I was THIs close to Kate. it's the perfect name for petite lesbian with big boobs. Instead I'm a Kristi, the perfect name for a leggy blonde cheerleader. WTF Mom. It's like she didn't even want me to learn to read. (Which Idid. By myself. Before i started school.)
My future daughter (because I WILL have one) will be Katherine Mary Margaret, and she will be a Kate. Not a Katie, not a Katherine (though they are both beautiful names), but Kate. I love that name :) #namegame
I'm Kate and I like the no nonsense sound of the name. I'm named after my paternal grandma (if you ask my dad) and Katharine Hepburn (if you ask my mom).
I think it is way, way, way more popular than people think it is. Most girls are named Catherine/Katherine/Katharine/Kathryn and called Kate (as I am).
Kate seems most common among the 1976-1985 cohort. I'm in the range and Kate/Katie was by far the most common name in my high school. Women born earlier tend to be Kathy, women born later tend to be Caitlin (which drives me batty since the pronunciation shouldn't be Kate-lyn).
Honestly, I wouldn't recommend it is a baby name, even though I love my name. Its special to me because it is my grandma's name and it is what I've always been called, but it was super annoying being one of several until I hit adulthood and it still happens, I've gone by my full name at jobs just to avoid confusion).
@scandalouskiki: It might be somewhat regional- I've noticed its a bigger name in the Northeast than the Moutain West and bigger in the US than the UK/Ireland. It can also be age, as I said upthread it tends to be women in their 30s to 20s more than older or younger women (I think a lot of 20 year old Caitlins might be Cate in a few years). But it is damn common. #namegame
I was so almost a Kate! But when I was born, my Mum read an article that said it was a really popular name, so she changed her mind. Since then she's met approximately three Kates, and regularly laments not calling me that. That said, I like my name better, even if she doesn't. ;p #namegame
My favorite fake name ever! I have been "given" new names with several new gigs. This was the only one I liked - except for the fact that people kept calling me Katie. When something ISN'T your name, a diminution is a drag.
@sybann: My grandfather used to try and call me Katie when I was little, and I used to get so mad and explain that I was "just Kate." I then got angrier when he would then call me "Just Kate." #namegame
im katharine (after ms. hepburn) who has been katie, katia, kitty and kate. having a base name with so many nicknames option has proved really fun because i changed what i went by whenever i moved, but now that im older and settled on the kate that my mother intended for me at birth, its somewhat disorienting when i get friends from college together with friends from high school with friends from now. i'll basically answer to anything that start with a k but kathy.
and reading that description of kate felt much like reading profiles of my astrological sign (scorpio). im like "OH YEAH THATS TOTALLY ME" but its not really, its just what i wish i was. #namegame
@KATE!: Yup, I'm a Katharine too and have so many variations that it gets a little confusing - Kate, Kitt, Kat, Kaki, Kaks, etc. But my family has always called me Kate and I end up answering to anything but Katie or Kathy! #namegame
@psychoticrayofsunshine: oh! i wanted to go by Kit when I went through a "a league of their own" obsession stage and was going to phase into that from Kitty, but totally forgot....damn, i had planned on sticking with Kate for the rest of my professional life. oh well, maybe i'll just have to be Grandma Kit someday....
and im the same way about katie and kathy. my parents called me katie when i was very little, but i told them on my first day of kindergarten that i was too grown up to go by a baby name anymore. and i still feel that way. and kathy is just...well....that damn comic strip. #namegame
@KATE!: Hahahaha! I love the Katie story, mostly because that's what I told people when they tried to call me Katie.
Yeah, the Kitt was short-lived. My mom actually had a little thing made up for my nursery with Kitt on it, but it never really caught on. When I was about 6 I found the little artwork and decided I needed to be called Kitt. But by then everyone was calling me Kate or Kaki, so it never really took off. I still love the name, though. #namegame
It has always sucked to have a boyfriend whose last girlfriend was a Kate or even "Katie"- she's inevitably hard to live up to..
