The first name Catherine

Discover the meaning and origin of the first name Catherine, its history and its evolution in baptism records preserved in Genealogy Quebec’s collections.

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About the first name Catherine

Meaning

The name Catherine has an ancient and uncertain Greek etymology; it was early associated with katharos, “pure”.

Historical origin

The name Catherine comes from Greek Aikaterinê, transmitted into Latin and then European languages through Christian tradition.

Did you know?

Catherine is one of the names whose presence in older records is partly explained by Catholic tradition and the names of saints.

Pronunciation:ca-te-rinkatʁ.in

Frequency of the first name Catherine by baptism year

The chart below shows the frequency of the first name Catherine by the year of baptisms listed in Genealogy Quebec’s data. It highlights the periods when this first name appears most often and its evolution across generations.

18,920total mentions

Annual evolution of the first name CatherineLine chart showing the frequency of the first name Catherine in baptisms by year.2,0001,5001,00050001605168517651845192520051605–1609 6 baptisms1615–1619 3 baptisms1620–1624 9 baptisms1625–1629 3 baptisms1630–1634 33 baptisms1635–1639 24 baptisms1640–1644 42 baptisms1645–1649 51 baptisms1650–1654 33 baptisms1655–1659 60 baptisms1660–1664 57 baptisms1665–1669 123 baptisms1670–1674 123 baptisms1675–1679 225 baptisms1680–1684 177 baptisms1685–1689 108 baptisms1690–1694 108 baptisms1695–1699 171 baptisms1700–1704 132 baptisms1705–1709 90 baptisms1710–1714 105 baptisms1715–1719 105 baptisms1720–1724 108 baptisms1725–1729 69 baptisms1730–1734 237 baptisms1735–1739 219 baptisms1740–1744 318 baptisms1745–1749 207 baptisms1750–1754 297 baptisms1755–1759 153 baptisms1760–1764 213 baptisms1765–1769 261 baptisms1770–1774 300 baptisms1775–1779 330 baptisms1780–1784 318 baptisms1785–1789 405 baptisms1790–1794 393 baptisms1795–1799 483 baptisms1800–1804 432 baptisms1805–1809 495 baptisms1810–1814 555 baptisms1815–1819 540 baptisms1820–1824 564 baptisms1825–1829 636 baptisms1830–1834 675 baptisms1835–1839 606 baptisms1840–1844 903 baptisms1845–1849 828 baptisms1850–1854 867 baptisms1855–1859 852 baptisms1860–1864 1,197 baptisms1865–1869 711 baptisms1870–1874 477 baptisms1875–1879 393 baptisms1880–1884 333 baptisms1885–1889 210 baptisms1890–1894 195 baptisms1895–1899 136 baptisms1900–1904 87 baptisms1905–1909 36 baptisms1910–1914 51 baptisms1915–1919 36 baptisms1920–1924 36 baptisms1925–1929 18 baptisms1930–1934 12 baptisms1935–1939 21 baptisms1940–1944 15 baptisms1945–1949 6 baptisms1950–1954 15 baptisms1955–1959 12 baptisms1960–1964 21 baptisms1965–1969 24 baptisms1970–1974 36 baptisms1975–1979 78 baptisms1980–1984 156 baptisms1985–1989 174 baptisms1990–1994 256 baptisms1995–1999 78 baptisms2000–2004 42 baptisms2005–2009 6 baptisms

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