Kate
- Pronunciation
- [Kate]
- Gender
- Female
- Meaning
- English Abbreviation Of Katherine. Pure.
- Origin
- English
About the Name Kate
Kate is the English short form of Katherine/Catherine (see separate entries on Katherine and Catherine for the Greek Aikaterine etymology, possibly from katharos meaning "pure," and the Saint Catherine of Alexandria anchor). Kate has been used as a casual diminutive of Katherine in English-speaking countries since at least the 16th century, transitioning from nickname to standalone first name in 19th-century American naming.
Notable bearers include British royal Kate Middleton (Catherine, Princess of Wales, born 1982, Duchess of Cambridge from 2011 and Princess of Wales from 2022 — anchoring the name in 21st-century British monarchy memory); American actress Kate Winslet (born 1975, Oscar-winning British actress whose career through Titanic and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind made her one of the foundational late-20th and early-21st-century international stars); and American actress Kate Hudson (born 1979).
Kate held a US top-200 girls' rank from 1995 through 2010 and remains in steady use today. The name's appeal is its compact classical English elegance — one short syllable, instantly readable, religiously anchored through the Katherine/Saint Catherine pedigree, and tonal versatility across casual and formal registers. The Kate Middleton British royal cultural anchor has maintained the name in 21st-century elegance. The name reads as both classical-vintage and contemporary American. Common nicknames are scarce since Kate is itself a nickname-shape — Katie (the dominant warm form), Kat, Katy, Kay, and the rare Kit each carry distinct registers; the longer formal Katherine, Catherine, or Kathryn are sometimes used as Kate's official-document version. International forms include Cate (alternate spelling, used by Australian actress Cate Blanchett), Käthe (German), Katia (Russian), and the broader Catherine/Katherine family.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration name data, 1880–2024 (methodology). By Marvin Tang.
Quick Facts About Kate
US Popularity History (1880–2025)
Annual US births named Kate by gender, from US Social Security Administration records. Peak year: 2007 with 2,550 girls named Kate (girl rank #136 that year).
Where it stands today: in 2025, ranked #522 for girls (576 US births). That's 386 places below its 2007 peak.
Source: US Social Security Administration. Limitations: US birth-certificate data only; names appearing fewer than 5 times in a given year are suppressed for privacy; spelling variants are counted separately. For names that ranked outside the US top 100 before year 2000, only the years they reached the top 100 are shown — the chart may have gaps for less-popular historical names.
Paste the snippet below on any HTML page. Includes a credit link back to 9BabyNames — please keep it intact.
Where in the US Is Kate Most Popular?
Average girl-name rank within each state across 2016–2025 SSA records. A lower number means the name appears closer to the top of that state's girls-name rankings — a per-capita measure that isn't biased toward large states. For Kate the strongest states are Utah, North Dakota, Louisiana.
Strongest girls-name states
| # | State | Avg rank | Births |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Utah | #106 | 402 |
| 2 | North Dakota | #144 | 39 |
| 3 | Louisiana | #181 | 265 |
| 4 | Idaho | #193 | 91 |
| 5 | South Dakota | #194 | 30 |
| 6 | Montana | #216 | 15 |
| 7 | Oklahoma | #268 | 134 |
| 8 | Nebraska | #278 | 87 |
| 9 | Iowa | #286 | 121 |
| 10 | Kansas | #290 | 114 |
Weakest girls-name states
| # | State | Avg rank | Births |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pennsylvania | #623 | 161 |
| 2 | New Jersey | #610 | 121 |
| 3 | Maryland | #551 | 89 |
| 4 | South Carolina | #500 | 94 |
| 5 | Wisconsin | #499 | 105 |
| 6 | Alabama | #496 | 101 |
| 7 | Kentucky | #494 | 85 |
| 8 | Arizona | #481 | 169 |
| 9 | Virginia | #470 | 174 |
| 10 | New York | #470 | 380 |
Source: SSA state-level baby-name dataset 2016–2025. States with fewer than 3 years of data for Kate in this window are excluded. Births < 5 in a given state-year are suppressed by SSA for privacy.
Variant Forms
| Name | Meaning | Gender | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Katie | Variant Of Katherine. Pure. | Female | English |
Famous People Named Kate
5 notable figures from history and culture who share the name Kate.
- Kate Beckinsale — Movie Actress (1973)
- Kate Bush — Rock Singer (1958)
- Kate Chopin was an American writer.
- Kate Hudson — Movie Actress (1979)
- Kate Winslet — Movie Actress (1975)
Looking for names like Kate?
A dedicated page with 60+ related names — spelling variants, rhymes, alliterations, same-origin matches, and shared meaning concepts — lives at its own URL so each kind of similarity gets a deeper treatment than fits here.
Compare Kate to Other Popular Names
Side-by-side popularity charts and crossover years for Kate against today's most popular girls-name peers (top 8 by US births in the last 10 years of SSA records).
Kate Baby Name Ideas
- Best Middle Names for Layla: Shape the L Rhythm, Open Ending, and Full-Name Flow
- Baby Names for Last Names Starting With R: Manage the Repeated R Without Flattening the Surname
- Should Sibling Names Be Similar in Length? Pairing a Short Name With a Long One
- Best Middle Names for Lucy: Balance the Long-E Ending, Initials, and Surname
- What Is Kit Short For? Traditional Full Names, Modern Routes, and the Standalone Test
- When a Baby Name Has Different Nicknames Across Languages: Building One Flexible Family Plan
- Baby Names for Consonant-Heavy Last Names: Creating Space Without Losing Character
- The Best Middle Names for Dylan: Pairings That Balance a Compact Two-Syllable Name
- The Best Middle Names for Aria: Pairings That Give a Vowel-Rich Name a Clear Center
- The Best Middle Names for Emily: Pairings That Keep a Long-E Ending Clear
- Should Sibling Names Have Similar Nickname Range? Balancing Full Forms and Everyday Call Names
- The Best Middle Names for Gianna: Pairings That Keep a Three-Syllable Name Light
- When a Baby's Initials Spell a Word: A Practical Test Before the Name Is Final
- The Best Middle Names for Ellie: Pairings That Let a Bright Short Name Stand on Its Own
- How Close Is Too Close for Cousin Names? A Practical Similarity Test for Extended Families
- Baby Names for Last Names With Final-Syllable Stress: Balancing the Full-Name Rhythm
- The Best Middle Names for Natalie: Pairings That Give a Three-Syllable Name a Clear Landing
- How to Reuse a Repeated Family First Name Without Creating Another Namesake Mix-Up
- The Best Middle Names for Rachel: Pairings That Separate the Final L From the Next Beat
- How to Continue a Family Name When Old Records Use More Than One Spelling