Cate

My given name is Catherine. I was called "Katy" when I was little, and I always hated it. My grandmother was told I was named after her, but that just made her angry, as she was baptized "Kate." I was glad I was Catherine, as it gave me more choices, and after I left home I never called myself anything but Kate. Back then, in the 1960s, I was the only Kate I knew -- now it's very common. Also back in the 1950s and 1960s (and earlier), Kate was NEVER spelled with a C. I can't tell you how much I hate seeing Kate spelled with a C: it's just a popular, made-up variant of the original spelling that goes back to medieval times. I really have to restrain myself from lashing out when well-meaning people ask me if I would like them to spell my name with a C (I WOULD NOT!), and I just try to ignore the unthinking idiots who spell my name with a C without even checking how I myself spell it!

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Please, people, don't give in to flash-in-the-pan fads. Use the K, not the abominable C.

The name Cate was given to 88 baby girls born in the US in 2012.