Meanings
plural Catherines · alternative Catharine · alternative Katharine · alternative Katherine · alternative Kathryn · alternative nonstandard rare Catheryn · alternative nonstandard rare Cathryn · alternative nonstandard rare Katheryn
- A female given name from Ancient Greek.
State Sen. Catherine Blakespear, one of the bill’s supporters, said people were not reusing or recycling any plastic bags.
2024 September 22, “California governor signs law banning all plastic shopping bags at grocery stores”, in AP News, archived from the original on 13 Feb 20254 more examples
- - - despite of what you say of my fine name, I think my head is so obstinate and inflexible that the name Catherine was well chosen. It suits my character. I was given the name by the late Empress Elisabeth, to whom I owe much; she gave it to me out of affection and out of respect for her mother
1763 Voltaire and Catherine the Great: Selected Correspondence. Voltaire, Catherine, Antony Lentin.(Translation from French.)Publ. Oriental Research Partners,1973It was named Catherine, but he never called it the name in full, as he had never called the first Catherine short, probably because Heathcliff had a habit of doing so. The little one was always Cathy, it formed to him a distinction from the mother, and yet, a connection with her;
1847 December, Ellis Bell [pseudonym; Emily Brontë], Wuthering Heights: […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Thomas Cautley Newby, […], →OCLC"Is that your given name?" "Not exactly. My father named me Catherine, and my mother nicknamed me Carrie. Nobody calls me Catherine." "Oh, but you're much more a Catherine than a Carrie," observed Peter seriously. "Carrie is simple and mundane; Catherine is complex and beautiful."
1981, Carole Gift Page, Carrie, Bethany House Publishers, published 1994, →ISBN, page 55"Yes, Catherine sounds like a lovely name. I like it. My new name will be Catherine." She rolled the name Catherine silently again. The name had character a noble ring to it she really liked it.
2003, Michael O. Gregory, The Dead Years, page 35
Origin
- Ancient GreekΑἰκατερίνη
- FrenchCatherine
- EnglishCatherine
Borrowed from French Catherine, from Ancient Greek Αἰκατερίνη (Aikaterínē), *Ἑκατερίνη (*Hekaterínē), of debated meaning, possibly from ἑκάτερος (hekáteros, “each of the two”), or from the name of the goddess Hecate. The apheresis of the first syllable as well as the spelling with ⟨th⟩ in Latin languages, German and English, is due to a folk etymology, dating from Roman times, which associated the name with the Ancient Greek καθαρός (katharós, “pure”). The name belonged to a 4th-century saint and martyr from Alexandria who was tortured on the wheel from where the term Catherine wheel originates.
More words from French, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek Αἰκατερῑ́νη
- Αἰκατερῑ́νη (Aikaterī́nē)female given name
Arabic كَاتْرِين
- كَاتْرِين (kātrīn)female given name
Basque Katalina
- Katalinafemale given name
Bulgarian Катери́на, Екатери́на
- Катери́на (Katerína)female given name
- Екатери́на (Ekaterína)female given name
Catalan Caterina
- Caterinafemale given name
Chinese Mandarin 凱瑟琳 /凯瑟琳, 加大肋納 /加大肋纳
- 凱瑟琳 /凯瑟琳 (Kǎisèlín)female given name
- 加大肋納 /加大肋纳 (Jiādàlèinà)female given name
Czech Kateřina
- Kateřinafemale given name
Danish Katharina
- Katharinafemale given name
Dutch Catharijne
- Catharijnefemale given name
Esperanto Katarino
- Katarinofemale given name
Estonian Katariina, Kadri
- Katariinafemale given name
- Kadrifemale given name
Finnish Katariina
- Katariinafemale given name
French Catherine
- Catherinefemale given name
German Katharina
- Katharinafemale given name
Greek Αικατερίνη, Κατερίνα
- Αικατερίνη (Aikateríni)female given name
- Κατερίνα (Katerína)female given name
- Κάθριν (Káthrin)female given name
Hawaiian Kakalina
- Kakalinafemale given name
Hungarian Katalin
- Katalinfemale given name
Icelandic Katrín
- Katrínfemale given name
Irish Caitríona
- Caitríonafemale given name
Italian Caterina
- Caterinafemale given name
Japanese キャサリン, カトリーヌ
- キャサリン (Kyasarin)female given name
- カトリーヌ (Katorīnu)female given name
Korean 캐서린
- 캐서린 (Kaeseorin)female given name
Latin Catalina, Catherina
- Catalinafemale given name
- Catherinafemale given name
Latvian Katrīna
- Katrīnafemale given name
Lithuanian Kotryna
- Kotrynafemale given name
Māori Kātarina, Kataraina
- Kātarinafemale given name
- Katarainafemale given name
Norwegian Katarina
- Katarinafemale given name
Persian کاترین
- کاترین (kâtrin)female given name
Polish Katarzyna
- Katarzynafemale given name
Portuguese Catarina
- Catarinafemale given name
Romanian Cătălina, Ecaterina
- Cătălinafemale given name
- Ecaterinafemale given name
Russian Екатери́на, Кэ́трин
- Екатери́на (Jekaterína)female given name
- Кэ́трин (Kɛ́trin)female given name
- Катри́н (Katrín)female given name
- Катери́на (Katerína)female given name
Scottish Gaelic Catrìona
- Catrìonafemale given name
Slovak Katarína
- Katarínafemale given name
Spanish Catalina
- Catalinafemale given name
Swedish Katarina
- Katarinafemale given name
Ukrainian Катери́на
- Катери́на (Katerýna)female given name
Vietnamese Catarina
- Catarinafemale given name
Welsh Catrin
- Catrinfemale given name
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with Catherine
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
Catherine. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Catherine
“Catherine.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Catherine. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Catherine,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Catherine.
Source: Catherine on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.