Katherine

The BEST Katie variant, absolutely use it. And before you wonder "this is a baby we're naming..." just give her the nickname Katie/Kathy!

This is my name, and I love it! I also absolutely love Katharine, Catherine, and Catharine. However, I don’t really like Kathryn. I like the flow with my middle name (Marie) and the many spellings don’t bother me. I was supposed to be Katherine Elizabeth and I also love that. If you are considering the name Katherine, I would totally use it!

I know, like, 30 Katherine's that go to my school. One including my sister:)

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(I'm saying it's popular, not overused)

Katherine is a pretty name.

Mid name honestly.

Katsy would be a cute nickname.

It’s pretty. I would imagine a Katherine going by Katie at young then Kate as grown, then Kath as old.

Indeed pretty.

It's such a beautiful name. Katherine is a beautiful name it's so beautiful, lovely and elegant. I love it so much.

I love this name and I love the nicknames Kate and Katie.

Pretty but kind of annoying.

Timelessly gorgeous.

It's so pretty! Sounds like a queen's name! I know a Katherine at school, she's nice, talented, and popular, I would recommend this 10/10 stars! :D.

I really love this name. Classic, elegant, not too over-the-top, just really nice in general. The spelling Kathryn is OK, but I really prefer Katherine. Kathryn just makes me feel like you are trying to add edge to a name that doesn't need it.

Classy, elegant name. I like it.

A little basic, but the K makes it look fun and spunky, and I love the nickname Kitty.

Old fashioned name.

Pretty and sophisticated, and I like the nickname Kathy!

My wife’s name is Katherine. I have a twin sister named Caitlin and so the “C/Kates” and “C/Katies” are mentally associated with my sister. This naturally made me call my wife by her full name and as the months went by during when we dated, she told me she fell in love with her name again. It may be common, but even when you look up Catherine, it defaults to Katherine, as well as all the variant spellings. Her name may be traditional, but at least her spelling is standard and respectable. In my opinion, the y’s or -atharine’s with the a are the variants. It’s a strong name for strong women!

Such a beautiful and strong name. Lot of class and strength. Also historic. Really good quality name.

Personally, I love this name. I see how people think it's dated, but it's so pretty. I love how it looks.

Beautiful, mature, classic, just perfect! The nickname cat is so cute!

I like it, nicknamed Kath.

Katherine is a nice name, but I feel like this spelling is a bit too common. I prefer (ex: Katheryn, Catherine, Cathryn) This spelling seems Old-fashioned and long in my opinion.

We named our youngest Katherine. She was going to be a Zoey until I was 35 weeks pregnant and he decided nope that didn't suit the feeling and decided to name her after his Warhammer 40K character, Saint Katherine. I suggested Kathryn but he said no, the character spells it Katherine. The only issue I had with this name was middle names. Nothing flowed with it. The Beatles saved the day at 39 weeks and we name have a Katherine Michelle who goes by Kat 90% of the time.

Super beautiful and classy.

A classic! Unfortunately is likely to be misspelled as more and more variations on names have arisen. Katherine looks better than Catherine in my opinion, and HEAPS better than any with a y.

Quite pretty.

I much prefer this spelling to Catherine. This one seems more modern, lively and free. I like the nicknames Kat, Kitty, Katie, and Kate.

Everyone says they thought my name was spelled with a “C”, it’s annoying...

Really pretty.

Katherine can be an annoying name because I often get nicknames like “Kitty” and other things. I feel like it’s one of those names where you imagine a stuck up woman in her early thirties. I have NEVER liked my name, and I hate the fact that it starts with k. EVERY other person I met with a K name was a bully. Just my opinion, but I feel like it sounds so unoriginal.

We were planning to name our child a name starting with K. Kylie? Possibly.. Katherine... we thought. Slightly more boring than... Katelyn? YES! But nicknames? That was a little difficult to decide. At Katelyn’s birth we decided Katie. We thought it was cute. Turns out it didn’t suit her well. Sounded a bit artificial and not natural. Annoying to pronounce. When she was one, we thought Kate would work better. Kate was natural, decently smooth and refined. It was also pretty and seemed great during her young adult years instead of Katie. Now, she is 13 and she is extremely overwhelmed in a happy way that Katie wasn’t her name. Katelyn also sounded simple.

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Katie and Kate & Katherine and Katelyn are great names, but Kate gave a better approach to us personally.

