Kate

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Kate

Gender: Feminine
Language: English
Etymology:
Kate is a 16th-century diminutive for the name Katherine (via the medieval pronunciation Kat-her-in). Katherine is a blend of the (possibly) Coptic name Aikaterina and the Greek word “katharos” (pure). Possibly connected with the Greek word “aikia” (torture) or the goddess of the underworld named Hecate.

History:
Kate was the standard English diminutive for the name Katherine (as well as Catherine) from the 16th century until the late 19th century (although the alternate Kitty was also common in the 18th and early 19th centuries). In the 20th century it was replaced by the Scottish-inspired Katie.

Please see Katherine for more information.

Pronunciation: kayt.

Diminutives:
English: Katie, Katey, Katy, Kitty.

Alternates: Kayte, Kaite, Cate, Kit.

Famous Bearers:
Artists and Authors:
Kate Greenaway (1846-1901)
English artist.
Kate Chopin (1851-1904)
American novelist.
Kate Nichols Trask (1853-1922)
American writer.
Kate Douglas Wiggin (1856-1923)
American advocate for kindergartens. Also the author of The Birds’ Christmas Carol, and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm.
Kate Roberts (1891-1985)
Welsh author.

Educators, Scholars, and Social Workers:
Kate Harwood Waller Barrett (1857-1925)
American physician and social worker.
Kate Richards O’Hare Cunningham (1877-1948)
American prison reformer and socialist.

Fictional Characters:
Kate
Heroine of William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew.

Miscellaneous:
Kate Chase Sprague (1840-1899)
Washington celebrity.
Kate Millett (1934-)
American feminist and author.

Popularity:
Percentage from the 1990 U.S. Census:
0.029 % named Kate

Popularity of Kate:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1800: 36th most popular.
1850: 12th most popular.
1875: 20th most popular.
1900-1910: 236th most popular.
1910-1920: 330th most popular.
1920-1930: 529th most popular.
1930-1940: 748th most popular.
1940-1950: 790th most popular.
1950-1960: 926th most popular.
1960-1970: 751st most popular.
1970-1980: 422nd most popular.
1980-1990: 216th most popular.
1990: 277th most popular.
1991: 291st most popular.
1992: 331st most popular.
1993: 338th most popular.
1994: 358th most popular.
1995: 368th most popular.
1996: 347th most popular.
1997: 326th most popular.
1998: 279th most popular.
1999: 234th most popular.
2000: 227th most popular.
2001: 204th most popular.
2002: 194th most popular.
2003: 165th most popular.

In Ireland...
1998: 22nd most popular.
1999: 19th most popular.
2000: 18th most popular.
2001: 22nd most popular.
2002: 18th most popular.
2003: 17th most popular.