Shortening Names...

[GrownUpSparkler]

AIBU to think that Catherine is Cate or Cat shortened, and not Kate... where's the blooming K come from?

I'm a Kathryn and my name is Katy or Kat shortened, and I would be Kate if I chose to be, but not Cate or Care.

And another thing... I have a Y in my name so it's K...A...T...Y, so where does everyone who spells my name Katie get the letters from?

Am I just bitter after years of having my name wrong on everything?

Okay I know my debate is flimsy give the Cathy/Kathy thing... but really, why so many spellings of one name? Catherine, Katherine, Kathryn... do I have like the eighties version of the change a letter to make the name personalised?

Yeah, things are slow here tonight... anyway...

I totally agree OP.
My daughter is a Katherine. Whilst I prefer the spelling Catherine, I agree that Catherine should shorten to Cate (which I don't like the spelling of) and so on. I also think it is confusing for initials to have the full name initial C, and the shortened name initial C.

So for that reason alone, we went with Katherine instead.

Cheerful Yank, I am a Megan too and get called all sorts.

But I find it weird when people I've only just met abbreviate my name. I kind of feel that the right needs to be earned, but appreciate that's perhaps a bit precious.

YABU
All kinds of names that are diminutives of others have feck all to do with spelling - Henry/Harry, Marguerite/Daisy for eg. Katherine is one of those names that just has lots of variants of spelling and diminutive. There is no definitive spelling and no definitive shortening! As a Katherine, I got over that many years ago.

Slightly OT - I'm a Catherine but people from the west of Scotland often call me CathREEN - drives me spare. Even family! Even if that's the norm in that area you'd think they could hear me call myself CathRIN.

I much prefer, and always do, celebrate people's full names when addressing them.
I think this is very rude unless they have been introduced by their full name. I am always known by a shortened form and wouldn't expect anyone to use my proper one.
It is really up to the person themselves. Certainly not their parents.

My name is two names put together, no one calls me the full version except my parents and I always introduce myself with the shortened version. I hate when I introduce myself as A whoever I'm speaking to decides to call me A. I'd actually change it by deed poll if it wasn't for the fact that my parents would be really upset by it (don't know why, I'm keeping one half!)

My DS's name get shortened and some nicknames he has his name is lengthened!

exoticfruit - absolutely not. It is entirely up to me to determine how other people are addressed. If they don't like it they just have to get over it. If I like someone's full name, I will use it. Repeatedly. To their faces. And write it down as well. In front of them. May be rude, bit I have the right to do this.

but I have the right to do this. Obv. But it was worth pointing out.

YABU

Pan & co - surely the polite thing to do is to refer to someone by the name they have introduced themselves as?

If they say "Hello I am Fred" would you say "Nice to meet you Frederick"? What if it was actually Alfred? Or what if their birth certificate said just "Fred"?

Similarly, if someone says "I'm Catherine" you shouldn't really call them Cath or Cathy or Kate or Katie until they encourage you to do so (either overtly or by referring to themselves as their preferred shortening).

fwiw see 23:34. Sometimes odd round here that people only like to read that which they like to be offended by, rather than anything else? ( not you Trills).

Marguerite means Daisy, that would explain that nn. I am more baffled by all the Freds I've met who aren't actually called Frederick.

I am a Jennie (on BC, passport etc), have always been Jennie but quite often get it lengthened to Jennifer I remember meeting someone, told him my name, and he then introduced me to the rest of the group as Jennifer

I also get Jenny a lot, incl in replies to emails where I've just signed off as Jennie, but no longer care.

Cat Deeley was Katie at school. That all changed when MTV got their hands on her after upper Sixth

I didn't quite understand how you got into an argument over saying "I would call them by their full names, unless they asked me not to" and then moved onto "I can call people whatever I like" so I thought I'd just spell out what I thought was the sensible logical thing to do if you are not intending on pissing people off.

Is it about the difference between what you can do and what you do do?

oh ffs. Sorry Trills. I do give up. I am afraid I am not cut out to be a professional MNer.

I said I much prefer and do call people by their full names. This was challenged. I agreed and indicated that people have a perogative over what they are called. EF calls my conduct rude. I get humourfully over-entitled. You call it pissing people off.

over and def. out.

Yabu. The whole point of short names is that they are an abbreviation, not a name in their own right. If someone has strong feelings about a particular short form then they can use that as the actual name.

Kate has been the accepted short form for Catherine for years. We have 9 generations of Catherines in one branch of my family (possibly more) and we know from documents that at least my great grandmother and her mother were known as Kate back in the 1800s.

No need for the FFS, I think you just said what I said (sort of).

It seems an extraordinary attitude Pan, if I tell you my shortened name you would probably assume my proper name was something different and get it completely wrong! An easy mistake to make if I haven't told you it. And yes-I get very offended over names-it is my name and I get to choose which form.

This baffled me recently when my DD was repeatedly called Feebs by someone who has never heard us refer to her as that, and whose own DD is always known as Elizabeth-surely the name with the most diminutives ever & yet none are used, yet after 5 minutes she decided my DDs much shorter name must be shortened further into a nn that we don't use! If we do shorten it is to Bee.

The person who owns the name gets the choice. We called DS a short name and all his friends use his surname (he likes it) so you can't win.

I am Charlotte, shortened to Charlie - so explain that one

you're right exotic. I give in. My attitude is indeed extra-ordinary. But I'm that kinda guy. Just extra-ordinary.

Grinchywoo - dd has a name which people usually say "oh Charlotte". Er, no. Just..[insert dd name]."