I have a hard C name (so sounds like K) and I really dislike it. Thinking of changing it to Katherine. It's a strong, dignified name that looks great on paper. And while there are a lot of Katherines, the nickname opportunities for Katherine are nearly endless. Truly a perfect name.

Hello. My name is Katherine, but I go by Kate. In my humble opinion, this name is truly sublime. It honestly speaks for itself. I really think that whenever I walk into a room full of strangers, through my presence alone, they all think "Wow, that's a Katherine." They know. You know. I know. Love me a good Katherine.

It is confusing for me that this name is pronounced the same as Kathryn because of the E in the middle which is not pronounced because Kathryn and Katherine at one point were very popular names and by hearing Kath-rin you don't know which way it would be spelled (and adding in Catherine, Cathryn, and Katheryn) it gets even more confusing. I think Katherine is a lovely, strong name and that it has many lovely nicknames, though.

My best friend's name is Katherine and she loves her name! I personally like the name too.

Nicknames for Katherine. -Kat -Kitty -Kathy. Middle names for Katherine. -Katherine Anne. -Katherine Lee. -Katherine Mae. (Noted) you don’t have to use these.

Katherine is still a very pretty name. I prefer it to Catherine because this form is more spunky and cool with the K without being improperly spelled as it still looks correct. It also is more likely to lead to cool nicknames like Kate, Katy, and Kat as opposed to Catherine which leads to Cate, which doesn’t really look right to me, and Cathy which is too ugly for me. I also don’t find it boring even if I’ve met tons of them because it’s still beautiful and I still find it fresh.

Way better than Katherine, the C makes it stronger and more to the point.

It reminds me of Katha, a type of Indian dance.

My name is Katherine and I hate it! I hate all the nicknames as well! I usually go by Kate (I went by Katie when I was in elementary school), still I can't stand saying my own name it just sounds so ugly. I wish my parents had given me a cuter, prettier name like Scarlett or Riley.

I like this name, and compared to some of the common names today for girls (Kaylee, Madison, Addison), it sounds very feminine and mature, however as feminine and mature it is, it sounds dull and bland. I prefer less common alternatives Caterina, Catriona, or Kathleen.

I prefer Catherine.

Pretty, but it bores me to tears with how common it is. I prefer Katrina, Catriona, or Aikaterine.

This is my name. I'm surprised when Katherines get angry when others misspell this name - with a name like Katherine with literally dozens of spellings, it's bound to happen often. I really don't mind when people misspell it. If it's for something important I'm usually asked how to spell it, but my barista doesn't need to know whether my name starts with a "K" or a "C".

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I like this name and I like the large variety of nicknames. I've gone by a lot but my favorite is Kat. The thing I hate the most about this name is how common it is, although luckily many Katherines do go by a nickname. I'll switch between Kat and Katherine depending on the group of people I'm around - for example, if I'm in a class with a Katherine, I'll go by Kat, or vice versa. My best friend's name is Kathryn and we just go by our last names around each other.

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My name is Katherine Elizabeth, which is also very common. Too common. I won't name my own children super common names like Katherine.

This is one of my favourite girl names. It is strong yet feminine without being frilly and over the top, and it has several good diminutives (for example Kathy, Kay, Kate, and Katie).

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This is also my favourite spelling of the name; Catherine and Kathryn, while both perfectly good names, just don't seem as attractive to me.

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This name was also the Name of the Day on here this past Monday, 28 December.

My name is Katherine and I love how mature it feels and stuff, but one thing I hate is when someone spells my name wrong. I don't why I do, it just makes me want to explode, but other than that it's a beautiful name. To the people that have to say that all Katherine's are terrible and mean. I have to tell you something else here. I have a huge heart and am willing to help anyone in need; even if that person has hurt me in the past. I spend all my free time volunteering for the homeless. I don't do all these things for attention. I do it for a smile and a thank you if I am lucky. You should just get to know the person than to just judge them by their own name.

Well what do you know, a name can be spelled different ways since the 12th century and it isn't "ghetto" or "trendy". Wonders never cease.

I love the name Katherine. People always spell it "Kathryn" it's annoying. My name is Katherine.

I like the name Katherine, it's not one of my favourites but I still quite like it, however I'm not too fond of any of the nicknames.

Never met a nice Katherine - all the good ones go by nicknames! Katherine sounds stuffy, pretentious and dull, not pretty at all.

