Kate
Kate is the everyday short form of Katarzyna, both descending from the Greek Aikaterine, later tied to *katharos*, "pure." In Poland it stays rare: barely 200 women carry it, and on official registers it appears only as the full Katarzyna.
Kate Pronunciation
Kate is pronounced KAH-te (/ˈkatɛ/).
What Kate means
Where Kate comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Kate is the short form. Behind it stands Katarzyna, and behind that the Greek Aikaterine, the source from which every version of the name descends. The Greek word katharos means clean or pure, and it was this word that later fastened the sense of "pure" onto a name whose oldest roots had nothing to do with it. The link came afterward, a folk connection that stuck.
In English use Kate stands on its own. Shakespeare gave it to the sharp-tongued heroine of The Taming of the Shrew, who answers to Kate throughout the play and reaches for the fuller Katharina only in protest. English readers have heard the name as brisk and plain ever since.
On a Polish class register the name appears in its long form, Katarzyna, while friends keep the shorter Kate for everyday. The name day falls on 25 November, feast of Catherine of Alexandria, the scholar-martyr for whom the earliest bearers were named. Its meaning in Polish is czysta. Pure.
How many people are named Kate
1 in 100642 women in Poland is named Kate. 224 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #2079 among female names.
Kate's popularity over time
Fewer than 2 girls were given the name in 2025. It has been stable for a decade.
Kate as a middle name
Kate is a first name for 224 women in Poland and a middle name for another 199, a 53/47 split, almost evenly. In the women's middle-name ranking it sits 477th, between Elza (201) and Zbigniewa (199).
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#475 Rut202
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#476 Elza201
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#477 Kate199
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#478 Zbigniewa199
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#479 Debora198