Names - Caitrin

Saint Catherine of Alexandria

Caitrin is an Irish form of the name Katherine. It looks similar to another Irish variant of Katherine - Caitlin - but it is much less common. It is also similar to Katrina or Catrine. I love Katherine and most of her variants and nicknames. Lately Caitrin is my favorite, though I also like Caitria. I love the combination Caitrin Liessa  - Liessa is the name of a character in a medieval Spanish romance, but not a name commonly used in Spanish at all.

Katherine has Greek origins - Aikaterine. It is often associated with the word katharos meaning pure.

How many versions are there of the name Katherine? Not really sure, but I've found these:

Katrina (or Caitriona)
Aikaterine (from which it originates)
Ekaterina
Katerina
Katharina (pronounced like Katerina)
Katalin
Katarin
Katell
Katica
Katka
Kathrine
Katrine
Kaya
Karen
Kate
Katie
Kathy
Katelijne
Katelijn
Katinka
Katja
Caitlin
Kathleen
Cailey
Cailin
Kaye
Kayla
Karina
Catlyn
Kit
Kitty
Trina
Tina
Caja
Ina
Trine
Kadri
Kaisa
Riina
Triinu
Kata
Katri
Ketevan
Catrin
Katina
Kakalina
Kalena
Kateri

Katalinka
Kato
Cateline
Catalina
Kari
Katarzyna
Kasia
Yekaterina
Katenka

Kai

I've also come across the name Katiria in Spanish, which may be a form of Kateri, a form of Katherine, not sure on that though. In addition to Kathleen, there are the possible forms Kathlen and Kathlina, and in addition to Katharina pronounced like Katarina, it's also possible that an English speaker might say "kath ah ree nah", which would be an additional form of Katherine. Quite a few more spellings of the above names as well.

Any favorites of the name Katherine?

Quite a few famous Katherines also. Saint Catherine of Alexandria is one of the saints who spoke to Joan of Arc. Her martyrdom is rather famous, as she was tortured and then put on a spiked wheel to torture her but the wheel was miraculously broken in response to her prayer. She was then beheaded. Also a rather wonderful detail about her is that her body was taken to Mount Sinai and a monastery built there in the 6th century AD (about 1600 years ago). It is a famous pilgrimage site still and there are various Christian relics, artwork, and illuminated manuscripts there. I think if I ever go to that part of the world, this would be a site worth visiting. Saint Catherine was also known to be a scholar. She is one of the Virgin Martyrs. It is a bit creepy (to me anyway) that her fingers are supposed to be in Rouen. Seems like she should have been left all in one place. Her feast day is November 25th.