The following information is taken from the Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue, available online at http://www.dsl.ac.uk/index.html. This is a work in progress.
| Spelling | Number | Dates & headers |
|---|---|---|
| Cathnes | 5 | 1473 (contesse); 1483 (cuntas); 1496 (chantorie); 1535 (cathnes); 1539 (convocatioun) |
| Caithnes | 1 | 1618 (commissar) |
| Caitnes | 1 | 1608 (dale) |
| Cathanes | 1 | 1542 (benorth) |
| Cathnesse | 1 | 1615 (chefely) |
| Catnes | 1 | 1553 (bischop) |