Etymology: Caitlin pronounced KAYT-lin or in the Gaelic pronounced KOIT-leen. Caitlin is a feminine name meaning pure. It is an Anglicized version of the CAITL’IN.

Origin and History: Caitlin’s origin is Gaelic and is a form of the name Kathleen, or Old French form of KATHERINE. By tracing the French version of the name Katherine the name may be traced further to the Greek name Akatreine or debatably to the ancient Greek name HECATE the name of a Greek goddess. Romans followed the name to the Greek word Katheros which meant pure. Although its original forms from the Old French and Gaelic noted above are debated, in its form Katherine it is found in 4th century for a woman who was sainted for being martyred in Alexandria on the Catherine Wheel.

Popularity: In the form of Caitlin the name does not appear in the United States until around 1980 to 1989, and held a position from there within the top 100 until around 2002 when it started to slip in popularity in the U.S. until it’s rank at 207 in 2006. This is not the case in England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland or Canada where it maintains its position in the top 100 most popular female names.

Fascinating Facts:
Caitlin was the name of Dylan Thomas wife.

Caitlin is a movie set for release in 2008 about the troubled marriage of Dylan Thomas and his wife Caitlin. The movie Caitlin stars Pierce Brosnan as John Malcolm Brinnin with Dylan Thomas being played by Kevin Zegers (young), and Michael Sheen (older). Caitlin Thomas played by Rosamund Pike (young) and Miranda Richardson (older).

Namesakes:

Caitlin Morrison is the daughter of NBC newsman Keith Morrison and half sister to Matthew Perry. As an actress she has one movie to her credit on IMDb “The Whole Ten Yards” in 2004.

Caitlin is the name of the character played by Katie Carr in six episodes of “Heros.”

Famous Persons:

Caitlin O’Heaney was born August 16, 1953 in Whitefish Bay, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Caitlin began her acting career at 11 years old with the North Shore Children’s Theater. At seventeen won a scholarship to Julliard School of Drama. First Broadway role was as understudy to Katherine Hepburn in “A Matter of Gravity.” She played the role of Delores Farrar, a Hollywood actress of the 1930’s in “A Midsummer Nights Sex Comedy” by Woody Allen. Created her own fragrance company named Caitlin for which she personally designed the fragrances. Her most recent role was as Mrs. Woodbridge in “The Emperor’s Club.”

Kaitlin Cullum was born June 24, 1986 in Los Angeles, California. She won Young Actress Award for “Grace under Fire” for both 1997 and 1998 and again for “8 Simple Rules for Dating My Daughter” in 2000.

Kaitlin Daye is a modern poet with 119 poems collected on Poem Hunt.com

Name Variants: There are no listed variants of the name Caitlin, but it is thought to be a form of the name Catherine, or Katherine. There is an alternate spelling among comments about this name that it is often spelled Kaitlin.