Catherine
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from Ancient Greek. Borrowed from French Catherine, from Ancient Greek Αἰκατερίνη (Aikaterínē), *Ἑκατερίνη (*Hekaterínē), of debated meaning, possibly from ἑκάτερος (hekáteros, “each of the two”), or from the name of the goddess Hecate. The apheresis of the first syllable as well as the spelling with ⟨th⟩ in Latin languages, German and English, is due to a folk etymology, dating from Roman times, which associated the name with the Ancient Greek καθαρός (katharós, “pure”).
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Catherine (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Catherine has been falling over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2005. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1998 | – |
| 1999 | – |
| 2000 | – |
| 2001 | – |
| 2002 | – |
| 2003 | – |
| 2004 | 3 |
| 2005 | 5 |
| 2006 | – |
| 2007 | – |
| 2008 | – |
| 2009 | 2 |
| 2010 | – |
| 2011 | 2 |
| 2012 | 3 |
| 2013 | 2 |
| 2014 | 2 |
| 2015 | 2 |
| 2016 | – |
| 2017 | 4 |
| 2018 | 3 |
| 2019 | – |
| 2020 | – |
| 2021 | – |
| 2022 | 3 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 788 |
| 2000 | 790 |
| 2001 | 802 |
| 2002 | 822 |
| 2003 | 844 |
| 2004 | 860 |
| 2005 | 873 |
| 2006 | 875 |
| 2007 | 884 |
| 2008 | 897 |
| 2009 | 914 |
| 2010 | 929 |
| 2011 | 937 |
| 2012 | 951 |
| 2013 | 954 |
| 2014 | 964 |
| 2015 | 964 |
| 2016 | 976 |
| 2017 | 995 |
| 2018 | 1,009 |
| 2019 | 1,032 |
| 2020 | 1,036 |
Catherine in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Catherine.Hi! My name is Catherine.
- Har du träffat Catherine? Hon började jobba här i måndags.Have you met Catherine? She started working here on Monday.
- Vet du om Catherine kommer på festen på lördag?Do you know if Catherine is coming to the party on Saturday?
- Catherines mamma är lärare.Catherine's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Catherines mamma is Catherine's mum.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Catherine
How do you pronounce Catherine in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Catherine in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Catherine mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from Ancient Greek. Borrowed from French Catherine, from Ancient Greek Αἰκατερίνη (Aikaterínē), *Ἑκατερίνη (*Hekaterínē), of debated meaning, possibly from ἑκάτερος (hekáteros, “each of the two”), or from the name of the goddess Hecate. The apheresis of the first syllable as well as the spelling with ⟨th⟩ in Latin languages, German and English, is due to a folk etymology, dating from Roman times, which associated the name with the Ancient Greek καθαρός (katharós, “pure”).
How popular is Catherine in Sweden?
3 babies were named Catherine in 2022. In 2020, 1,036 people in Sweden had Catherine as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been falling lately and peaked in 2005 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.