Have you ever heard of the name Carrie being 'shortened' to Kate?

Question

I am researching my family tree and we always believed that my great grandmother was called Kate Louisa. Even my nan (her daughter) always referred to her as Kate Louisa. However, the closest i can find in the birth record is a Carrie Louisa. I have ordered the certificate so I will get my answer soon enough but was just curious to know if it is a common variation.

Answer 1

Not necessarily, but nicknames are something that usually are given spontaneously because the family wanted to call a person by a particular name.

Answer 2

When researching family history, you have to consider the source. When you say "the closest i can find in the birth record is a Carrie Louisa." what are you looking at? Some times information on-line is derived from family accounts and hard to read papers. You will find the same person with two different birth years, and variations of name spellings. Also, depending on where the family lived and when, families followed the historical naming pattern. In some cases, you will see more than one child with the same given name, yet one will be called something different- and that "other name" is used more often than not. Carrie Louisa could very well be the same person as Kate Louisa. But at the same time, not all information is readily available and you should use caution before assuming they are a match and settling on Carrie. Only an official birth record can verify.  

Answer 3

Cait,perhaps?

Answer 4

I've never heard of it, but there's no reason to suppose it doesn't happen. Carrie isn't a very common name anyway, so it's hard to guess what people will shorten it to.

Answer 5

No. 2 pts. ta.

Answer 6

Kate is usually a nickname for Katherine.  No, it normally would not be used for Carrie or Caroline... but it is totally normal for family to find what they THOUGHT was the right name, is something else. No telling why the family used Kate.

You will want to get any records possible, to be sure of the right person.  

Answer 7

Carrie and Kate could both be contractions of Catherine/Katherine/Kathleen.

Answer 8

My paternal grandmother, who was christened Caroline Maria...was known throughout her life time as Carrie. It rather astonished me that a Victorian woman would have a nick-name.