Catriona?

[badg3r]

Thoughts on this? If shortened would probably go with Nina...

I know I know it's not the done thing to discuss shortenings on MN but it happens anyway in my family and they tend to stick, so I may as well pre-empt it 🤪

As a Scot it is a perfectly normal name but it is going to get mangled out of Scotland I suspect judging by the replies here.

@Grufallosfriends @NellyJames read @florascotia2's post above yours. She describes the pronunciation better than I did.

@Grufallosfriends

you sort of glide over the 'o' sound, it's there but very subtle.

Newsflash @Grufallosfriends : Words in other languages are pronounced differently to english. Amazing you find that so confusing.

@DramaAlpaca I know how to pronounce it.

@WildfirePonie

I don't know, sounds a bit like.. Corona

How do you pronounce it?

If you don't know how to pronounce it, why on earth would you state it sounds like Corona?

@OchonAgusOchonO
Because i'm thinking it's pronounced Cat-ree-Ona, as another pp mentioned. But that is incorrect? My DP says it sounds like Cat Tree Owner

@WildfirePonie - My DP says it sounds like Cat Tree Owner

Given it doesn't end with an r, that's quite a stretch.

The Irish pronunciation is Ka-trina with a slight o between the i and n. It's also spelt differently though. It's Caitríona in Irish.

Main diminutives here are Triona or Riona, both again with the slight o sound.

@lakesidefall - just wondering is that the traditional Scottish spelling too? In Irish, you can't have a broad vowel (a, o, u) and a slender vowel (i, e) on either side of a consonant so it's Caitríona rather than Catriona. I'm curious as to whether the same rule applies to Scots Gaelic?

Lots of names here have anglicised spellings and I assume it's the same with Scottish names?

I thought the o was only there to make the n broad, and the t needs an i in front to make it slender (Sorry non-Gaelic speakers. Broad and slender consonants is a thing in Gaelic). Catríona hurts my inner pedant. I'd feel calmer with either Caitríona or Katrina but your kid your spelling. Whichever way I LOVE Nina as a nn.

It is the traditional Scots spelling but not I think the traditional Gaelic spelling which would be "Catrìona" I understand.
Most Scots aren't Gaelic speakers and the dc I know with the name certainly aren't so they have followed the Scots spelling.

Katherine might be easier OP although less distinctive, personally I prefer Catriona.

I went to school with a Catriona - cat-tree-oh-na. She spent forever correcting people who used to say Katrina. I've never heard of that being the correct pronunciation!

@SeanCailleach thanks for the explanation! Can I ask, have you heard Nina as a nickname?

I am a bit surprised by how many people don't know how to say it, didn't realise it was so misrepresented outside of Scotland but I guess since it's not a super common name it's unlikely that people will know many.

Beautiful name.

I knew lots growing up (in Scotland). They always pronounced it either Katrina or Ka Trio Na (but never Ka Tri Owner, they were all very clear about that).

Flora? Seriously? Catriona is Gaelic. Nina is not.

It’s bizarre, not racist. Have a word with yourself.

My name is gaelic, as are those of my children.

So I wouldn’t pick a “cutesy” nickname which was full Arabic name for example.

Nine is nothing to do with Cat-ree-uh-nuh - OP is just hedging her bets.

Lovely name.

As mentioned by another poster, Nina of Nina and the neurons is Katrina.

So I can't see any reason why Catriona couldn't be shortened to Nina.

@SeanCailleach - I thought the o was only there to make the n broad, and the t needs an i in front to make it slender

It is but in my accent, there is a slight o in the pronunciation. It's kind of a broadening of the n combined with the o. Hard to describe really. I don't think it would really be noticeable to a foreigner.

FWIW, I never heard of Nina as a shortening for Catriona. But I suppose it could be. Especially if you go for the Katrina pronunciation. I find it a bit strange, because to me Nina and Catriona are both complete and very different names. But both are lovely!

My Sis is a Catriona, and known as Nina, often over dramatised as Nee Na Nee Na like a emergency siren......

She doesn’t recognise her name pronounced incorrectly so has missed a few appointments despite being in the waiting room 🤦‍♀️

I know a Catriona but it's pronounced Cat-RO-na. I don't like that pronunciation but the others are lovely.

It's my name!
I've grown to like it, but it took me until my mid 20s and then living in another country for me to really like my name.

Scottish and Irish people know how to spell and pronounce it, and that's almost it.

I've spent my life correcting people on either the spelling and/or the pronunciation, and absolutely despise being called ca-tree-own-a ... but it's how 99% of people say it, despite me thinking it seems like a crazy pronunciation - where has anyone ever heard that?

As some people have suggested, I've referred to myself as Cat since I was in my teens. Never had Nina suggested as a nickname, I worked with another Catriona once who called herself Cassie...

Personally do not like Trina and Riona as nicknames, I think they sound awful.

Now I live abroad and it's a bit easier as the name Katerina is very common here so I feel a bit more at ease and just spell it out when needed.

Never heard it shortened to Nina, only Cat, Trina or Treen. A nice name that you don't hear that often.

@Katerinakaterinaki oh no, the spelling corrections is what I had feared! I am constantly correcting people on my surname and it really annoys me sometimes! But it is a really cool name.

It's a Scottish Gaelic name with a 3-and-a-half syllable name.
So not Kat-ree-na
And not Kat-ree-oh-na
It's Kat-ree-(uh)-na with the (uh) being given the half syllable value.

Lovely name.