Catherine - Kate or Cate?

snapplegirl

This is sort of silly but I wanted to get other people's opinions on this We're pretty sure we're going to name DD Catherine with the intention of calling her Kate or maybe Katie when she's really young.

Would you spell Kate with a K or a C given that her fn would be Catherine? I've seen a couple people posting about annoyances with how people assume their name is spelled, so it got me thinking about this issue.

TIA for any replies. 

karen_loy

I don't like how Cate looks, so I'd spell it Kate, but both are fine

scoutkate

I'm not a fan of Cate.

I do prefer Kate as a nickname to the Katherine spelling (I like Catherine best non-shortened) but you can certainly get away with a Kate/Catherine.  Look at Kate Middleton. 

kellyrn9956

We are considering Catherine June to honor both of our mothers. My mom is Cathy, so I don't want to use the "K" spelling. We would plan to use Cate. I personally don't like the Catherine/Kate thing.

da731

I would definitely go with Cate.

I find it maddening when people utilize letters within nicknames that have no actual presence within the first name itself. (Apart from the necessary end vowels that create most nicknames, of course.) 

jpeltierphoto

I prefer Kate, but I don't think either is bad.  

alohamora

I prefer Kate.

CocoBrynne

I love it spelled Cate

led2009

Cate

jdk033

Kate - I think most people will be able to make the association between the C full name and the K nn - I'd actually never seen Catherine spelled with a K.

caramia582

I loooove Cate.  It gives a classic name a slightly unexpected edge.  Catherine/Cate has been on my short list for a while now.

BelleIsa

Catherine is on our list too. We would spell Cate with a C.

flows912

"Cate" seems more logical to me, although I've seen both nn being used for "Catherine".

BLPL101

Since you are using Catherine, I'd definitely spell it Cate. I've known Cathys so Cate isn't odd to me.

kmpls

Kate. Cate looks "special."

Laurakat81

Well seeing as I'm a Katharine...I think you should just go with that.

Kidding of course.

I think if you're going with Catherine then you should go with Cate or Catie. Yes, if you introduce her as Catie or Cate people will assume it is spelled with a K. But they'll learn quickly.

Anyone named Catherine (any spelling) has to deal with no one knowing how to spell their name.

Laurakat81

jdk033:

Kate - I think most people will be able to make the association between the C full name and the K nn - I'd actually never seen Catherine spelled with a K.

Really? I'm almost certain the most common spelling in the US is Katherine.

ILoveRedVino

This is one of my favorite names -- I prefer Cate, H prefers Kate.

I don't think there is a right or wrong answer.  My only hesitation with Cate is that she will constantly have to correct people... I'd bet that everyone will just assume that it is Kate.

zaramarie81

I think the traditional approach is Catherine nn Kate (even the princess does it this way ). If it were me, I'd go with this option.

The spelling issue won't likely be resolved either way anyway because if she goes by "Cate" people will be tempted to spell it "Kate". If she goes by "Kate" people may assume it's Katherine.

CiderWench

I prefer Catherine/Cate. I like very few /K/ names though. I don't think people will side-eye Catherine/Kate.

foxymulder

Kate.

jupiterthecat

The standard thing to do is to use the K spelling, regardless of the spelling of Catherine. It baffles me that people are suddenly opposed to this. People have been shortening Catherine this way for centuries. I believe that Cate is a relatively recent spelling, in comparison, although granted I can't find any support for this, so I may have just pulled that out of my as$. Cate looks a little awkward to me. I mean, I think it's fine if you prefer it, but I don't like this talk of "if you choose the Catherine spelling you are therefore resigned to the Cate spelling," because I have known MANY MANY MANY Catherines over the years who have gone by Kate or Katie. 

kmpls

jupiterthecat:

The standard thing to do is to use the K spelling, regardless of the spelling of Catherine. It baffles me that people are suddenly opposed to this. People have been shortening Catherine this way for centuries. I believe that Cate is a relatively recent spelling, in comparison, although granted I can't find any support for this, so I may have just pulled that out of my as$. Cate looks a little awkward to me. I mean, I think it's fine if you prefer it, but I don't like this talk of "if you choose the Catherine spelling you are therefore resigned to the Cate spelling," because I have known MANY MANY MANY Catherines over the years who have gone by Kate or Katie. 

This 100%. Cate appears trendy. I think there will be a backlash on all the C spellings of popular K names just as many people are now over "k" names.

plunderb

I'm a Caitlin/Cait, so I thought I should weigh in to say you should use whichever spelling looks best to you. Catherine/Kate has plenty of historical precedent and Catherine/Cate makes sense as well.

Know that anyone who has any name in the Kate family will have her name spelled a thousand different ways. This can range from the annoying ("Really, Aunt Rachel, I'm 28 years old and you still misspell my name on my birthday card?") to the trivial (I will take whatever spelling the barista gives me as long as he doesn't skimp on the whipped cream). There is no way to avoid all spelling confusion for your little Katherine/Catherine/Kathryn/Cathryn/Catheryn/Katheryn/Qhathyrynne, so don't worry too much. Just choose the one you like.

anchalmasako

I'd go with Kate, like the duchess of cambridge!!

Emma

caramia582:

I loooove Cate.  It gives a classic name a slightly unexpected edge. 

 

THIS!

Katie996

LOVE Catherine and definitely prefer Kate over Cate. Cate looks awkward to me.

Quinn10

I'm a Katherine who goes by Kate. The story goes that my parents preferred Catherine but since they knew they wanted to call me Kate and didn't like the C spelling for the NN, they went with K. 

I agree with them, honestly, and I like having a K name. But really, Catherine is a great name no matter how you spell it, and I don't think you can go wrong.

Also, because there are so many different ways to spell Katherine, she'll have to spell it all the time anyway. I don't think that's a problem, but just mean that I wouldn't worry about that with this part of the decision. If that makes any sense at all  

ablou

Kate.  But I prefer Katherine anyway.  Kate with a K either way.

thefiftyone

Cate with Catherine and Kate with Katherine. I prefer the C's.