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Comments and insights on the name Kate

I'm named Kate but everyone calls me Katie! I just that name just fits!

The name Kate means happiness and sunshine. It's such a beautiful name for a girl.

Personal experiences with the name Kate

Two years ago I was reading the book "My Sister's Keeper" and I loved the sister-relationship Kate and Anna had so when our fraternal twin daughters were born a year later my husband and I named our daughters Kate Marie and Anna Rose after the sisters from "My Sister's Keeper". When my daughters are older I hope they'll read "My Sister's Keeper" so they know why they were named Kate and Anna.

I am the older of two sisters. Our parents named us Autumn Skye (that's me, born 1945) and Ocean Blue (born 1948) which were a little ahead of their time. I met my husband-to-be in 1964. he loved Shakespeare and did not like the name Autumn, which he thought sounded ridiculous. He began to call me Kate, for Taming of the Shrew, and that has been my name since 1964. My mother killed herself, and I nearly broke up with my man, but I did feel Kate fit me better. I haven't met many other Kates near my age.

There was a huge wave of Kates born in the 1980s and early 1990s, so colleges and high schools are full of them. It has become less popular over the past decade.

We named our daughter Kate in 2005 after watching an old "Charley's Angels" program because we love Kate Jackson so much. Seems totally shallow but in actuality the name seemed to fit us. Short and bold, perfect for our 10 letter last name. We also love Katharine Hepburn, a strong woman who challenged conventions with aplomb.

There are so many baby girls in my church named Katie. Is Katie going to be the new Jennifer or the new Ashley?

Every Kate I know (and I know 3) happen to be the most annoying people I've ever met. Other than that it's a nice name, just not the people.

So many celebs are named Kate! Why is that name so popular?

I always thought Kate sounded like a countryfied name.

I am a Kate.I am from a large city and I find it hard to find others who are genuinely named Kate. They are always Katelyn, Kathrine or Katie. So I am constantly getting asked what my real name is, and when they find out it's just Kate they always have a stunned reaction. I have always been told that I have an old lady name. But I think that I wear it well.

Nicknames for Kate

Katee, Katerbug, Katie, Katy, Katybug, Katydid, KT, KatieKat, KatieKate,Kit-Kat, Kates, Kitty, Citrum, spaz, Kash, K8 Katertot

Meanings and history of the name Kate

Diminutive of KATHERINE, often used independently. It has been used in England since the Middle Ages. This was the name of the woman who Petruchio marries and tries to tame in Shakespeare's comedy 'Taming of the Shrew' (1593). A famous bearer is the British actress Kate Winslet (1975-).

Famous real-life people named Kate

Gosh there are lots and lots of great Kates!

Kate Hudson daughter of Goldie Hawn and Bill Hudson.
Kate Beckinsale, actress
Kate Bosworth, actress
Kate Bush, musician
Kate Capshaw, actress
Kate Chopin, author from the late 19th century
Kate Constable, author
Kate Gosselin, reality show star ("Jon and Kate Plus Eight") and mother of sextuplets
Kate Bryan, hair, make-up and fashion blogger@thesmallthingsblog.com.
Kate Maberly, actress and musician
Kate Mara, actress
Catherine "Kate" Elizabeth Middleton, Her Royal Highness, Princess of England, Duchess of Cambridge and wife of HRH Prince William
Kate Moss, model
Kate Nash, singer
Mary-Kate Olsen, actress
Kate O'Mara, actress
Kate Rusby, English folk singer-songwriter
KT Tunstall, musician (born Kate Tunstall)
Kate Walsh, actress
Kate Winslet, actress
Kate Wolf, late American folk singer-songwriter
Kate Jackson, American actress
Kate O'Brien, Irish author
Kate Shortman, synchronised swimmer
Kate Nelligan, actress
Kate Adie, British news correspondent & journalist
Kate McGarrigle, Canadian musician and singer-songwriter
Kate Grace Kinnear (b. 2009), daughter of American actor and television personality Greg Kinnear and British glamour model Helen Labdon

Kate in song, story & screen

Katherine Grace "Kate" Fitzgerald, a 16-year-old leukemia patient in the book "My Sister's Keeper" by Jodi Picoult and the movie of the same name.
Kate Monster, main female character in the Broadway show "Avenue Q"
"Kate", a song by Ben Folds Five.
"Kate and Allie", an 80s American television series.
"Kate and Leopold", a 2001 film starring Meg Ryan and Hugh Jackman.
"Kiss Me, Kate", a Cole Porter musical originally produced in 1948 based on Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew"
Kate Austen, character on TV's Lost
"Kate is Great" The Bouncing Souls
"Kate Kane," the new Batwoman (DC Comics)
Kate Forster, in the 2006 romantic film "The Lake House"
"Sister Kate" (how I wish I could shimmy like my sister Kate)
Kate Clephane, from Edith Wharton's "The Mother's Recompense"
Kate Thomas, one of the main protagonist from comedy film Norbit