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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

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Original poster

How popular is Catherine/Katherine?

22 replies

kindling · 08/12/2011 10:42

DH and I both agree on Catherine nn Cat or Kit but we like that it is known but not THAT popular at the moment... I don't have the stats to hand on my phone but from memory Katherine is about 70 and Catherine much lower?

Obviously it's going to rise in use after the Kate Middleton connection but hopefully rocket not enough to become top 10/20?

What do you all think.
Also, how many of you know a baby Catherine?

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HillyMcGrew · 08/12/2011 11:43

If you want a rarer version, try Catharine (it's the Old English spelling).

scarlettlips · 08/12/2011 11:50

I LOVE the name Kit..for a boy or a girl. My DD is under 1 and i've not met any Catherine / Katherine's!

We live in Berkshire (if that helps)

AnotherMincepie · 08/12/2011 13:59

I don't think it will rocket in popularity. People think it will become popular so will avoid it, so it won't actually become over-popular!

azazello · 08/12/2011 14:04

DD is the only one in her year (4 this year) so not that popular (nn Kitty). Most of her girl friends are Isabel/la, Sophie or Eleanor.

bigbadbarry · 08/12/2011 14:06

It's a classic so there are always a few about, but not wildly popular - I can't imagine KM will make it any more so, either.

oranges123 · 08/12/2011 14:13

DD is the only one we know amongst friends or at nursery. She is 2 so I suppose is just too old for any KM-related popularity.

divingworldchampion · 08/12/2011 14:27

My DD1 is Katherine, she is 5 and there is just her and one other in the whole school. To me its a classic and I don't think KM will change its popularity much either. We're in the north east.

FriedSprout · 08/12/2011 14:34

I have a Katherine, 12 now. We used Katie as nn, but there are lots of Katies in her year and so she now prefers to use Katherine. There are no other Katherines that I am aware of. We are in the South

MissMollyCoddle · 08/12/2011 15:02

I have a Kathryn named after a family member, she is 18 months and I don't know any others.

I don't think that it is going to be a massive name. Think about Diana, she was massively popular and they married in 1981 (?), but I don't know any 30 year old Diana's.

serin · 08/12/2011 21:59

It is a lovely classic and under used name and lends itself to lots of nn's.

manicinsomniac · 08/12/2011 23:44

2010 Statistics:

Katherine - Rank 218 - 232 babies
Catherine - Rank 290 - 166 babies
Kathryn - Rank 458 - 90 babies

SO, not popular at all!

proudfoot · 09/12/2011 13:21

I love it (prefer Catherine spelling) and it actually isn't popular at all on children. You hardly ever meet or hear of one. They all tend to be in their 30s + I find. Doubt there would be loads in your DD's class even if Kate gets a little more popular due to Middleton.

donteatyourteawithnoknickerson · 09/12/2011 17:20

My DD2 is a Katherine (Katie) and is the only one in her year at school (Y1). All the other Katie's I know are just Katie - no Katherines.

We wanted to give her the option of other nn's when she's older.

lljkk · 09/12/2011 17:25

I know lots of young Caitlins.
DD has a close mate 10yo called Kathryn (nn=Kathy).
My cousin has a 22yo DD called Kathleen.
Don't know any others with similar names under 30!
Katrina, Katya, Catalina all good, too.
I am not a fan of Kitty, though, must admit. I know a dog called Kitty. Enough said.

Original poster

kindling · 10/12/2011 22:28

Thanks all. Very helpful (and reassuring) to hear views. Love Kit as the shortened version and would try for this as we know a few Kittys already.

OP posts:

nicobean · 12/12/2011 20:15

I have a Kathryn so I'm biased, love the name!

It is spelt wrongly all the time, but I knew it would be so I'm not uptight about it. There are so many alternative spellings it's inevitable.

Kit is cute, like that. I named my Kathryn after a girl I worked with in the US who was from the South and had very proper manners. She never shortened her name and somehow my Kathryn's always been a Kathryn, never shortened. Funny, but it suits her that way.

maandpa · 12/12/2011 21:08

Catriona is nice too. I love the name Katherine/Catherine. My name is Katharine which is an unusual way to spell it, which I also love.

hellhasnofury · 12/12/2011 21:11

Or Cathryn.

AnotherMincepie · 12/12/2011 21:14

If you treated them all as the same name though, it would be higher up the charts of course.

Katherine - Rank 218 - 232 babies
Catherine - Rank 290 - 166 babies
Kathryn - Rank 458 - 90 babies

flowers123 · 13/12/2011 13:34

My name is Kathryn & im in my 40's I love my name but it does get spelt incorrectly a lot x

smartyparts · 13/12/2011 13:39

I think they're both nice names, but I don't think Kate Middleton will cause them to soar in popularity. My mum is Catherine, known as Cath to all but my dad.

We don't have loads of 30 year old Dianas, do we? And she was much more popular than Kate.

IzzyWizzyletsgetbusy · 13/12/2011 13:45

I have a baby Catherine (9 days old!). I also know of one Kathryn, who must be about 8 now, but that's it. None at my dcs' primary school (200 pupils).

Fwiw, I did worry briefly about a surge in popularity due to Kate Middleton, but agree with the pp who compared it to Diana, she was hugely popular in the 80s but the name never made a comeback. I think if she and William have children then whatever names they use might become very popular though.

Go for it! It's a great name.

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