by Theresa Willbye

Created on: January 29, 2008

GENDER: Female

PRONUNCIATION: COTCH-leen (Irish) or KATE-lin (American English)

ETYMOLOGY: Caitlin is derived from a various cultures; from the Latin variant of "Catherine', the Irish "Katherine" or "Catelin", the Greek "Aikaterina", and the French "Catherine" all of which give the primary meaning for the name as "pure" or "clear".

ORIGIN AND HISTORY:
One of the most famous stories in history to bear a relationship to this name is St Catherine of Alexandria. The 4th century saint was born in Alexandria, Egypt to a noble family. At the tender age of 18 she converted to Christianity due to a vision she received. After her conversion she denounced king Maxentius for his slaughtering of fellow Christians. Maxentius became enraged at such behavior and thought the only way to stop such outcries was to offer her a royal wedding if she was to deny her faith. Catherine would not agree to such terms and so became imprisoned. During Catherine's term in prison she converted 200 soldiers and Maxentius wife to Christianity. All the conversions resulted in their deaths. Catherine too was condemned to death and was placed upon a spiked wheel before being beheaded when the wheel broke.

St Catherine is the patroness saint of philosophers and preachers. Her feast day is celebrated on the 25th of November.

POPULARITY:
According to the American social security records Caitlin was not a strong choice among American parents until the mid 1970's. Within 10 years Caitlin had broken her way into the top 100 choices fro baby girls. From 1985 until 2001 Caitlin continued to fluctuate within the top 100 names. In 2002 records show that there was a slight drop in popularity trend towards the name. This drop has continued and in 2006 Caitlin sat in 207th position. A thought behind the decrease towards this name choice is the increased preference towards the American variant of the name Kaitlyn. In 2006 Kaitlyn was in 41st position for popularity.

FASCINATING FACTS:

According to numerology Caitlin is represented by the number 5. Characteristics associated with the number 5 are; you are multi talented with an ability to perceive ideas as a visionary, you love adventure and using your freedom constructively.

NAMESAKES:
Caitlin Group Ltd is an insurance and reinsurance company.

Caitlin Gabel School services the Portland area.

Tropical storm Caitlin; 2 tropical storms have occurred in the west North Pacific Ocean areas named Caitlin. The first a typhoon hit in 1991 killing 18 people in Korea and the Philippians.

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