Thursday, December 15, 2011

Usual Name, Unexpected Nickname--Katherine

There are about as many different ways to form nicknames as there are cultures. While many nicknames for our most enduring classics seem out of date or boring, an imported diminutive can be fresh & fun.
The first name I'm tackling in this new series is Katherine. Kate & Katie are just as popular as ever, Kathy is so 30 years ago, Kitty is somewhere between cobwebs and vintage-cute, while Kat is indie-cool.
That's about it for the usual English nicknames, I think, so how about....

  • Cadi (KAH-dee)--Welsh
  • Caja/Kaia/Kaia (KYE-ah)--Scandinavian
  • Cato (kah-TOH)--Dutch
  • Kadri (KAH-dree)--Estonian
  • Kai (KYE)--Scandinavian
  • Kaisa (KYE-sah)--Finnish, Estonian
  • Kari (KAHR-ee)--Norwegian
  • Kasia (KAH-shah)--Polish
  • Kata (KAH-tah)--Croatian, Finnish, Hungarian
  • Katenka (kah-TEN-kah)--Russian
  • Käthe (KET-eh)--German
  • Katia/Katja/Katya (KAHT-yah)--Dutch, German, Russian, Scandinavian
  • Kay (KAY)--English
  • Nienke (NEEN-keh)--Frisian
  • Nine (NEE-nah)--Frisian
  • Rina (REE-nah)--Dutch, Italian
  • Trine (TREE-neh)--Danish

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