Friday, May 20, 2011

My name

"Do you go by Kate, Katie, Kt?"

Ummm - all of the above.  There is some confusion about my name.  My formal name is Katherine. My parents picked my name, thinking that they wanted me to have a formal name in case I went into a serious profession.  How awesome is that, considering I am going to be an attorney in time!

Depending on who you ask, I go by something different.  I introduce myself as Katie except in formal settings.

Ian, my brother, my Dad, and several close friends solely call me Kate.  In fact, Ian's work people only think my name is Kate because that is the only name he refers to me as.

My mom, and other friends, sometimes interchange the two names - using them both.

All acquaintances call me Katie.

At law school, most of my professors know me as Katherine, or Ms. (last name).

And at the hospital, most of the nurses call me Katie, while her doctors call me by Mrs. Thomas - even though that is not my last name.  I kind of look around in confusion when this happens because I do not identify myself with that last name - and also, being called Mrs. anything makes me feel old!

Which do I prefer?  I have thought about starting to only go by Kate.  But honestly, the switch will be hard for me to make because I am just so used to introducing myself as Katie.  And I kind of like that my closest people call me Kate - it makes this name seem more intimate to me.

But there you have it.  Lots of names.  I will respond to any of them (except Mrs. Thomas - I get super confused when I am called this - so it may take me a minute to figure it out).  Take your pick - I like each of my names for various reasons!

Have you ever switched up the name you go by?

4 comments:

  1. Angela is the formal given name...but only used when I'm in trouble (or by my dad if I burp in public). Everyone else calls me Angie. But, like you, when people call me Ang I always feel like they know me and are comfortable with me. I like that it's almost like a rite of passage to call me "Ang."

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  2. You know what's funny? I thought Ian calling you "Kate" was a British thing. :-)

    Well, my name is Kim. Just Kim. Not Kimberly. So that is all I have to really go by. However, family and some very very close friends call me Kimmy. The close friends are those that I have known since I was little so it just makes sense for them to still call me Kimmy... but I don't think I'd like it if J started calling me that.

    Some folks even call me Kim Marie. I like that too (and think perhaps unknowingly it was my affection for that name that guided me towards naming my daughter Annmarie).

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  3. I hate it when people call me "ma'am"...it makes me feel super old.

    -Megan

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  4. What about when the nurses call you "Mom", that always threw me in the early days. It was who, me?

    -Sairah

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