I think that the name Katherine is very beautiful and elegant. I think it is so amazing that I can't bear to see anyone ruin it with any sort out of nickname. I don't hate the nicknames Kate, Katie, or Kathy, but I just don't understand why anyone would need them with such a great name like Katherine. I prefer this name spelt only as Katherine, pronounced kath-rin.

Has a lot of strength and intelligence to it, I think. Same as the other spellings.

A beautiful, wonderful name. I hope the Coptic meaning is the most accurate meaning since that is the prettiest to me.

So my name can either mean 'pure' or torture.' My.

I think the name Katherine sounds like a strong woman who is a mom.

It's a soft and pretty name, especially with this spelling. Very silky sounding.

I have always really liked this name but it's so common. :(

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A lot of celebs have this name (Katy Perry, Kate Upton, Kate Bush, Kate Bosworth, Kate Hudson, Kate Beckinsale, Kate Middleton, Katie Holmes, Kate Winslet), and Duchess of Cambridge (Catherine, but she was often called/spelled Kate).

Very classic and sophisticated. One of my favourite girls names.

Catherine has a more positive feel to it.

My name is Katherine and I've never gone with anything else. I used to think it was long and boring, but it has grown on me. I really dislike the name Katie, though. It's way too overused and just annoys me. I do wish I had Kay as a nickname, but since I'm in high school I can't really change it. People are always spelling it "Catherine" and I don't like that variation. I find it to be a lot duller and uninteresting.

My sister's name is Katherine and she's the most wonderful person in the world :) Also, I like it spelled this way best.

My sister's name is Katherine and I think it's truly beautiful. I really recommend it. (:

I love this name and the nicknames for it.

My name is Katherine and my nickname is Kat. This spelling is pronounced with THREE syllables. Other spellings might be pronounced with two, but this one is Kath-er-ine. Three.

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Frankly, when I was young I hated it, but now I rather like it. I go by Kat pretty much all of the time, though my brother and father call me Katie (which I hate), and I get lots of requests to be called "Kit-Kat", which is also terribly annoying. Just "Kat" is fine, or "Katherine".

Katherine is a lovely, classically beautiful name. I can't decide if I like the spelling Catherine or Katherine more. I know a woman who's name is spelled Katherine, but she pronounces it "Kathreen." Where I live the name is usually pronounced "Katheryn" or "Kathryn" & I hate it when parents name their kids a common name, but insist on some strange pronunciation & get bent out of shape if their child's name is, heaven forbid, pronounced like the name is 99% of the time.

The best name in the world! Ok, I'm biased, it's mine. But I love it, you can do so much with it, so it's like giving your kid freedom to choose what suits them best. (Though my parents say they actually named me and all my siblings classic saints names in the hope we'd turn out ok! Jeez) I'm Katherine on my birth cert, was Katy as a tiny tot, Katie as an adolescent... but since I could really choose, out of all the permutations it has been Kate (unless you wanna dead arm and a filthy look ha ha). Maybe one day I'll graduate to my regal Katherine, when I feel old and stately or something.

I think this name suits all ages. Also when I hear this name I think of Katherine Jackson (Michael Jackson's mother) which is good thing as she seems like a really nice lady.

Good name. A variation of my name. I always heard that it meant pure. I like that my parents gave me a good, classic name. :)

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I recommend this name to people who'd use it - even if I hate it when people have my name! ;)

This is my favorite spelling of the name, all other versions seem less regal. My nickname is Kat.

My birth name is Katherine, but I have always gone by Katie, and probably always will. I can relate to the early comment about always having to correct teachers on the first day of school! Although this is a fine name that works for some people, it does not suit me at all, and I really don't like it! I have been giving serious thought to legally changing my name to just Katie - a (nick)name that I love!

This name is all right as far as sound, but I have nice connotations with it. There is a girl named Katie in my class who is tall and funny with a deep voice and she goes by Katie, so that's what the name makes me think of. And this may sound totally crazy, but I really love the way it looks in Braille!

Whenever I hear this name I think of wealth, power and elegance. And that's not just because a lot of British queens have been called Katherine. I know a girl called Katherine and she is very elegant, powerful and quite wealthy.

Stating again how beautiful of a name this is, I also like it shortened to Kate. Whoever it was that posted something about all the people in the Tudor line with this name, they should know that they are all descendant from Katherine Swnford!
Also, whoever it was that also talked about Katherine Swnford, and the book by Anya Seton, it is the honest to goodness truth, that you will love the name if you read the book! It is an amazing name so go read the book and you will love the name too!

