Alexandra or Catherine?

[anpol25]

Our baby girl is due in 2 week's time and we still do not have a name for her. We both like classic names, I would like to have Alexandra but my husband prefers Catherine...Any suggestions, opinions...? Thank you

Alexandra.

I like them both, but I think Catherine is more flexible for daily use (Kitty, Katy, Cath etc) whereas Alexandra diminutives are unisex, which I don't like as much.

Great dilemma to have though

Alexandrea is so much more unusual and special than Catherine I think (and I have Catherine in my name!) Can be shortened to Alex, Ali

Alexandra by a long way.

Both nice. I prefer the nickname possibilities for Catherine.

Alexandra is the odds on favourite if the royal baby is a girl, should you give a monkeys one way or the other. Then again, K Middy is obviously a Catherine, so that may get more popular too. Either is lovely regardless.

I love them both but I would be swayed off Catherine in case there are lots of princess Kate fans naming this year.

Alexandra is possibly the most beautiful girls name there is, Alex is cool, Lexi cute, perfect! Catherine is meh for me but the spelling katharine is lovely.

Catherine because I think the royal baby will be an Alexander/Alexandra. Not mad about either of those names. Both very formal. Although I like Margaret and Elizabeth

Alexandra of course! Very classy and feminine. Catherine is also nice, but very common (I have 4 friends named Catherine)

Both lovely, in either order as first or second names.

Catherine much nicer, I think.

Alexandra

Alexandra. But I am biased, as DD is Alexandria. Catherine was on our shortlist as well. Both lovely names. With two names that good I'd be tempted to wait until your DD arrives and see if she looks like an Alexandra/Alex/Lexi or Catherine/Katy/Kitty.

Alexandra by a mile.

Catherine. Too many sylables in the other and not many babies nowdays are called Catherine, although lots of women of a certain age (like me) are called Catherine (like me ).
I like my name, it's nice, classic and not too flowery. If you have to give the baby a double barrelled monster of a surname, Alexandra would make it quite a mouthful.

I prefer the nicknames for Catherine (but also prefer it spelt Katharine)

I prefer Catherine.

Shout them both across a playground and see who responds. With Alexandra ('Alex') boys and girls will turn heads. Only girls should respond with Catherine (however shortened). Remember also that Alexandra is a feminisation of Alexander, as in 'Alexander the Great'. Plus it will invariably be shortened to 'Alex', and be a name in which the gender of the possessor can only be guessed at.

Catherine

Alexandra, definitely. I'm one and I love my name. It can be considered relatively "posh" when I feel the need and yet I feel that the downside that Galdos mentions: "Plus it will invariably be shortened to 'Alex', and be a name in which the gender of the possessor can only be guessed at." is a real advantage. Maybe it's just because I chose a traditionally male dominated career (engineering) but I love the fact that my name is totally unisex and a lot of initial contact is via email, so recipients of my opinions take them entirely at their face value, rather than being gender-biased and dismissing me before I've had a chance to make an impression. Obviously shouldn't even be an issue, but in reality, it still is...

Catherine, but I like them both.

Alexandra - only one way to spell it.

Catherine - too many ways to spell it (Katherine, Katharine, Kathryn, Catharine etc).