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HelpCatherine
I've been thinking about a name that is both one of my favorites and a family name for me, Catherine. It's one of my top picks for a FN for a future (not likely anytime soon) DD, but to help give her a different "identity" within the family from the other aforementioned Catherine I thought about one of these ideas:
1. Since Catherine is easily "nicknamable" I might come up with a good NN to call her. What are your favorites?
2. I also thought about calling her by her middle name. (Right now my favorite combos are Catherine Amelia and Catherine Fiona; both MNs are also on my favorites list.) I've heard of others who call their children by their MNs, but wondered what issues I'd need to be aware of with doing this. Any thoughts?
1. Since Catherine is easily "nicknamable" I might come up with a good NN to call her. What are your favorites?
2. I also thought about calling her by her middle name. (Right now my favorite combos are Catherine Amelia and Catherine Fiona; both MNs are also on my favorites list.) I've heard of others who call their children by their MNs, but wondered what issues I'd need to be aware of with doing this. Any thoughts?
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1. Since Catherine is easily "nicknamable" I might come up with a good NN to call her. What are your favorites?
I like Cay. Cate and Catie are nice too, but I find Cay more refreshing.
2. I also thought about calling her by her middle name. (Right now my favorite combos are Catherine Amelia and Catherine Fiona; both MNs are also on my favorites list.) I've heard of others who call their children by their MNs, but wondered what issues I'd need to be aware of with doing this. Any thoughts?
I don't think I'd personally name my child something and then call him or her by his or her middle name, but I don't think it's that big of a deal when other people do. A lot of people go by their middle names.
I like Cay. Cate and Catie are nice too, but I find Cay more refreshing.
2. I also thought about calling her by her middle name. (Right now my favorite combos are Catherine Amelia and Catherine Fiona; both MNs are also on my favorites list.) I've heard of others who call their children by their MNs, but wondered what issues I'd need to be aware of with doing this. Any thoughts?
I don't think I'd personally name my child something and then call him or her by his or her middle name, but I don't think it's that big of a deal when other people do. A lot of people go by their middle names.
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I love, love, love Catherine Amelia. One of my favorite combos. Catherine Fiona is lovely too!
Cate/Kate is my favorite nickname for Catherine. I also love Kitty, and Kit.
Oh, and as someone who goes by her middle name, I can say that in my experience it's a bit confusing with teachers, official documents, etc. If you don't plan on calling her Catherine, I'd put it in the middle spot if I were you :)
Cate/Kate is my favorite nickname for Catherine. I also love Kitty, and Kit.
Oh, and as someone who goes by her middle name, I can say that in my experience it's a bit confusing with teachers, official documents, etc. If you don't plan on calling her Catherine, I'd put it in the middle spot if I were you :)
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1. Since Catherine is easily "nicknamable" I might come up with a good NN to call her. What are your favorites?
I like Catherine (with a C) best without a nickname but I had to pick one, it would be Cat.
2. I also thought about calling her by her middle name. (Right now my favorite combos are Catherine Amelia and Catherine Fiona; both MNs are also on my favorites list.) I've heard of others who call their children by their MNs, but wondered what issues I'd need to be aware of with doing this. Any thoughts?
I know 3 people who go by their middle names-all guys though.
My dad- John Mark-goes by Mark bc his dad was also John. I don't think he really had any complaints. We always knew when telemarketers were calling bc they were the only ones who asked for John :)
I worked with another guy-James Andrew- who hated that he went by his middle name, Andy. His dad was also James. It made things confusing at work bc people knew him as Andy but his email, in the directory, etc, he was James.
I like Catherine (with a C) best without a nickname but I had to pick one, it would be Cat.
2. I also thought about calling her by her middle name. (Right now my favorite combos are Catherine Amelia and Catherine Fiona; both MNs are also on my favorites list.) I've heard of others who call their children by their MNs, but wondered what issues I'd need to be aware of with doing this. Any thoughts?
