Kate

KAYT
English, diminutive of Katherine
"pure"

Kate Origin and Meaning

The name Kate is a girl's name of English origin meaning "pure".

Kate, in the headlines via Catherine Middleton aka the Princess of Wales, has been as pervasive as Kathy was in the 1950s and 1960s, both as a nickname for Katherine and Kaitlyn and as a strong, classic stand-alone name.

Deriving from the classic Katherine, Kate has been used since the Middle Ages. It might have emerged from one of the possible Greek origins of the name, Aikaterine, to get that longer 'A' sound.

Kate has an image that's independent, smart, and energetic, recalling Kate Hepburn, the heroine of The Taming of the Shrew/Kiss Me Kate, and contemporary Kates: Winslet, Hudson, Moss, Spade and Beckinsale. Cate Blanchett has helped popularize an alternative spelling of the name, while Kate Sheppard was a prominent member of the New Zealand suffrage movement and played a key role in making New Zealand the first country to allow women to vote in parliamentary elections.

Kate is also the female equivalent of Jack as a favorite character name in the movies, TV, and books. It's down-to-earth yet classy, common yet cool.

Kate has always been, and remains, mega popular in Ireland, where it ranks in the Top 50. Elsewhere, it has declined in popularity since its moment in the 90s and 2000s, but nevertheless, around 640 girls received the name in the US in 2023.

# 478 in the US

Kate Rank in US Top 1000

# 286 on Nameberry

Kate Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Kate Popularity

Famous People Named Kate

  • Catherine Elizabeth "Kate" Middleton
    Duchess of Cambridge
  • Kate Elizabeth Winslet
    English actress
  • Catherine Ann "Kate" Bosworth
    American actress
  • Kathrin Romary "Kate" Beckinsale
    English actress
  • Katherine Kiernan Maria "Kate" Mulgrew
    American actress
  • Catherine "Kate" Bush
    English singer,songwriter
  • Kathleen "Kate" Capshaw
    American actress
  • Kate Cary
    English novelist
  • Kate Elliott
    pen name of American novelist Alis A. Rasmussen
  • Katherine "Kate" Chopin
    American author
  • Kate Wolf (born Kathryn Louise Allen) American singer
    songwriter
  • Katrina Elizabeth "Kate" DiCamillo
    American children's novelist
  • Katie Irene "Kate" Gosselin
    American TV personality
  • Kate Garry Hudson
    American actress
  • Kate Rooney Mara
    American actress; sister of Rooney Mara
  • Kathleen Mary Louise "Kate" O'Brien
    Irish novelist
  • Kate O'Toole
    Irish actress
  • Catherine Elizabeth "Kate" Pierson
    American singer
  • Katherine Noel "Kate" Spade
    American fashion designer
  • Kate Victoria "KT" Tunstall
    Scottish singer,songwriter
  • Katherine Elizabeth "Kate" Upton
    American supermodel
  • Kate Micucci
    American singer, songwriter, and actress
  • Kate Atkinson
    English novlist
  • Kathleen Erin "Kate" Walsh
    American actress
  • Kathryn "Kate" McKinnon
    American actress and comedian
  • Kate Moss
    English supermodel
  • Katrien "Kate" Ryan
    Belgian singer
  • Kate Anna Rusby
    English singer,songwriter
  • Kate Tsui (Tsz
    shan), Hong Kong actress; Miss Hong Kong 2004
  • Kate Todd
    Canadian actress and singer
  • Kate Taylor
    American singer
  • Katherine Patricia "Kate" Flannery
    American actress
  • Kate Marie Nash
    English singer,songwriter
  • Kathryn "Kate" Smith
    American singer
  • Kate Lauren French
    American actress
  • Kate del Castillo
    Mexican Actress
  • Kate Vernon
    Canadian actress
  • Kate Levering
    American actress
  • Kate Lynn Nauta
    American model and actress
  • Patricia Colleen "Kate" Nelligan
    Canadian actress
  • Kate Zambreno
    American novelist
  • Kate Marie Ziegler
    American swimmer
  • Kate Elizabeth Voegele
    American singer
  • Kate Jenkinson
    Australian actress
  • Kate Earl
    American singer
  • Kate Isitt
    English actress
  • Kate O'Hearn
    Canadian novelist
  • Kate Ashfield
    British actress
  • Kate O'Mara (born Frances Meredith Carroll)
    English actress
  • Kate White
    American editor and novelist
  • Kate Elizabeth Hansen
    American luger
  • (Lucy) Kate Jackson
    American actress
  • Elli Kate Norkett
    Welsh Rugby player
  • Kate Griffiths (b. 2012)
    daughter of YouTube vloggers Beau & Emily Griffiths from the channel A Griffiths Life Vlogs

Kate in Pop Culture

  • Katherina "Kate" Minola
    main character in Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew"
  • 'Kiss Me Kate'
    musical by Cole Porter based on "The Taming of the Shrew"
  • Kate Lloyd
    character in "The Thing" series
  • Katherine "Kate" Austen
    main character on TV's "Lost"
  • Kate Wetherall
    character in "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
  • Kate/Katarine
    character in book series "The City of Flamespell"
  • Kate "Puck" Connolly
    character in "The Scorpio Races" by Maggie Stiefvater
  • Kate
    text editor for KDE software
  • Kate Gordon
    character in "The Basic Eight" by Daniel Handler
  • Kate Randall
    character on TV's "Pretty Little Liars"
  • Kate Pearson
    character on TV's "This Is Us"
  • Kate Daniels
    title character in book series by Ilona Andrews
  • Kate Bettany
    main character on British TV's 'Bedlam'
  • Kate Lockley
    a minor character on TV's 'Angel'
  • Kate
    character in James Patterson's Maximum Ride
  • "Kissing Kate
    " novel by Lauren Myracle
  • Katherine "Kate" Kavanagh
    minor character in '50 Shades of Grey'
  • Katherine "Kate" Fitzgerald
    character in Jodi Picoult's "My Sister's Keeper"
  • Caitlin "Kate" Todd
    character on TV's "NCIS"
  • Kate Monster
    character in musical 'Avenue Q'
  • Katherine "Kissin' Kate" Barlow
    character in Louis Sachar's "Holes"
  • Katherine "Kate" Beckett
    character on TV's 'Castle'
  • Kate Bishop aka Hawkeye
    Marvel comics character
  • Kate Curtis
    character in movie "2012"
  • Kate Moreau
    character on TV's "White Collar"
  • Kate Reed
    character on TV's "Fairly Legal"
  • Kate Moretti
    character on TV's "Perception"
  • Kate Callahan
    character on TV's "Criminal Minds"
  • Kate Watzen
    main character in Shelly Jarvis' "The Dreamwalker."
  • Kate Fleming
    character on British TV series "Line of Duty"
  • Kate aka Offred
    character in film version of Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale"
  • "Kate Is Great"
    song by Bouncing Souls
  • "Kate
    " song by Ben Folds Five
  • "Kate Crackernuts
    " English fairy tale and its main character
  • "Kate
    " novel by Valerie Sherrard
  • Katherine "Kate" Sanders
    character in TV series "Lizzie McGuire"
  • Kate Beverly Marsh
    character in video game "Life Is Strange"
  • Kate Harker
    main character in Monsters of Verity by Victoria Schwab
  • Kate McReary
    character in the video game "Grand Theft Auto 4"
  • Kate (The Chaser)
    a character from Slender: The Arrival
  • Kate Carter
    Character in "Twisters"