Catherine
wiktionary
From French Catherine, from Ancient Greek Αἰκατερίνη(Aikaterínē), *Ἑκατερίνη(*Hekaterínē), of debated meaning, possibly from ἑκάτερος(hekáteros, “each of the two”), or from the name of the goddess Hecate. The spelling with 'th' in Latin languages, German and English, is due to a folk etymology, dating from Roman times, which associated the name with the Ancient Greek καθαρός(katharós, “pure”). The name belonged to a 4th-century saint and martyr from Alexandria who was supposedly tortured on the wheel from where the term Catherine wheel originates.
etymonline
Catherine
fem. proper name, from French Catherine, from Medieval Latin Katerina, from Latin Ecaterina, from Greek Aikaterine. The -h- was introduced 16c., probably a folk etymology from Greek katharos "pure" (see catharsis). The initial Greek vowel is preserved in Russian form Ekaterina.
As the name of a type of pear, attested from 1640s. Catherine wheel (early 13c.) originally was the spiked wheel on which St. Catherine of Alexandria (martyred 307), legendary virgin from the time of Maximinus, was tortured and thus became the patron saint of spinners. Her name day is Nov. 25; a popular saint in the Middle Ages, which accounts for the enduring popularity of the given name. It was applied from 1760 to a kind of fireworks shooting from a revolving spiral tube.