It bothers me how some people hate my name. It's a crazy fun name to have. You can anagram it too, in addition to all the nicknames (I'm Nick Heart to my friends, don't ask my friends are crazy). And all the Katherines I know are super nice (excluding me of coarse).

My name is spelled differently (K-a-t-h-r-y-n) but "related to Greek áéêéá (aikia) "torture";"? My friend will get a real kick out of that when I tell him!

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But my other impressions. Well, I like this spelling of the name as well. For some reason, it justs gives off a more playful vibe than my spelling does.

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But I hate how overused this name is. In fact, I have a friend with this name. Whenever people say "Katie" we get confused as to which one.

My name on my birth certificate is Katherine April Rose but I've always been Katie, and always hated the start of school years with new teachers and when they would call out the class list they would say Katherine and I had to correct them. I know it's petty, but I don't think I would answer to Katherine, for now, it's too formal. I still love the name though!

I strongly dislike this spelling! Kathryn is much more... oh I don't know.

I love this name, it is so classy and elegant. You can't go wrong with this name.

Beautiful name, though it's possible meanings are rather dark. I wouldn't name my daughter like this.

Look, I personally feel that just because we have the name Katherine it doesn't mean that we are all one thing or another. My name is Kate, there are a lot of us out there, I didn't know the meaning of my name until I was 12, does that mean I'm pure? No. Does that mean we are all evil? No. The name doesn't make the person, the person makes the name and not all people are the same. So for anyone who watched 'Lizze McGuire' or whatever, and hated the character Kate, let it go. I had a friend named named Jessica, who stabbed me in the back, my current friend named Jessica would never do that, meanings don't make the person. If I had to make a meaning for Katherine it would be Courage. Because it seems we've got to be pretty brave in a world were so many people hate our name, and make assumptions about us based on it.

I don't like this spelling of Katherine. K sounds too harsh. If I was to call my child by this name, it would be Cathryn, definitely more feminine.

My real name is Kate and I always wished that my name was Katherine, because it seems much more sophicated and older woman sounding. Also I sometimes want to tell people that my real name is Katherine. Considering the fact so many girls named Katherine go by Kate why not, haha?

This is my name and I really like it. Though I do sometimes find it annoying that there are so many different spellings, I've had to correct quite a few people on how I spell it (Katherine). Most of the time I don't mind this because it makes the name different, even if it's pronounced the same. I also like that there are so many nickname options, there are so many you can go by what suits you best, not just one shortened version.

I like this name. It is very pretty. It is one of those names that work well on both kids and adults.

I think it's a really pretty name, but I also think it's okay for older adults.

I was told these were all nicknames for Katherine: Kate, Kathy, Katie, Katy, Kaity, Katee, Kaytee, Kit, Kitty, Katty, Kat, Erin, Trina, Katrina, Kay, Kae, Kaye, Kara, Karrie, Kath, and Kayte. Since there are so many nicknames for Katherine, it's a nice name to give your child because they will have a lot of choices with what they want to be called. The most common nicknames are Kate and Katie (now) but many years ago Kathy was much more popular for a nickname for Katherine.

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Katherine is also a nice middle name. I know a lot of girls who have the middle name Katherine, it just works; Olivia Katherine, Mary Katherine, Jane Katherine, Maggie Katherine, Hannah Katherine, Anna Katherine, Isabella Katherine, Andrea Katherine. And it goes on! It fits with everything!

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I think Katherine is much nicer than Catherine. The only reason I see to name your child Catherine instead of Katherie is if you are from France or you are French. K looks so much better on a monogram than C. It's also cuter, and if you spell it Katherine, the nickname will be Kate and not Cate. Everyone spells your name wrong if you say your name is Kate. They just assume its spelled with a K.

Well here in England I don't know a single Katherine or Catherine. I know a Katie though. Maybe that's just my area. I don't know any Jennifers either. Tonnes of Megans, Priyas (British-Indian community), Jasmines and Karens though. Personally I like the name, though a little old fashioned.

My name is Katherine and I used to hate it when I was younger but I now love it. I have only ever had one nickname which is Baff/Baffy. Woo Hoo for the Katherines of the world!

Another pretty but overused name. There are ten Katherine/Catherine/Kathryn's in my class!

