Girl · English pet form of a Greek name
Katie
Say it: KAY-tee
Meaning
A pet form of Katherine, from Greek Aikaterine, whose origin is unknown; the popular meaning 'pure' comes from a later link to Greek katharos and is a folk etymology.
Disputedsharp disagreement, or a popular meaning that is not supported.
Used as a given name in America since the 1800s, and very popular in the 1980s and 1990s.
Its wave through time
A fashion of the 1980s
In the United States
- 238,870 babies given this name since 1880
- At its height in 1986, about 1 in 206 girls
- 626 babies in 2020
Through the ages
Used by
The family of the name
Other spellings: Katy, Katey, Kati
Famous bearers
- Katie Ledecky, American swimmer
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
- National census records of the 19th and 20th centuries
- 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.