About Abby Sandel

Whether you're naming a baby, or just all about names, you've come to the right place! Appellation Mountain is a haven for lovers of obscure gems and enduring classics alike.

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What do you think?

13 Comments

  1. I have to join the growing list of people who have a slight aversion to K names. I didn’t realise how many of us had become irritated by the propensity to change C spellings to K. But for some mad reason, I prefer Katherine to Catherine. I blame Shakespeare.

    (My husband is still baffled as to why Catherine Middleton’s nickname is Kate rather than the obvious Cate).

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  2. I’m similar to Katie B in that I also quite ironically don’t really like ‘K’ names, I think it’s because the ‘K’ lends a certain brashness which ‘C’ names just don’t have. There are a whole host of ‘C’ names which I adore including many which have already been mentioned: Clare, Caroline, Camilla, Christobel, Charlotte, Cecilia, Cicily, Cordelia… The list is endless. But I am a Katharine and I was named after a Kathleen so I must stick up for poor old ‘K’. Catherine might be the more classical and demure choice but I am definitely suit being a ‘K’ person – embodying the more powerful, spirited style of the letter ‘K’!

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  3. I think ‘C’ will be the preferred spelling for those who find the ubiquitous ‘K’ names a bit gauche. Catherine just seems a bit classier at this point.

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  4. Ironically, I dislike K names very much. But C is classic and elegant where K is not. I hope C – names make a come back 🙂

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  5. A good portion of the names that I love begin with an A or with a C. Catherine is on that list (it is a family name on both sides, one with a C and one with a K– tho my generation of cousins was given the K version – Katharine, Kathryn, Katie). My concern is that if we do choose Catherine that people are going to automatically think of William & Catherine on the other side of the pond– and that also many other people are going to hear the name, grow to love it all over again, and then there will be multiple “Catherine”s in her class. Either way, i love the name and am very drawn to the C’s over the K’s!

    (Other C names for girls that i love include: Calista, Cambria, Camilla, Cambria, Carys, Cassia, Cecily, Charlotte, Chloe, Claire, Clara, Cora, Cordelia…..)

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  6. Three cheers for Catherine Middleton about to be married to Prince William. My daughter Catherine and I were delighted when “Kate” Middleton became engaged to “Will”. We prefer Catherine-with-a-C. At the time my daughter was born, Catherine was a top name in the UK. I also liked the French connection and of course, Catherine Earnshaw “Cathy” in “Wuthering Heights”. My daughter was called Cathy too, but later preferred Catherine. That appears to be the same for Catherine Middleton, who reportedly has always been called Catherine by her parents — but Kate at school — and will be known as Catherine, not Kate, as William’s wife.

    Katherine is a four generation name in our family: Katherine, her niece Katherine, her niece Katherine — who changed the spelling to Catherine, and then my daughter Catherine, whose second daughter is Catrina “Cate”.

    Regarding Kayla coming from Katherine, I think it developed from Michaela/Makayla/Kayla.

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  7. I adore c names like Caitlin, Catherine, Caroline and I even prefer Cate/Cait to Kate but for some reason I still love Kaden over Caden and Kade.over Cade. Which is the only ‘aiden’ style name I like.

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  8. I agree, C is definitely the letter to watch, although I think K still has a pretty strong hold. Funny, Kathleen & Katherine/Katharine are the only K names I like. But there’s a host of C names I like. On my list for *this* kid: Cecily, Clementine, Cosmo, Cassius & Clarence. And those are just the few I love enough to bestow on an actual child.

    Funny though, how Catherine doesn’t appeal to me. Could be because that was the name of my flaky, disappearing (cousin) godmother. Last time I saw her, I was 11 (I’m considerably older now). But Catherine just pales in comparison to Katherine for me. Literally. They’re both blue names but Catherine’s pale, watery blue while Katherine’s a vibrant tropical ocean blue. Weird, but true.

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  9. I much prefer the C-spelling of Catherine, and there are very few K names that appeal to me. K already had a stronghold in the 60s and 70s with all the Karens, Kimberleys, Keiths, Kyles and Kevins, followed by a load of Kirstens, Kristens, Kirstys, Kellys and Kristis, so I think of the Kaylees, Kylies and Kaydens as the second or third generation of Ks. I can see Catherine catching on, on the heels of Caroline, Chloe and Charlotte, as you suggest. But I think the kreatively-spelled K names will continue to flourish for a while yet, at least in the US and Canada.

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