Entry № 1256 · English, Greek origin

Kathryn Kathryn — Meaning, Origin & Baby Name Popularity

/ KATH-rin /
Gender
Girl
Origin
English, Greek
Meaning
"Pure (Kathryn Bigelow, first woman Best Director Oscar)"
Syllables
2
Rank · US 2025
№ 350
First recorded
Modern (English)

A name that means "pure (kathryn bigelow, first woman best director oscar)".

Kathryn is a 20th-century American variant of Catherine — from the Greek katharos (pure). **A top-50 US baby name from 1909 to 1925**. **Kathryn Bigelow (born 1951)** — **American filmmaker; in 2010, with *The Hurt Locker* (2008), became the first woman in the 82-year history of the Academy Awards to win Best Director — and the first woman to win the Directors Guild of America Award**. **Also won Best Picture as a producer of *The Hurt Locker* — only the second woman to win the top Oscar as a producer (after Sherry Lansing)**. **Directed *Zero Dark Thirty* (2012) — about the hunt for Osama bin Laden, written and based on actual reporting**. **Kathryn Hahn (born 1973)** — *WandaVision* (2021) Emmy nomination, *Agatha All Along* (2024). **Kathryn Hepburn** — covered separately under Katherine. **Kathryn Joosten** — Emmy-winning *Desperate Housewives* actress.

Subject of countless 2010 Oscars retrospectives.

Pure. First woman in 82 years of Oscar history to win Best Director (The Hurt Locker, 2010).

The name in its native script.

Kathryn
Transliteration
Kathryn
Pronunciation
/ ˈkæθ.rɪn /
Root
Grammatical form

Where Kathryn stands.

Current rank · 2025
№ 350 in the U.S.
All-time peak
№ 19 in 1914
Babies named Kathryn · last year
920 in the U.S.
First entered SSA top-1000
1881
Rank, 1995–2025 Lower = more popular
№25 №75 №150 №250 1995 2005 2015 2020 2025 PEAK · #19 NOW · #350

Kathryns before her.

Real people
Kathryn Bigelow
American Best Director Oscar winner.
born 1951
Kathryn Hahn
American actress.
born 1973
In fiction
Agatha Harkness
WandaVision.
2021

Names connected to Kathryn.

The number behind Kathryn.

7

The Seeker

Kathryn reduces to seven — the number of pure.

Why families chose this name.

"Bigelow's pure. Seven letters. Kathryn."
Catherine · Mother of one · San Carlos