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No, I love it

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especially if it is for Catherine. Kate for Catherine seems to totally defeat the point of spelling Catherine with a C. Cate is much more subdued and amused. Kate is bold and happy. They match Catherine/Katherine so much better.

I really like Cate as a full name, but don't think it looks contrived or anything as a nn, either. I think it's strange that the nn for Catherine would be spelled with a K ... just doesn't seem logical to me. Anyway, I prefer Cate on its own :P

I don't think of it as contrived at all...instead, I see it as a refreshing change from Kate. To me, Kate is a bit staid and grandmother-ish (just a bit) but Cate sounds more modern and creative. I would also assume that the Catherine/Katherine difference would determine the nickname. One other thing - for some reason I associate Cate with the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. Don't know why.

it's not a bad name, it just looks wrong. i guess that's just me opinion.
Kate for Katherine is the only 'Kate' that works for me.

For me, Catherine and Katherine are both valid spellings. I love both. One is Latin and one is Greek, it doesn't make either one right or wrong. The same logic could be applied to Cate and Kate. However, I do prefer Kate. Cate doesn't really seem contrived to me. I think it's just that Kate is more traditional, so Cate seems a bit odd to my eyes. Perhaps with more people going by Cate, I will adjust. I don't see anything at all wrong with it and I'm sure it will grow on me.

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ETA: Using a different nn, Cathy and Kathy both look alright to me as they have both been traditional spellings.

This message was edited 4/29/2008, 11:27 PM

I don't think it's contrived at all. While I prefer Kate in general, I think that Catherine nn "Kate" looks weird. Just my opinion.

I like Cate; I would be more inclined to use it as a standalone name, rather than a nn. If I ever used Kate it would probably be as a nn for Katherine, but Cate feels more like a name in its own right to me (I know it's not etymologically, it just feels stronger to me somehow). I like it more than Kate.

No I don't see it as contrived, but it doesn't look "right" imo.

Not really contrived, no. But I do think it looks funny and almost wrong.