Catherine vs. Katherine, state by state, 1910

13 thoughts on “Catherine vs. Katherine, state by state, 1910”

1. I prefer Katharine (with two “a’s”).

2. So do you think the early spelling preferences (C vs. K) extend from different immigrant populations in certain areas? English vs. Irish, for example?

3. Wow, thanks for doing this analysis! It’s fascinating that citizens of RI not only preferred the C- spelling, they preferred it by a huge margin over the next state. I looked up notable women of RI, and found Catharine Littlefield Greene (1755-1814). Her spelling is not actually the same, but it does start with C. I wonder if parents were still inspired by her memory a hundred years later?? Seems a little unlikely. Also interesting that most nearby states were also strongly for C, but when you go north, Vermont and New Hampshire were more evenly divided, and Maine was strongly for K.

4. It’s a good idea. This is a fun interactive map: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/03/10/us/20090310-immigration-explorer.html?_r=0 In 1900, Irish immigrants appear to be concentrated in the Catherine states. But then, most immigrants were concentrated in the same states, as they mostly came through New York and gradually spread from there.

5. I expected Swedes, Norwegians, and Germans to prefer the Katherine spelling as K- is much more common than C- in those languages. But the majority of immigrants from those countries were in the Catherine states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois, as well as the Northeast.

   The only major immigrant group in Maine was from Canada, and you might think they would prefer Catherine because it is the French spelling. But Maine was the strongest K- state!

6. My initial theory would have been immigration as well, but the data doesn’t really fit that theory. Scandinavian-heavy states preferring the letter C? Hm…

   

   The K-states are mostly western/frontier states — perhaps that means something? (I included Kansas as a K-state on that map, even though it was technically a tie.)

7. K was a rare initial letter for names in the late 19th/early 20th c. Other than Katherine and its spelling variants and short forms (Katharine, Kathryn, Kate, Katie, Kay etc.) there were NO common girl’s names beginning with K at that time. Since Catherine was the norm in all older and heavily populated parts of the country, parents in the lightly settled areas might have felt less conservative and more inclined to use the “less popular” or “exotic” initial K.

   But Maine is certainly an outlier on that map, especially when you consider that it was the strongest Katherine state.

8. is Katherine a legit spelling anywhere in the world? Or just a trendy spelling?

9. K/Catherine derives from the Greek name ?????????? (Aikaterina), and various spellings have been used over the years to translate it into English and other languages.

   For instance, the Italian St. Caterina of Siena is usually translated Catherine in English, but there is a parish called St. Katharine of Siena in Pennsylvania, and several called St. Katherine of Siena.

   Likewise, St. Catherine (??????????) of Alexandria can also be found mentioned as Katherine and Katharine.

   Without a doubt, Catherine was traditionally the more popular English spelling, but Withcombe (1976) states that the spelling Katherine was first recorded in England in the year 1196.

   It’s quite difficult to make a claim that any of the three oldest spellings (Catherine, Katharine, Katherine) is “more legit” than another. When you get to Kathryn, Kathryne, et al, then you have a case.

10. Sorry, the Greek spelling of Aikaterina did not come through in my post!

11. And,of course, there is Kathleen!

12. Right, Kathleen was an English version of the Irish Caitlin. It’s interesting that the spelling Cathleen has never been very common!

13. As well as Kathryn.

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