| Katherine | Cassandra | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Pure | Shining upon men |
| Origin | Greek | Greek |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | KATH-rin | kuh-SAN-druh |
| Syllables | 2 | 3 |
| First appeared | 1880 | 1902 |
| Peak year | 1990 (11,625) | 1990 (7,054) |
| In 2025 | 1,670 | 463 |
| Trend | Declining | Declining |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Katherine | Cassandra |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 10,675 | 2,796 |
| 2010s | 34,144 | 6,365 |
| 2000s | 65,356 | 20,128 |
| 1990s | 96,885 | 50,364 |
| 1980s | 99,175 | 44,911 |
| 1970s | 54,048 | 19,016 |
| 1960s | 50,619 | 16,765 |
| 1950s | 66,855 | 7,692 |
| 1940s | 39,912 | 2,660 |
| 1930s | 25,193 | 164 |
| 1920s | 42,745 | 76 |
| 1910s | 36,884 | 61 |
| 1900s | 12,105 | 10 |
| 1890s | 9,408 | 0 |
| 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.
Cassandra is usually read “shining” or “excelling over men”; she is the tragic prophetess of Troy.
Katherine is more popular than Cassandra today: about 1,670 US babies were given the name Katherine in 2025, compared with 463 named Cassandra.
Katherine means Pure (Greek origin), while Cassandra means Shining upon men (Greek origin).
In US records, Katherine first appears in 1880 and Cassandra in 1902, so Katherine has the longer recorded history.