Cato, Kato

Pinterest

Origin: Ancient Roman, Dutch, Japanese, African, Eastern African (Luganda), Ganda

Meaning: In Latin, Cato is a masculine meaning "wise" and is the name of several Roman figures. 

It’s also the short form of feminine names Catharina (Dutch) and Katalin (Hungarian), both of which come from Katherine which has several possible meanings: “pure, chaste” or “each of the two; singly”; “torture” or “my consecration of your name”. This would make it a unisex name.

Spelled Kato, it becomes a Japanese surname meaning “add/increase” + “wisteria” (加 藤 ); it’s also spelled  Katō or Katou. It would be pronouced “ka-to” rather than “kay-to”.

It’s also an African masculine name in Luganda meaning “second of twins”.