Word Watch 4, "What's in a name?"

"Kaitlin"
I thought it would be interesting to use my name. I know, from the bookmark I once found that sort of spelled my name correctly, that my name means "pure." Kaitlin, however, wasn't spelled Kaitlin, but Caitlyn, Caitlin, Katelyn, or Kaitlyn.
To start off my search, I went to http://www.babynames.com and searched for the closest version I could find. The first one I stumbled across was Kaitlyn. According to Babynames.com, my name means "pure" and it's origin is Irish. Katelyn (also spelled Katelynn) also means "pure," but it's origin is apparently American. Hmmm. Cait again is Irish and again means "pure."Cailyn and Caitlyn also mean "pure" and are also American, according to Babynames.com. I find this difficult to completely put my faith in; how is Cait Irish, and short for Caitlyn, but Caitlyn is American? And yet Caitlin is Irish and also means "pure." We Americans are so creative.

Alright, so there must be a connection somewhere. Next stop? http://babynamesworld.parentsconnect.com. Apparently Kaitlyn is a form of Caitlyn which is a form of Katelyn which is a form of Kathleen, which is Gaelic and also means "pure." This website is fun because each name seems to be a form of another name, and all I had to do was click on the name offered. Kathleen (Gaelic) is apparently a form of Katherine... which is Greek, according to this website, and which also means "pure." The next link was to Aikaterine, also Greek. Oddly enough, the definition was uncertain: "perhaps pure or unsullied." This is where the trail stopped, Aikaterine is a form of itself.

Another website, http://www.meaning-of-names.com, lead me to Catherine, which is French and means "pure or clear."

There are many versions of the name Kaitlin or Catherine. what I've noticed is that no matter the spelling and no matter the language of origin, the meaning and general pronunciation remains the same. Interesting, very interesting. Only one link under Meaning-of-names.com did I find any sort of date; a version of Katherine was used in England from the 3rd Century AD, and came from a Latin Katerina.
Names are curious things indeed.