Kate

SLWoody

I love the name Kate and though DH and I agreed on Katelyn as our girl name, I am thinking I like just "Kate". Why name her Katelyn when i intend on strictly calling her Kate? DH really disagrees and doesn't think we should use a nickname as her first name. Thoughts?? Middle name is Eleanora (yes with an a at the end( as that is my grandmothers first name.

Edit: words are not my friend

Kateysomething

I am a Katelyn and go by Kate. My high school graduating class had 5 of us.. two girls were just named Katie, not short for anything, two were Katherine that went by Kate or Katie, and me.  A wide variety and none of us hated our names. 
 
Kate is a strong possibility for a middle name for us if we have a girl. DH really likes it and would like to honor me.  Another possibility is Kathleen, which is my mom's middle name.

pippacricket

My DH is the same way. For example, we both like the name Nora but he prefers to use the name Eleanor as a fn and Nora as nn. He figures when our future daughter (if we have a girl) is older, she can use her full name professionally and her nn socially. 

Since you're using a nn that corresponds with the name you both like, I would just use it. It's not like he decided he liked a completely different name that didn't allow you to use the nn Kate. Also, Katelyn Eleanora sounds better to me than Kate Eleanora IMO. 

CiderWench

Normally I like a nickname to be paired with a more formal name. But, in this instance, I think Kate is a million times more sophisticated than Katelyn.

plunderb

As a Caitlin, I generally advise against it. It is just a headache. Cutesy, impossible to spell, it has long ago lost whatever Irish-y charm it may have had once upon a time.

If your H thinks a full name is important, I'd say that's a fine compromise. Giving her a formal name in no way prevents you from calling her Kate. But see if you can find something else. If you don't like Katherine, maybe Katrina?

cmw&tdm

I think Kate is fine as a given name. It's been on the SSA top 1000 names since when they started keeping track in 1880 and was actually more common as a given first name in the past than it is now. It's not cutesy and I think it would serve a girl well for all ages. That being said, I can see wanting a longer name and if this applies to you I'd find another way to get Kate such as Katherine, Kathleen, etcetera. I'm not a huge Caitlin fan.

macchiatto

I agree with cmw&tdm. I love Kate and if i had to choose between Kate and Katelyn for a full given name, I also would go with Kate hands-down. It's a strong classic and while I usually like fuller first names, I think Kate is one that stands well on its own. I also agree that there are a lot of other good options though; Katrina, Kathleen, Katerina.

SLWoody

L

bromios said:

I'm torn between my hatred of Katelyn since it is misspelled and my hatred of using nns as standalone names... if you plan on calling her Kate all the time, why not give her a nice, correctly spelled, elegant name like Catherine for when she gets married and stuff?

Thank you. I don't like Catherine at all. I really like Kate the best and I don't think it's a nickname. I agree with PP that it is so much more sophisticated than Katelyn and feel like it is a strong feminine name. Thank you to everyone though you have helped!!! I think it will either be Kate or something completely different for us if DH won't agree to it.

MusicFanatic

I went to school with a Katie that was just Katie.. so I can get behind a Kate just fine.  I like it.

NerdyLucy

Kimbus22 said:

I'm normally a staunch proponent of a more formal FN with a NN but I think Kate is absolutely fine as a stand alone.

This.  

I'm usually against just nicknames, but Kate doesn't bother me, especially when paired with Eleanora.  I think it sounds lovely. 

sweetpea2003

Between Kate and Katelyn - Definitely Kate. Kate Eleanora is lovely.

Generally speaking, I prefer a longer name so that the child has versatility and options. We call our daughter Kate 99% of the time, but her name is Katherine. I find Katherine to be much more elegant and timeless than Katelyn. I like Caitlin (spelled this way) , but it is hard to derive Kate from Caitlin without people getting confused. I personally know a Caite, but I don't like that spelling at all.

So if you are opposed to the more timeless Katherine, Kathleen, Katarina, Katrina type names, I would just stick with Kate. FWIW, I think Katherine Eleanora is an AMAZING name. And like I have done, she can be Kate to you, and then grow up with so many amazing options for her personal and professional life as a Katherine.

==N==

I think Kate is fine as a stand alone. I fought to use it for dd actually, but dh really didn't like it.

Renisra+2

I'm having the same struggle, and I just made a post about it last week! I really like Kate, but I'm not really sold on the longer names to get to Kate. The consensus here from most people that Kate is fine as a stand alone, and I think if you're planning to always call her Kate, you may as well just name her Kate! Good luck!

anniess

Kate Eleanora is great, I don't think there is any need to use Katelyn. There are plenty of people called just Kate these days, so Kate isn't abnormal.

JenPaul

CiderWench said:

Normally I like a nickname to be paired with a more formal name. But, in this instance, I think Kate is a million times more sophisticated than Katelyn.

I concur. And Kate is a great name that can stand alone.

Kate0034

I do not think of Kate as a nickname. I think it is a classy, beautiful name all on its own. Personally, I would go with Kate over Kaitlin...I love the name Kaitlin in theory (it's my sister's middle name and I LOVE Irish names). However, it has become incredibly popular and trendy. I teach at least 5 girls named Kaitlin and I guarantee I never spell any of their names right because I get them all mixed up (there has to be at least 50 spellings of this name...). Also, I think Kate goes very well with your middle name as it sounds classy and elegant, but in a laid back way.

If your husband insists on Kate being a nickname, I agree with those who suggested using Katherine instead. It's much less trendy right now. Or even Kathleen.

Kate0034

By the way, my name is not Kate...I chose it as a username in honor of someone and also because I love the name! Ha

WestIsleFlower

I really like Kate as a standalone. I say go for it!

BMoreBride6

I think Kate is perfectly fine as a stand alone.  I'm a Katie (legal name) as my dad really wanted to name he after his aunt Katie and they didn't like any of the Cailtin/Katherine names.  Katie is even more of a nn than Kate and it has never bothered me. 

BMoreBride6

Also meant to add that I think a strong single syllable name sounds beautiful with the more intricate mn

SLWoody

Thank you to everyone! I am very encouraged by the positive responses and hope I can get DH to come around. The more I say Kate Eleanora U.. The more I love it