Kateryna

Meaning of Kateryna

Kateryna, a feminine given name of Ukrainian origin, finds its etymological root in the Ancient Greek katharos, signifying “pure.” The Ukrainian adaptation preserves the phonological sequence [kɑtɛˈrɪnɑ], with antepenultimate stress and a distinct front‐mid vowel in the second syllable that differentiates it from Western European cognates such as Catherine or Katrina. Historically, the name is indelibly linked to Saint Catherine of Alexandria, whose cultic veneration across Orthodox and Catholic traditions fostered its diffusion throughout Eastern Europe and, subsequently, among Anglo-American diasporic communities. Contemporary onomastic data from the United States Social Security Administration confirm its relative rarity among newborns—Kateryna registered fourteen occurrences in 2024, ranking 936th—reflecting both its technical precision in sound and spelling and its appeal to parents seeking a name that embodies deep historical resonance and Slavic cultural heritage.