I know 3 people who go by their middle names-all guys though.
My dad- John Mark-goes by Mark bc his dad was also John. I don't think he really had any complaints. We always knew when telemarketers were calling bc they were the only ones who asked for John :)
I worked with another guy-James Andrew- who hated that he went by his middle name, Andy. His dad was also James. It made things confusing at work bc people knew him as Andy but his email, in the directory, etc, he was James.
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I don't understand why you would give a child a name and decide beforehand not to use it. If you're not going to use it, I would make it a honouring middle name.
I love the name Catherine, but spelled Katherine so would use it as is. But I also like the nns Kat and Kata, but have found with my own children that nns usuaully evolve unexpectedly, so wouldn't plan to use a specific nn.
Have to say I hate Kitty, but I hate girly, cutesy names.
I love the name Catherine, but spelled Katherine so would use it as is. But I also like the nns Kat and Kata, but have found with my own children that nns usuaully evolve unexpectedly, so wouldn't plan to use a specific nn.
Have to say I hate Kitty, but I hate girly, cutesy names.
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I like Catherine and most forms of it, too, especially Catrin. Kit and Kitty are probably my favourite nns too - lol, if BtN was the real world, Kittys would probably be more popular than Katies! I also like plain, simple Cat, don't mind Katya / Katinka and even Cathy would sound fresher than Kate or Katie, which are just so overused.
As others have said, going by your middle name causes confusion in official situations. My sister has never used her first name and, as she has a very common last name, has often accidentally thrown out letters addressed to R. Lastname because she doesn't immediately think they're for her! So I'd give her the first name you're going to use.
As others have said, going by your middle name causes confusion in official situations. My sister has never used her first name and, as she has a very common last name, has often accidentally thrown out letters addressed to R. Lastname because she doesn't immediately think they're for her! So I'd give her the first name you're going to use.
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I love Catherine(I actually prefer Katherine but Catherine is lovely as well.)
There are 3 Cáitríonas in my husband's family - they go by Kate, Cína(Keena) and Kitty.
1. Nicknames - Kit, Kitty, Cate/Kate, Katya, Katie, Cat, Rina, Trina, Cath, Cathy, Katisha, Katinka , Kay, Pussy(not recommended). I love Kate and Kitty.
2. Same issues someone has who goes by a nn - having to explain their full name/real name every so often. It would only be an issue in official circs though surely. Having said that my mother has always gone by her middle name and she dislikes the name and finds it a nuisance.
I like Catherine Amelia. But really - use Catherine - it's a great name.
There are 3 Cáitríonas in my husband's family - they go by Kate, Cína(Keena) and Kitty.
1. Nicknames - Kit, Kitty, Cate/Kate, Katya, Katie, Cat, Rina, Trina, Cath, Cathy, Katisha, Katinka , Kay, Pussy(not recommended). I love Kate and Kitty.
2. Same issues someone has who goes by a nn - having to explain their full name/real name every so often. It would only be an issue in official circs though surely. Having said that my mother has always gone by her middle name and she dislikes the name and finds it a nuisance.
I like Catherine Amelia. But really - use Catherine - it's a great name.
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I really like Cína(Keena). What an excellent nickname for Cáitríona! I like it on its own too.
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I don't understand the "going by the middle name" thing - it just makes no sense to me, why not just use the name they're going to be called in the first place i.e. Amelia Catherine or Fiona Catherine.
1. I love the name Kitty for Catherine. Or you could use an alternative verstion of Catherine like Caitlin, Caitriona, Katrin etc.
2. The main problem I can see with it is that at school, the register would say her name as Catherine Amelia and teachers would assume her first name is Catherine. The same problem would occur with official documents - driving license, tax documents etc. which would show her first name and it would be a faf if you had to phone up and change anything and they asked for your name she would have to say her name is Catherine even when her name is actually Amelia.
