In general, do you prefer C-spellings or K-spellings?
Carl or Karl?
Catherine or Katherine?
Cara or Kara?
Caitlyn or Kaitlyn?
Curt or Kurt?
Christiana or Kristiana?
Caden or Kaden?
Eric or Erik?
Poll is over to the right. [Poll closed; see results below.]
Poll results (362 votes total):
Prefer C names in general: 245 votes, roughly 68%
Prefer K names in general: 117 votes, roughly 32%
I’m anti K spellings EXCEPT for Kate, Kristen, and Kathryn–with a Y only. Otherwise it’s -ine: Catherine.
K’s seem so trendy when using them on a name that COULD be used with a C.
For me it depends on the name, though some (C/Karl, C/Katherine, Eric/K) I like both. I prefer Kara, Caitlin (no Y), Christian/a, Caden, Kurt. My name is Candace and it drives me batty to see it spelled with a K. I voted for a C preference only because I can’t think of more K names that I like. :P
I have no idea why, but K names sound harsh and C names sound soft. Some weird thing about the curve of the letter, maybe?
I say K for girls, C for boys.
I’m split. It totally depends on the name. I prefer…
Carl
Katherine
Kara
Caitlyn
Kurt
Christiana
Caden
Eric
I guess I lean more toward the Cs, though. Interesting question!
Team C! I honestly can’t think of any names where I prefer a K spelling, but I am a Caitlin, so I’m a tad biased.
K spellings except for Curt:)
hehe cause thats how my Bf spells it
depends on the name, but generally K. I’m a little surprised that I’m not in the majority. I prefer:
Karl but Carla
Katherine/Kathleen
Kara
Kaitlyn
Kurt
Christiana/Christine/Christian but Kristin/Krista
Caden
Eric or Erik? I go back and forth.
But I definitely don’t see them as interchangeable if there is a standard spelling. I see no need for Caren instead of Karen or Karol instead of Carol.
Like you, Karen, I’m surprised I’m not in the majority. C-spellings just seem really old fashioned to me. Then I thought a little further and realized that my family is Hawaiian, and there’s no C in the Hawaiian alphabet. Interesting, yeah?
Im gonna have to vote K. My maiden name starts with a K, but was often mistakenly spelled with a C. My first born son we named Lukas, and now the child Im pregnant with will be named Brady Nikolas. So the trend will continue in my family for the K! :)
Hm. A couple of people have mentioned fashion (“trendy”/”old-fashioned”) in grouping Cs and Ks. I don’t see it that way at all. I see it as more Latin versus more Germanic for names that aren’t Gaelic.
I vote K, but that’s likey because my name is Kathleen.
I prefer the C for every one of those examples. I wonder if I’m biased because MY name starts with C?
My given name is Kate, and my daughter is Kiernan, so I’m a tad biased but love the letter K. For awhile all of my cousins had names that started with the letter K, and my half of the last name is a german K-sounding word, so Karen’s comment made sense to me.
I’ve always thought Cate was kind of weird, and exactly the trendy that someone else mentioned above for K-names. My guess is that the actual trend is switching the K to a C or vice versa depending on which name (or country of origin) seems like the traditional one.
I agree completely with alitalia. I would vote for
Carl
Katherine
Kara
Caitlyn
Kurt
Christiana
Caden
Eric
I much prefer “C” no idea why- unless the name is traditionally always a “K”- Like Kelly or Kiersten or Kimberly. But I even think Cate is a fresh take on Kate.
I prefer K in Germanic names (ie Karl, Kurt, Erik) and C the rest of the time.
I guess I slightly prefer C but it really depends on the name:
Carl
Katherine
Kara
Caitlyn
Kurt
Christiana
Caden
Eric
I am totally biased here, because I’ve spent my whole life saying “With a C!” Everyone seems to go for the K first with my name.
I voted for K, obviously, because my name is Kristi and my daughter’s name is Kaeli. When it comes to boy names, though, I have a strict anti-K policy. I guess in my brain Eric or Carl look more masculine than Erik or Karl.
I voted for C over K. But the only name on the list that I think looks weird with a K is Kaden. I think that that looks made up/trendy. All the rest could go either way and I actually prefer Kaitlyn & Kurt with a “K.”
Generally, K.
But Erik looks weird to me, perhaps because my dad is Eric and the only Erik I’ve known was a jerk.
I am partial to names that stay true to their origins, whether that means a C or a K. Otherwise, they do smack of trendiness to me.
With that said, I think there are some names that can use EITHER letter and NOT sound trendy (Karl/Carl, Eric/Erik, Catherine/Katherine).
