Caitlin, kaitlyn or katelyn?

[Sophcas7]

Im due soon and still struggling on picking a girls name, I think the spelling Caitlin looks very classic and timeless but DH likes the Katelyn or Kaitlyn spelling. I'm also concerned if it would sound too dated these days no matter the spelling? I personally think the original spelling will stand the test of time but not keen on the spellings he likes, they seem very American.
Thoughts?

But it isn't.

I have a Caitlyn, never even crossed my mind to spell it Caitlin. she’s 17 and it’s never been shortened or used as part of her nickname.

It’s a beautiful name no matter how you spell it x

PPs: Caitlin is a traditional Irish name and you can only use it if you pronounce it the traditional Irish way!

Also PPs: Caitlin is from the French name Cateline…

So on one hand, it’s OK for the Irish to take a traditional French name and adapt it. But on the other hand, it’s not OK for others to adapt an Irish name. Right. Got it.

Does that work the other way around? I’m assuming that all the Irish PPs talk of Paree rather than Par-is when discussing the French capital city, otherwise it seems slightly hypocritical to complain of English people pronouncing Caitlin as Kate-Lyn.

I have never heard of a Caitlin who is called Kate.

I didn't know it had a different Irish pronunciation.

@RockaLock
Cateline (Old French) and Caitlín (said the Irish way) sound very similar though, don’t they? Caitilín, which is an older Irish spelling, around since at least the 15th century, sounds even closer.
Basically it’s Cateline spelt phonetically in the Irish language. The pronunciation hasn’t changed, parents just wanted people to know how to say it!

There may have been complaints about the spelling at the time, who knows 😉

https://forvo.com/word/caitl%C3%ADn/

This is the traditional pronunciation.

Caitlyn is the nicest.

It's not, and given that OP was due soon last May, it's not going to be a welcome suggestion.

Caitlin.

Or Cate or Kate.
Or Catherine or Katherine
Or Catriona or Katrina

If you are landing your daughter with a name with multiple spellings, dont be one of those parents that get precious over the spelling.

It will ALWAYS be spelt wrong by more people than not.

My name is not Karen, but similar to it. Ive even had banks who have my application and even looked at my passport, still open an account as Karen! Over 55 years and i now phonetically spell it. But i still get errors and have learned to live with it. Its my problem having been given a very rare name.

This is a zombie thread.

Caitlin.100%. The others seem a bit Kardashian to me, sorry.

Yes... baby will be about 6 months old now 👶

Caitlyn is a nice spelling too. You’re right it takes away the, ‘Should it be pronounced “Catlin”?’
Haha - just read the above!!

I used to like Caitlin until I realised this. Then I thought it was a pity, because I preferred the sound of Katelyn. Kathleen to me was a granny name.

But Kathleen has grown on me - i think if I was naming a baby now (in England) I'd go Kathleen rather than Caitlin if I was worried about it dating - think it'll come back sooner or later.

Catelin or Catelyn at a push. Not a K!!

Caitlin is beautiful. Any other spelling and the poor girl has a lifetime ahead of her correcting people

Exactly. It's an Irish-American mispronunciation of the name Cáitlín (with fadas or the a and the second i, pronounced Koyt-LEEN or Koytch-LEEN depending on where in Ireland you're from) that has filtered back to the UK and Ireland.

So it's certainly not 'classic' anything. It's a comparatively diasporic misunderstanding of Irish orthography.

I mean, it's like someone seeing the name Guy in another country, saying 'Gooey? What a lovely name!', and starting a trend in that country for baby boys being called Guy-pronounced-'Gooey' which gradually filters back to the UK and France.

My American daughter in law is called Kaitlynn and I think it’s pretty. I am sad that there seems to be a bit of snobbery on here re this K version! Different spellings simply reflect national and cultural diversity. One English version of the name is Kathleen but all variations are versions of Catherine which is the traditional English form.

Caitlin, that's how it's actually spelt

Caitlin.

It’s an Irish name and that is how it’s spelled. if you know how it’s spelled, anyway.