Catherine
Catherine is a female given name: 99% of people named Catherine are women, and it is recorded as female in 9 of the 9 countries covered.
- Verdict
- Female
- Male / female split
- 1% male / 99% female
- Confidence
- High (64 or more weighted country observations)
- Most common in
- United States, Ireland, France
- US births since 1880
- 1,824 male / 658,856 female
- Data
- nam_dict (GFDL) + US SSA
- Updated
- 2026-09-11
How to address Catherine
When you do not know their gender for certain, the full name with no title is the safe choice: "Dear Catherine," in English, "Guten Tag Catherine," in German. Catherine is a female given name: about 99% of people named Catherine are women. A quick look at a profile confirms it for certain.
Ready-made greetings in six languages
English
Dear Catherine,
German
Guten Tag Catherine,
French
Bonjour Catherine,
Spanish
Estimado/a Catherine:
Chinese
Catherine您好：
Japanese
Catherine様
English
Hi Catherine,
German
Hi Catherine,
French
Salut Catherine,
Spanish
Hola Catherine,
Chinese
Catherine你好：
Japanese
Catherineさん
This is a statistical estimate, not a statement about the gender, identity or correct form of address of any particular person.
Country breakdown
| Country | How common | Usually | Male share |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | very common | woman's name | 0% |
| Ireland | common | woman's name | 2% |
| France | common | woman's name | 2% |
| Great Britain | common | woman's name | 2% |
| Luxembourg | common | woman's name | 2% |
| Belgium | common | woman's name | 2% |
| Switzerland | common | woman's name | 2% |
| Malta | common | woman's name | 2% |
| Austria | rare | woman's name | 2% |
United States birth data
1,824 male · 658,856 female · 660,680 births recorded
Since 1980: 0% male.
Frequently asked questions
Is Catherine a male or female name?
Catherine is a female given name: 99% of people named Catherine are women, and it is recorded as female in 9 of the 9 countries covered.
How do I address Catherine in an email?
When you do not know their gender for certain, the full name with no title is the safe choice: "Dear Catherine," in English, "Guten Tag Catherine," in German. Catherine is a female given name: about 99% of people named Catherine are women. A quick look at a profile confirms it for certain.
Is Catherine a unisex name?
Catherine is not a unisex name: 1% of people named Catherine are men. Catherine leans strongly female overall.
Related names
Sources
Gender by country: nam_dict, the c't first-names dictionary by Joerg Michael, roughly 44,000 names across 55 countries, licensed GFDL. US frequencies: United States Social Security Administration baby-name data, public domain. Method: how we classify names. Full dataset: data & licences. Data built 2026-09-11.
DearWho, "Is Catherine a male or female name?", https://dearwho.vercel.app/name/catherine (accessed 2026-09-11). Data: nam_dict (J. Michael, GFDL) and US SSA, built 2026-09-11.
BibTeX
@misc{dearwho_catherine,
title = {Is Catherine a male or female name?},
author = {{DearWho}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://dearwho.vercel.app/name/catherine},
note = {Data: nam_dict (GFDL), US SSA public domain}
}