Katherine is a beautiful elegant regal name. I prefer this spelling and like the nicknames Kat, Kate and Katie.

I prefer the spelling Katherine or Catherine. I'm not a big fan of alternative spellings.

The spelling of "Katherine" should be "Katherine" not "Katharine", "Kathryn", "Kathrin", "Catherine", "Catharine", "Cathryn", or "Cathrin". Just KATHERINE!

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I think that the nicknames that come with the name Katherine are great! But there are too many Katies. I personally like the nickname Kae or Kay.

I think Katherine is a very classic name even though everybody thinks it won't ever go out of date you have to think about the future. I mean how many Katherine's are you going to see in the year 2010. Laura is a much better name. That's the name I'm going to give my daughter. That name will never go out of style.

This is my name, and I love it. I never, ever go by nicknames (they really don't seem to fit me), and there is only one person who ever gave me a variation that stuck. So I suppose I do have a nickname... Anyways, I would like to add that I'm not a mean person, and my name is Katherine. So, if what "they" say is true about Katherines being violent and mean, well I'd like to say that I'm a rebel! :-)

My name is Katherine, and I was named after Katharine Hepburn. (Yes I know, different spelling! But it's the thought that counts! Very cool lady.) Anyhoo, my nickname has always been Katie--never Kate! If you've seen the second Anne of Green Gables movie, you'd know she likes Katherine with a K instead of with a C. She said it's more alluring. ;) Haha and I happen to be a very nice person. So the "torture" meaning kind of refers to my liking for violent things like CSI, big swords, and a fascination with medieval torture chambers! Teehee.

I love this name! Well, I would, considerering it's mine. I have about fifteen nicknames, it's amazing what people can think up.

This is my name and I go by Katy. I like the name, but it always seems too old for me, like I'm an old lady or something. No offense, I've just gone by Katy so long (since I was born) that Katherine just doesn't fit. And to whoever said how mean Katherines are, how in the world can you stereotype a name?

This name is ok, but I think Catherine is better. It seems more traditional and I'm more familiar with it. I think it's softer as well.

Though Catherine is used in both English and French, for English language I prefer Katherine. I find Catherine better for French.

This name is quite lovely. I just prefer Katharine.

Katherine is an okay name all in all. All my friends tease me because of it and because it means 'pure' and I'm really morbid and stuff. It has tons of nicknames which is cool because if I ever get tired of Katherine I get people to call me Kate or Katie or Kat. In my grade there are tons of Katherine’s but three of us have names that all end in W and in pretty much the same classes (teachers call us by our last names). Anyone who generalizes the name probably hasn’t met all that many Katherine’s because our name is ridiculously popular and we can’t all be the same can we?

I love my name. There's TONS of variations to it, and it even has room to make up new ones. My friends all started referring to me as "Kazz".

Love the name. Hate the nickname (Katie, Kate, etc). I would go by just Katherine. It's my middle name.

We Katherines are stuborn, violent, and horid procrastinators. We absolutely HATE it when someone else has our name, pronounces it wrong, uses it in public, uses the wrong nickname, or anything of the sort. We do have soft sides - but they are well hidden! A Katherine is one that gives meaning to the phrase "With friends like these, who needs enemies?"

Katherine is such an absolute classic! It's timelessly regal and beautiful and will never go out of style. I love it.

This is my name and I hate it! When someone at my school asks for Katherine or Katie or Kate, you get about 50 "yes?"s. Maybe it's just my age group, but I strongly advise against using really popular names.

I have found many nicknames from this name including: Kate, Katie, Katt, Kitty and the one I never use being Kathy. I, and other Katharines at my school, prefer Katt being the Swedish form of Cat.

I really hate this name! If you read the meaning then you will see that all girls that have this name are not nice people. In fact I feel sorry for anyone that has to be around them.

I disagree with the person who said all girls named Katherine are not nice. I do not believe in stereotyping people based on their names. Names are about what you make them into. It is not fair to judge a person before meeting them, and it is sad to me that you have had so many run-ins with Katherines who you disliked that you cannot imagine kind women and girls with this beautiful name.

More on the use of this among Henry's queens:
I see Catherine more often of Catherine of Aragon, since she was originally "Catalina".
I see Kathryn Howard more commonly for the fifth wife.
And for Katherine Parr, I usually see this spelling with the K, a more English spelling than Catherine, which is partially French.

I think this name means beautiful, nice, caring and funny.