I know those problems aren't exactly life-altering, but they're a complication that I for one could live without. And since Amelia Catherine sounds fine the other way around, why not just go with that.
1. I love the name Kitty for Catherine. Or you could use an alternative verstion of Catherine like Caitlin, Caitriona, Katrin etc.
2. The main problem I can see with it is that at school, the register would say her name as Catherine Amelia and teachers would assume her first name is Catherine. The same problem would occur with official documents - driving license, tax documents etc. which would show her first name and it would be a faf if you had to phone up and change anything and they asked for your name she would have to say her name is Catherine even when her name is actually Amelia.
I know those problems aren't exactly life-altering, but they're a complication that I for one could live without. And since Amelia Catherine sounds fine the other way around, why not just go with that.
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My niece goes by her middle name.
She's Mary Miranda nn Mira. The only difficult thing was that it took her a very long time to figure out what her name was - she was never called anything BUT Mira. So if you asked her whole name she'd say Mira Mary Miranda or Mary Mira Miranda, etc. Otherwise it's no biggie - her mom (my sister-in-law) goes by her middle name and I did for a while.
Some nickname ideas:
Cat / Kit / Kay / Cathy - I think Cathy would be very sweet on a young girl.
She's Mary Miranda nn Mira. The only difficult thing was that it took her a very long time to figure out what her name was - she was never called anything BUT Mira. So if you asked her whole name she'd say Mira Mary Miranda or Mary Mira Miranda, etc. Otherwise it's no biggie - her mom (my sister-in-law) goes by her middle name and I did for a while.
Some nickname ideas:
Cat / Kit / Kay / Cathy - I think Cathy would be very sweet on a young girl.
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1. Re: nn for Catherine, my suggestion is Kitty or Kit. Both are adorable and traditional without being overdone (i.e., Kathy, Katie, Kate). And this is coming from the mother of a dd named Katherine (Kate)!
2. Catherine Amelia and Catherine Fiona each sound fine but if you plan to call the child by her mn and the flow is great the other way around (Amelia Catherine, Fiona Catherine), why not put Catherine in the middle? Anyway, as a fn, I prefer the flow of Catherine Amelia. If Catherine is the mn, I prefer Fiona Catherine.
My second dd is Victoria Brooke and she goes by Brooke. The only reason we did it that way was because the flow was better than Brooke Victoria. Having said that, there is a certain issue you should be aware of. Make sure you really LIKE that fn and don't mind hearing it often because you will. Some people (teachers, administrators, employers, etc.) just won't get it or they don't listen well enough to get it. Fortunately, my dh and I don't mind hearing Victoria (in fact, we wish we had called her that or Toria, Tora, etc.). Brooke, otoh, does get frustrated from time to time. (My dh's father, mother, brother and niece all go by their mns and have to deal with this sort of thing.) When she gets certain mailings, she'll sometimes get two addressed to Victoria and Brooke. That's not really a nuisance but it is funny.
2. Catherine Amelia and Catherine Fiona each sound fine but if you plan to call the child by her mn and the flow is great the other way around (Amelia Catherine, Fiona Catherine), why not put Catherine in the middle? Anyway, as a fn, I prefer the flow of Catherine Amelia. If Catherine is the mn, I prefer Fiona Catherine.
My second dd is Victoria Brooke and she goes by Brooke. The only reason we did it that way was because the flow was better than Brooke Victoria. Having said that, there is a certain issue you should be aware of. Make sure you really LIKE that fn and don't mind hearing it often because you will. Some people (teachers, administrators, employers, etc.) just won't get it or they don't listen well enough to get it. Fortunately, my dh and I don't mind hearing Victoria (in fact, we wish we had called her that or Toria, Tora, etc.). Brooke, otoh, does get frustrated from time to time. (My dh's father, mother, brother and niece all go by their mns and have to deal with this sort of thing.) When she gets certain mailings, she'll sometimes get two addressed to Victoria and Brooke. That's not really a nuisance but it is funny.
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