Caitlin/Katy/Kitty

[Palmtreesandoceanbreeze]

I have a son called Noah. I'm expecting a girl in a few months time. I posted a few times and then came off here because I got frustrated with myself that I didn't 'love' any girls names.
I've recently heard the name Katy. The person was really lovely and it definitely made the name stand out. That got me thinking back to Caitlin (Kate-Lyn) also.
So please tell me what your thoughts are on Caitlin, Katy and Kitty?
Which would sound nicest with Noah?

Thank you x

PS These would be full names. I dislike all longer versions and don't like the whole formal name/nickname thing.

There are so many Caitlin/Kaitlin/Kaitlyn's around where I live. My eldest daughter has 5 friends called Caitlin!

I love Katy but not so keen on Kitty.

I like Katy. If spelled with a y I would expect it to be a stand alone name and I really like it.

If it is spelled with an ie I think of it as an nn for a longer name.

Of the three - Caitlin. It's slightly 80's/90's sounding to me, but less so than Katy (which sounds identical to Katie and I've met so many around my age).

Kitty is gorgeous and well used historically, but I'm a bit nervous of it as a given name (rather than a nickname) as it can have a cutesy vibe - Caitlin can at least decide whether she prefers her full name or choose Katy/Kitty as a nn.

@FolkSongSweet

I like Katy and Kitty but I’d use those or else Catherine over Caitlin. It drives me mad seeing people pronounce this as “Kate-Lyn” - it’s an Irish name that should be pronounced catchleen/kotchleen. I know that the mistake has become so popular it’s become a name in its own right, but it just grates on me so much and I wouldn’t want to call my child something derived from an error.

Exactly this. I know the battle has been lost, but I really really don't like Caitlin as Kate Lynne.

I love Kitty. Katy is quite nice but I prefer Kate.

Thank you everyone! I've been through the posts and genuinely really surprised, they all about tied! The view is split equally between Caitlin, Katy and Kitty 🙈 So I'm not closer to deciding. I'm on the fence with Kitty, so I'm on the verge of discounting that. So between Caitlin and Katy.
I love the idea of Katy being a nickname for Caitlin. Would the spelling Katelyn be better for that?

By the way, I've heard Irish Caitlin's pronounced kate-lyn, and they've never heard of the other pronunciation.

I really like all three names, and I don’t see why kitty would be a problem for an older woman, although I must admit that a younger girl springs to mind when I think of the name. People will try and shorten anything, could end up with ‘kit’ sometimes.

I really love the name Katy/Katie. It was on my list for ds. I think it’s pretty and also elegant due to the soft sound. I also think it’s quite timeless and An established enough name not to have to use Catherine.
I think it was popular In the 90s, but not so much now and it would give your little one a slightly different name, would likely be the only in their class, without being ‘out there’.

It has the same appeal as names like racheal/Emma which were popular 90s, and would probably be more unusual now.

Caitlin is probably the least favourite of the three. But it is still nice.
I probably wouldn’t use it with Katy as a nn I think that would be confusing.

What’s your point there OP re the Irish pronunciation? That it’s not real just because you happen to know some ignorant people?!

The kate-Lyn pronunciation is definitely now established, but it was originally a mistake. That’s just a fact.

@Palmtreesandoceanbreeze

Thank you everyone! I've been through the posts and genuinely really surprised, they all about tied! The view is split equally between Caitlin, Katy and Kitty 🙈 So I'm not closer to deciding. I'm on the fence with Kitty, so I'm on the verge of discounting that. So between Caitlin and Katy. I love the idea of Katy being a nickname for Caitlin. Would the spelling Katelyn be better for that?

By the way, I've heard Irish Caitlin's pronounced kate-lyn, and they've never heard of the other pronunciation.

Tbh, you would do better to do Kate-Lyn and I say that as someone who really dislikes hyphenated names.

My youngest dd age 14 is Katie. She's not boring by any means and we don't know any other katies.

Maybe Katelyn then?

I love Catherine tbh!

I quite like Katie and prefer that spelling, also like Kate. I find kitty very twee and cutesy. Caitlin sounds quite American soap opera to me. I really like the Welsh Catrin, and also Katrina / Catriona.

I really love Caitlin. It’s a classic yet not overly popular. You could use it and if you then feel like she’s more of a Katy you could use that. My friend is called Caitlin but is called Katy more often

Kitty is fine for a child, not so much an adult.
I'd go for Caitlin and consider Katie/Kitty as nicknames.

I'm not keen on the Katelyn spelling personally. For me it's like Catherine vs Kathryn - while both might be used, one is the more well known spelling (and Caitlin will usually still get the "Kate -lynn" pronunciation outside of Ireland anyway imo).

Kate is used more often than Cate as a nn for Catherine, so I don't see why both Katy and Kitty can't be used as nn's for Caitlin.

How about Kate, NN Katy? This gives more options if she finds Katy a bit "cute" as she gets older?

I really like all 3, favourite is Kitty (though if DD talks about Kitty in her class our cat arrives and goes meow) then Caitlin then Katy.

Caitlin is lovely.

I was going to post what Folksongsweet has posted. For this reason I'd veto any variant of Caitlin. It makes me feel the parents are uneducated, sorry. Katy/Katie is too nicknamey for me as is Kitty. Catherine is much nicer and more classic. If you really don't like Catherine then Kate is better than Katy. Out of the 3 choices you gave I'd have to go with Kitty.

I prefer carys to caitlin

I like Katy/Katy best.

If you use Katherine as full name this could have nicknames of Katy or Kitty.

As a Catherine who was known as Katie as a child and is now Kate, my advice would be to stick to the same first initial for any diminutives you decide to use. I'm forever having to correct people who know me as Kate and then spell 'K'atherine.

You could use Caitlyn, then Cate or Catie, both of which I've seen before.

Love Kitty!

My names Katie although I much prefer Kate and also really don't like it spelled with a Y. I've always really liked my name. There's a few of us about but it's never bothered me. I'm not a fan of Kitty and I'd spell Katelyn like this