Catherine

Catherine may be derived from the Ancient Egyptian words Ka and Hathor. Ka is Egyptian for soul, Hathor is the name of the Egyptian goddess of love. En or n would be used in Ancient Egypt for of. So Ka-Hathor-En would translate to Soul of Hathor (goddess of love).

Catherine was not a name known in the British islands until it was introduced by the French speaking Normans in 1066, before that names were Celtic in origin. This name was originally Greek and spelt with a "K". Katherine of Alexandria was a popular saint and her devotees spread the use of the name throughout mainland Europe. The French wrote it with a "C" because "K" was very rare at that time in the French language (due to being very rare in Latin) and even rarer in Old English (a Germanic language). So when it came to the British isles it was always spelt with a "C".

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In the USA however the root name was introduced via many cultures, many still using "K"as the fist letter. This explains why "C" is used in France and Great Britain and Ireland and is considered the "traditional" spelling, while Americans do not use the C spelling quite as much.