| Katherine | Alexandra | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Pure | Defender of the people |
| Origin | Greek | Greek |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | KATH-rin | al-ig-ZAN-druh |
| Syllables | 2 | 4 |
| First appeared | 1880 | 1894 |
| Peak year | 1990 (11,625) | 1993 (10,683) |
| In 2025 | 1,670 | 1,314 |
| Trend | Declining | Declining |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Katherine | Alexandra |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 10,675 | 9,421 |
| 2010s | 34,144 | 30,971 |
| 2000s | 65,356 | 61,253 |
| 1990s | 96,885 | 94,806 |
| 1980s | 99,175 | 34,817 |
| 1970s | 54,048 | 6,960 |
| 1960s | 50,619 | 3,244 |
| 1950s | 66,855 | 1,598 |
| 1940s | 39,912 | 1,169 |
| 1930s | 25,193 | 444 |
| 1920s | 42,745 | 370 |
| 1910s | 36,884 | 327 |
| 1900s | 12,105 | 58 |
| 1890s | 9,408 | 13 |
| 1880s | 6,922 | 0 |
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.
Alexandra is the feminine of Alexander, from the Greek for “defender of the people.” It has long been a favourite among European royalty.
Katherine is more popular than Alexandra today: about 1,670 US babies were given the name Katherine in 2025, compared with 1,314 named Alexandra.
Katherine means Pure (Greek origin), while Alexandra means Defender of the people (Greek origin).
In US records, Katherine first appears in 1880 and Alexandra in 1894, so Katherine has the longer recorded history.