Girl · Greek, through English
Kathy
Say it: KATH-ee
Meaning
A pet form of Katherine, from Greek Aikaterine, whose origin is unknown; the link to katharos 'pure' is a later folk association.
Uncertainseveral explanations, none settled.
Common as a full name in the US from the 1940s to the 1960s.
Its wave through time
A fashion of the 1950s
In the United States
- 334,531 babies given this name since 1910
- At its height in 1958, about 1 in 84 girls
- 82 babies in 2020
Through the ages
Used by
The family of the name
Other spellings: Cathy, Kathie
Famous bearers
- Kathy Bates, American actress
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.