.
20. Kateryn is Manx.
St. Kateri Tekakwitha, 1656–1680
21. Kattrin is a rare Coptic form.
22. Catarina is Portuguese, Galician, Gascon, Occitan, Provençal, Languedocian, Aragonese, and Sicilian.
23. Caterina is Italian, Galician, and Romanian.
24. Catrin is Welsh.
25. Catalina is Spanish, Corsican, Sardinian, Occitan, Catalan, and Galician. The alternate form Cǎtǎlina is Romanian.
26. Caderina is Sardinian.
27. Caitrìona is Scottish.
28. Catriona is Irish and Scottish.
29. Catala is Asturian.
30. Gadarine is a rare Armenian form.
Russian human rights activist and humanitarian Yekaterina Pavlovna Peshkova, 1887–1965
31. Kaa’dren is Sami Skolt.
32. Kasia is Vilamovian. This is also a Polish nickname for Katarzyna.
33. Catheleine is Picard.
34. Cathrène is Norman.
35. Cath’rinne is Jèrriaias.
36. Katel is a rare Cornish form.
37. Katarino is Esperanto.
38. Keteriine is Yakut.
39. Chatrina is Romansh.
40. Ekaterine is Georgian.
41. Ekaterina is Bulgarian and Macedonian.
42. Yekaterina is Russian.
Onomastics Outside the Box 