Nicknames
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| Sun, 02-12-2006 - 12:52pm |
Hi everyone. I'm new. I'm TTC but have ALWAYS loved thinking of names. I pretty much have a boys name. I have a girls name as well, but I think the nickname I have picked out will make people scratch their heads.
I am thinking of the name Carol with the nickname of Cat.
Now let me explain. Carol is a very good friend of mine that if were not for her I would not be married to my husband. I have ALWAYS loved the name Cat but I think alone it is too informal. I want my daughter to have the option of having a more mature name if she'd like.
I keep thinking Cat doesn't really match with Carol but then again I start thinking of the following:
Dick from Richard
Betty from Elizabeth
Jack from John (I will never understand this one)
Jim from James (there is no I)
Bill from William (there is no B)
I could go on and on. So my point is, the only nicknames I have ever heard for Carol are Carrie. This boggles my mind because it is the same sylabals.
Am I making sense at all?
I wouldn't name her Carol and always call her Cat. It would be a combo. My husband's name is Kevin. Sometimes I call him Kev. My SIL name is Amy, sometimes I call her Aim.
I was just wondering if this makes any sense at all to you guys.
Thanks

I'm a pretty firm believer that nicknames can come from anywhere (the ones you mentioned, plus Elizabeth/Betsy, Margaret/Maisie, Peg, etc.). After all, we are naming our daughter Abigail and using the nn Aila (pronounced Ayla) from the end of the name, rather than Abby from the beginning. :) Plus, if anyone thought it was odd, you could mention that part of the reason for using the nn you love is to differentiate her from her namesake, who's a very good friend of yours. I think that would put a stop to any "head-scratching" concerning where it came from. KWIM? So, in short, I think it'd work just fine. ;)
~Kelli
Edited to add: This is really weird, but I just started watching the movie 10 Things I Hate about You and didn't even remember Julia Styles' name in the movie is, you guessed it, Cat (actually short for Catarina in the movie). Just thought that was a funny coincidence. ;)
Edited 2/12/2006 1:10 pm ET by mommyagain6124
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I just know way too many Catherines/Kathleens I used to like the name Katrina until the hurricane. :(
I also like the name Carol because it is not that popular. I don't come across many Carol's these days, young or old. I can only think of 2 that I know.
I would love to spell it Karroll, but I don't want my kid having to spell their name for the rest of their life. Our last name is bad enough. I have to spell it every single time. So Carol it is.
Then again, I'm not even pregnant yet (that I am aware of) and I have 9 months to change my mind. But since I have gotten serious about getting pregnant I have really stuck to the following names
Carol
Eliza
Joy
Evelin
Noelle
If I were to give birth today and it was a girl her name would be Carol Evelin. Evelin spelled that way because if you take letters from my name (Colleen) and DH's (Kevin) you can make Evelin. You can also make Noelle, but I think Carol Noelle sound too Christmasy.
For the longest time I was on an Eliza Joy kick, so who knows. One thing I do know is that Dh likes Carol Evelin also and said the NN Cat is fine.
I'm sure I'll be around to discuss other possibilities until the time actually comes. :)
Hi there, welcome to the board! My partner and I are not even TTC yet, but I'm already obsessed with names. It's never too early to start thinking about it!
As for Cat from Carol, I don't think that's a problem at all. As you said, there are tons of nns that don't really make a sense (at least in an obvious way) and as Kelli said, if anyone questions you, your explanation should satisfy them.
As for Carol itself, have you considered Caroline? My late grandmother, who I want very much to honor, was named Carol. I like Carol, but it seems rather dated to me, like a "mom" name or a "grandma" name. (Carol was in the top 10 every year from 1937-1950 and has fallen in popularity every year since then. It's now ranked 855.) To me, Caroline seems much more like a classic. (In the last 100 years, it has fluctuated from roughly 60 to 300 -- it's never been very popular, and it's never been unpopular.) So I've decided that (barring anything major happening to change my mind before then)
I would call a
Sure, makes sense to me! I like Libby as a nickname for Isabella, since Isabella is a form of Elizabeth and Libby is a nickname for Elizabeth. Plus, I've heard Ib and Ibby for nn for Isabella. But, no one else seems to get it. There is also Nelly for Eleanor even though there is no N in front of Eleanor! So, I say use Cat if you like!
Sunny