On this topic, I have a friend named Catherine with a "C", but whose nickname is Kitta with a K. So complex. #namegame
This is kind of awesome. I'm technically a Katie, named after Kat Hepburn, but it describes me pretty much to a T - I don't understand why people just don't suck it up and deal with their lives and get shit done. #namegame
I plan on naming my imaginary-for-right-now future daughter Kate. But after Katherine Hepburn, who is truly the iconic Kate to end all Kates. #namegame
@hfree: hey, you and my mom should hang out. i was named after katharine hepburn and have been called kate forever (except for when i rebelled in highschool/college and went by kitty). i think shes a badass person to be named after.
the only problem is that if you do the traditional hepburn spelling, you'll never be able to find dumb souveneirs with the correct spelling. i had so many key chains and magnets with "katherine" "kathryn" and "catherine" on them as a kid. #namegame
@KATE!: It's true. I'm also a KathArine and could never find things with my name on them. When I was five, this was a tragedy. It's been fine ever since. All the best things are custom engraved anyway. ;)
I never knew Ms Hepburn had this many namesakes. I've never met another in the flesh and I'm delighted to see you all come out of the woodwork. *waves* #namegame
This is awesome because my mom's name is Kate and today is her birthday! She would definitely live up to your expectations, Anna--she's a wonderful, loving, badass financier New York broad who tells a great story and makes grown men quake in their expensive shoes. (And yes, she travels for work so much that there are little handmade pots on the mantle to separate out the various currencies. Not handmade by her; she doesn't have time for that crap.)
As for the dark side you mention, it's definitely there--she gets kinda pissed off at moms who aren't as driven and/or successful at work as she is, or when they don't stand up for themselves the way she does. But she does not exactly act upper crusty--English and Yiddish swear words are basically her favorite. She's not even a Jew--she just knew she should've been, so she married one. (Actually, to her parents, being Jewish was kind of upper crusty. So, there ya go.)
And yes, I go to her for advice on almost anything. As do many of my friends.
Love you mom! Happy 62nd. You would look great even without that slight facelift you're so proud to have bought yourself. #namegame
Yes, I think there is definitely a difference between Kates and Katies. I always think of a Katie as wishy washy, whereas Kates know what they want and are very no nonsense. It's not really a name I have a visceral reaction to, mostly because I've never been best friends nor worst enemies with one. #namegame
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I think it is way, way, way more popular than people think it is. Most girls are named Catherine/Katherine/Katharine/Kathryn and called Kate (as I am).
Right now:
45 Katherine
53 Kaitlyn
80 Katelyn
128 Katie
139 Kate
149 Catherine
190 Kathryn
235 Caitlin
295 Katelynn
471 Kaitlin
900 Katharine
Kate seems most common among the 1976-1985 cohort. I'm in the range and Kate/Katie was by far the most common name in my high school. Women born earlier tend to be Kathy, women born later tend to be Caitlin (which drives me batty since the pronunciation shouldn't be Kate-lyn).
Honestly, I wouldn't recommend it is a baby name, even though I love my name. Its special to me because it is my grandma's name and it is what I've always been called, but it was super annoying being one of several until I hit adulthood and it still happens, I've gone by my full name at jobs just to avoid confusion).
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Now I get to use my own! #namegame
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and reading that description of kate felt much like reading profiles of my astrological sign (scorpio). im like "OH YEAH THATS TOTALLY ME" but its not really, its just what i wish i was. #namegame
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and im the same way about katie and kathy. my parents called me katie when i was very little, but i told them on my first day of kindergarten that i was too grown up to go by a baby name anymore. and i still feel that way. and kathy is just...well....that damn comic strip. #namegame
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Yeah, the Kitt was short-lived. My mom actually had a little thing made up for my nursery with Kitt on it, but it never really caught on. When I was about 6 I found the little artwork and decided I needed to be called Kitt. But by then everyone was calling me Kate or Kaki, so it never really took off. I still love the name, though. #namegame
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On this topic, I have a friend named Catherine with a "C", but whose nickname is Kitta with a K. So complex. #namegame
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*This is an important issue to me. #namegame
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the only problem is that if you do the traditional hepburn spelling, you'll never be able to find dumb souveneirs with the correct spelling. i had so many key chains and magnets with "katherine" "kathryn" and "catherine" on them as a kid. #namegame
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I never knew Ms Hepburn had this many namesakes. I've never met another in the flesh and I'm delighted to see you all come out of the woodwork. *waves* #namegame
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As for the dark side you mention, it's definitely there--she gets kinda pissed off at moms who aren't as driven and/or successful at work as she is, or when they don't stand up for themselves the way she does. But she does not exactly act upper crusty--English and Yiddish swear words are basically her favorite. She's not even a Jew--she just knew she should've been, so she married one. (Actually, to her parents, being Jewish was kind of upper crusty. So, there ya go.)
And yes, I go to her for advice on almost anything. As do many of my friends.
Love you mom! Happy 62nd. You would look great even without that slight facelift you're so proud to have bought yourself. #namegame
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