Karin

Karin is the Scandinavian rendering of Katharina, tracing back to the Greek Aikaterine and usually glossed as pure. The Nordic spelling gives the name a cooler architecture than the English Karen, stripping out the middle vowels and leaving two unhurried syllables. In Norway and Sweden it has been a quiet staple for generations, most memorably in the watercolors of Carl Larsson, whose wife and muse Karin Bergoo Larsson helped define the Swedish aesthetic of light-filled country interiors. It reads serene and uncluttered, a name with linen curtains and afternoon sun. Classic rather than trendy in Norway, Karin carries its Scandinavian calm wherever it goes.