| Chloe | Katherine | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Green shoot; blooming | Pure |
| Origin | greek | Greek |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | KLOH-ee | KATH-rin |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1880 | 1880 |
| Peak year | 2009 (11,922) | 1990 (11,625) |
| In 2025 | 6,203 | 1,670 |
| Trend | Declining | Declining |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Chloe | Katherine |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 37,588 | 10,675 |
| 2010s | 85,316 | 34,144 |
| 2000s | 96,503 | 65,356 |
| 1990s | 25,858 | 96,885 |
| 1980s | 3,605 | 99,175 |
| 1970s | 645 | 54,048 |
| 1960s | 204 | 50,619 |
| 1950s | 296 | 66,855 |
| 1940s | 543 | 39,912 |
| 1930s | 778 | 25,193 |
| 1920s | 746 | 42,745 |
| 1910s | 850 | 36,884 |
| 1900s | 478 | 12,105 |
| 1890s | 622 | 9,408 |
| 1880s | 357 | 6,922 |
From Greek 'chloe' (Χλόη) meaning 'green shoot, young growth of a plant'. It was an epithet of the harvest goddess Demeter marking the fresh green of spring.
Katherine comes from the Greek Aikaterine, of debated origin, long associated with katharos, “pure.” A name of saints, empresses and queens, it offers an unusual wealth of nicknames.
Chloe is more popular than Katherine today: about 6,203 US babies were given the name Chloe in 2025, compared with 1,670 named Katherine.
Chloe means Green shoot; blooming (greek origin), while Katherine means Pure (Greek origin).
In US records, Chloe first appears in 1880 and Katherine in 1880, so Chloe has the longer recorded history.