I am biased about this because my name is Caitlin. It’s Gaelic for K/Cathleen, and when I was born and named, the name was unheard of – now it’s much more common, but not with my spelling. (Often you see Katelynn/Caitlyn/Kaitlin/Kate Lynn, etc.)
People have often commented to me (esp. in my old line of work, with the public) “what an unusual spelling!”.
At which point I delight in telling them that it’s actually the original Gaelic spelling. :)
For me, it depends on the name…
Carl or Karl? Carl
Catherine or Katherine? Catherine. I LOVE Cate.
Cara or Kara? Either is fine, but I lean toward Cara.
Caitlyn or Kaitlyn? Again, either is fine, but HOW CUTE IS CAIT??
Curt or Kurt? Kurt.
Christiana or Kristiana? Hm, I honestly have no preference here. Maybe because I don’t really like this name.
Caden or Kaden? Caden.
Eric or Erik? Eric. BUT, I prefer Mark over Marc.
Random, I guess!!
It depends on the name:
Carl
Catherine or Katherine (both look fine)
Kara
Caitlin or Katelyn, but not Kaitlin or Catelyn
Kurt
Christiana
Caden
Eric or Erik
I tend to think of K names as beign snobby or overly girly/trendy, and Im sure this results only from my personal experience and is not meant to offend people here, but for that reason I prefer Cs. Also, I prefer gaelic names etc. that are properly spelled with a C.
I’m actually very happy to find out that C is the most popular choice, and btw both my first and middle names begin with E.
I picked K spellings because more of the names I preferred started with K, 5-3.
I voted with the “C” crowd. And I have to tell you, I was SUPER excited to see my name on the list!! I hardly EVER see it and most everyone I meet has never heard of it! I always have to correct people that it’s not “Christina”.
I think it really depends on the name, but I lean toward K.
For me, it depends on the context and/or surname — and especially which spelling (sometimes both) is considered correct in English or another language:
Carl, Karl
Catherine, Katherine
Cara
Caitlin
Kurt
Christiana, Kristiana
Caden or Kaden — neither
Eric, Erik
Mostly C’s, I guess:
Karl
Catherine (my name! though I like Kate…)
Cara
Caitlyn
Curt/Kurt (both)
Christina
Caden (not sure-not a fan of the name)
Eric
I voted C, even though I’m a Katherine. It seems I’m the only C/K person here who isn’t influenced (positively, anyway) by their own initial! I would actually much prefer to be named Catherine. It’s so delicate…
For the rest of the names, I agree with C N Heidelberg. The C names rule for me, except in the case of the Germanic ones, where K is more natural, for me. Plus one of my best friends is Erik, and that just seems spunkier than Eric.
K, mostly. Except my daughter’s name is Cora. And I thought about it with a K. That just seemed WRONG.
Oh, dear. With one of each, I don’t know! For me, it depends on the name. I prefer Kate to Cate, for instance.
K seems more authentic to me, like Kathleen, Karl, Kurt.
I get what Jana said about K sounding harsh. I prefer C. Unless the person has strong germanic roots. My daughter is Catherine, but called Kate. Cate just looks wrong to me. It’s one of the very, very few instances where I prefer K.
I think that K’s tend to be trendier and more feminine while C’s more classic. (So I like C’s a LOT better) Unless of course it traditionally starts with a K. Like my name, Kimberly.
I’m an Erika (and am forever spelling my name). I eschew the random “K” to look modern/different thing though. I voted “C” as a general rule, which surprised me!doos
I’m a splitter:
Karl, Katherine, Cara, Caitlyn, Kurt, Christiana, Kaden, Eric…
I think girl names are better with a K and boy names are better with a C. Karl, Kurt and Kaden look odd to me. And Catherine, Caitlin and Christina seem old, and outdated.
Exceptions: Callie, Chloe, Kjel, Kieran
K almost all the way. My son’s name is “Karl,” and I love it spelled that way. Our last name is Dutch, and it looks so Germanic and strong with the K. I love Katherine, Kara, Kurt. However, some names seem correct only with a “C” — Colin, for example. To spell it “Kolin” would be like … well, like spelling Alice “Alys” or something. Or like naming your Crispy Cream shop “Krispy Kreme.”
Carl or Karl? CARL
Catherine or Katherine? KATHERINE
Cara or Kara? KARA
Caitlyn or Kaitlyn? KAITLYN
Curt or Kurt? KURT
Christiana or Kristiana? CHRISTIANA
Caden or Kaden? CADEN
Eric or Erik? ERIC
It totally depends on the name.