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 🤪

Love both Catriona and Nina!

I really like Catriona. And I'm not in UK but still know how to spell and pronounce it. Nina makes a great nn for it.

I know a Catriona and she's lively so it's a yes from me.

I know two Catriona/Katrina's (in my 30s). Both wonderful women. Both are called Cat/Kat by friends and the latter sometimes Kit. Lovely name

@Tavannach

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.

I'm Irish and that's how it's pronounced here too (although as others have said, in Irish it needs to be spelled Caitríona).

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

But to many Catriona pronounced without the O is crazy . The obvious pronunciation for many is as it's written; Cat ri ona. Like Fiona.

Catrina/Katrina I would pronounce Catrina.

But Catriona? I'd assume Cat ree ONA.

Went to uni with a Catriona.
A lot of people including tutors called her catreeownuh until she corrected them.

You could just use the name Nina?

She also told me she was used to that mistake and knew of another Catriona who dealt with the same.

I know a few being from north of Scotland. All pronounced a bit like Katrina, but with a subtle -o- in there, it's really difficullt to describe!

I then went to Uni (still in Scotland) and met a German girl who pronouces it Cat-Ree-Own-A. Which completely me threw me. I now have to pause and think before speaking to anyone with that name as I have to think about what pronouciation that they prefer!

@Grufallosfriends

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

But to many Catriona pronounced without the O is crazy . The obvious pronunciation for many is as it's written; Cat ri ona. Like Fiona.

Only if you are trying to apply English phonetics to a name from another language. Catriona/Caitriona comes from Scots Gaelic/Irish so surely you would expect it to be different in the same way you would expect Andre, for example, to follow different rules as it's French.

I don't think foreign names pronounced following their own language's rules are "crazy". I just think they are different, and if I'm not familiar with the pronunciation, that I should ask.

I guess at the very least I wish more people would check how to say it, as pp said. I don't like having to be "that" person who corrects people, and it's awkward sometimes trying to find the right moment to interject to let someone know that they're actually saying my name completely wrong... and then they tell me, "oh I really like it pronounced 'catreeowna'!" , and I have to say ... Well I don't like that, it's not my name...

I've even had people assume I've made a typo of my own name because I pronounced it differently than what they expected when they read a document, e.g. in the bank.

Anyway, back to the OP - despite the whole confusion with the pronunciation, I've had a lot of compliments on my name and the spelling of it. If you love it, go for it. I think it may be less of an issue living abroad.

@Katerinakaterinaki - and then they tell me, "oh I really like it pronounced 'catreeowna'!" , and I have to say ... Well I don't like that, it's not my name...

God yeah. That's really irritating. I once had an English colleague who mispronounced my name repeatedly and when I politely corrected her, she informed me should would continue to call me something that bore no resemblance to my actual name as she preferred it. Absolutely shocking arrogance.

@Katerinakaterinaki I think in the end my colleague must have just given up correcting people, literally everyone called her catri-own-a. As you say though maybe where I am it'll be less of an issue, Katerina is a common name here...