The name originated from the Greek Αικατερίνη Aikaterinē (εκ του καθαρός: εξαγνισμένη ή εαρινή, ανοιξιάτικη). The earliest known use of the Greek name was in reference to Saint Catherine of Alexandria.
The theory that the name comes from
Hecate, the name of the Greek goddess of magic, is regarded by the editors of
the Oxford Dictionary of First Names as unconvincing.1
Another potential origin of the name is the Armenian word Կատար
gadar meaning peak or summit. In Armenian, the equivalent name is Կատարինէ Gadarine; coincidentally the ending ինէ ine is homophonous with the modern Greek verb ειναι 'she is', suggesting a
macaronic phrase meaning "she is the summit".
The name has subsequently come to be associated with the Greek adjective καθαρός katharos, meaning 'pure', leading to the alternative spellings Katharine and Katherine. The former spelling, with a middle a, was more common in the past and is currently more popular in the United States than in Britain. Katherine, with a middle e, was first recorded in England in 1196 after being brought back from
the Crusades.2
