I was one of "those" kids ... the kids who never found her name on a mug, on a keychain or on a sticker.
The story of my name - Catrin - goes like this. My sisters' names start with A and B which was coincidence, but with the third girl arriving a name with C sounded practically obligatory. My mother said she didn't want one of the usual names with C that were popular at the time, though.
A natural assumption would her having been influenced by Caterina Valente who was quite the star in Germany and was sometimes also called Catrin or Kathrin, the second being one of the common spellings back (the other was Katrin), but she said she wasn't. Maybe it was subconscious.
Anyhow, I always liked my name. Of all the Catrins I have met over the years, I was the oldest and it always felt a bit special although that of course doesn't mean I was the first one.
Yeah, so I had to correct people all the time and spell my name all the time (no problem, there are also different ways to spell my last name, so I had to do that, anyway). I really didn't mind.
All the forms of the name with C or K, with h or without, come from Katharina which is said to mean "The Pure" from the Ancient Greek "katharos" = "pure". Now I've seen pages saying the Romans misinterpreted the name as being derived from that word. I don't really mind one or the other way.
It was funny to read comments by women or girls with any spelling of the name, some older ones saying "it felt like a collective term for girls because there were so many" - not something I have experienced myself at all - others saying it sounds too hard or that people pronounced it incorrectly as Katren - again not something I have ever experienced. Some are very happy with it, some dislike it.
An American page informs me Catrin with C is commonly used in Germany and Wales and has a connection to ancient goddess Hekate (the only page claiming that, by the way) while German pages tell me that the C is rare in Germany and the name as such has been much more popular in the 60s and 70s than it is today.
But hey, wait, Wales? Actually I knew that and found out by way of a cataloging class - for a new system - at work many years ago. My class partner with whom I shared the computer put in my name as a joke and we were both very surprised to find the book "Catrin in Wales".
Being the kid who never saw her name anywhere unless it was a custom piece like the engraved pen my father gave me when I started school or the glass my friend had engraved when she visited Zwiesel and its glass makers, it was really weird to see my name printed like this, so I bought the book eventually. There's a happy ending, by the way.
Yes, Catrin is a name that has even been in the top 100 in Wales in 2010, and guess what, Ancestry tells me it derives from the Welsh language meaning "pure". What happened to the Greeks? Also most pages say it was originally a German name. In case of Ancestry, it could, however, have to do with "some content ... generated by an artificial intelligence model ...".
You want to know something else? Catrin has also been around in Sweden since the 60s although it seems they pronounce it differently.
Well, when I first got into Kontakt with Americans - no, that's no typo, the German-American Friendship Club in town was called Kontakt - I quickly became a Cat, a nickname I was absolutely fine with as I'm obviously still today 😉
Germans don't usually call me that, though, and also don't use a nickname for me (my family does every, now and then).
There were some in the olden days a long, long time ago, but even then they were hardly used.
My father called me Caeterle which is a Swabian diminutive, very few brave ones called me Catrinchen which is the High German diminutive, usually just to annoy me. Only two people ever called me Catinka and I forgave them because I liked them, but I was glad no one else did because I don't think it fits me.
How about you?
Do you have a story about how you got your name, how you like it, write it, where it comes from? I'd love to hear from you!
Do I have a story? Absolutely! This is something I blamed on my mom for years, but I don't remember how I found out it was my dad's idea. I am the second of four children and second of three girls. All of our names start with M A R! In fact, my older sister and I had the same three initials until we married. My little brother and sister had the same three initials until she married. So, when my mom would yell for me, she'd say, "Mary, Martin, Marla, Marsha, Scheiße!" Of course, she did the same thing when she called for the others, just in a different order.
ReplyDeleteAnd, then, of course, there is "The Brady Bunch." If I had a dollar for every time I've heard, "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia," I could buy my husband that fast car he wants! I just grin and bear it. The thing is they didn't even spell it right! And, I've never had a nickname. I also don't know where they came up with my name. I do find it ironic yet funny that Marsha is a derivative of the Greek God of War, Mars. My mom didn't realize, when she named me, how often we would be at war since we were basically the same stubborn person!
I loved reading this, Cat! All this time, I figured you were using a pseudonym since you like cats! And, I promise I won't call you that other name which makes no sense to me anyway.
https://marshainthemiddle.com/
Such an interesting story! I haven't heard something like that before. I wonder if they decided to do that with you coming along, not knowing that there would be two more.
DeleteMy sister's name and nickname start with An and Ti - can't tell you how often my mother called "An ... Ti ... Catrin!" I kept telling her if at all, I was a Pro-Catrin, not an Anti one.
How funny you thought it was a pseudonym 😁 when it was just happy coincidence!
This was such an interesting read!! I think your name is beautiful. My middle name is Catherine! I always liked how my first name is tucked inside my middle name as a kid. Lol. Catherine is my mom's middle name as well, and it was her grandmother's name. My first name is from a tv show - The Waltons. Not much of an interesting story there.
ReplyDeleteWyatt's name means little warrior, and we picked it before we even knew he was going to need to be one. We just really liked the sound of it. He has two middle names, James (which is Billy's middle name) and Atticus, after one of my favorite book characters. He was almost Hugh Hamish instead of Wyatt. Lol.
I always said my name felt like a special gift from my mom.
DeleteHow funny that you are a Catherine! I completely forgot to say that the owner of the small grocery shop a few houses from us was the only one who called me that - I was about five - and I loved that because it was so different. Maybe it was because I liked him very much, too. I miss those tiny shops.
I remember Erin from the Waltons.
Wyatt is the perfect name for him and Atticus is a wonderful middle name!
Thank you so much for sharing!
I love the story of your name! My grandfather was born in Germany and his parents brought him here as a young child. My great grandparents (and therefore my grandfather and his siblings) spoke German at home. For all I know my great grandparents never spoke English, I’m not sure. So English was my grandfather’s second language and he had a German accent. When my mom was pregnant with me she wanted to name me Tonya. My grandfather, whose name is Carl, told my mom he couldn’t say that name so she jokingly said, “So, you want me to name her Carla?” Grandpa, of course, said yes. So here I am, Carla. BTW my Uncle was Carl Jr. and my slightly younger cousin, Carl III. My cousin and I let Carl fizzle out with us and none of our children are a Carl.
ReplyDeleteThank you, also for sharing your own story! It was so nice of your mother to do that for your grandfather. Not that I'm sure why he thought he wouldn't be able to say Tonya as we have Tanja as a name here which isn't that much different. I hope you're still happy with your name 🙂
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