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Help[Opinions] Cailin
I love this name, also spelled Cailyn. Caitlin has always been one of my absolute favorite names but, I worry too much about the nickname Katie or Cait/Kate coming out of it. The reason being that my sister-in-law is already Katie (Katherine), and my brother has the same name as my son. It's just too much overkill in the same family! So since I can't really use Caitlin, I thought about Cailin as a substitute.
Please be brutally honest. Do you find it too trendy-seeming? Uneducated? I think it's so pretty but I'm not sure how others view the name. Thanks for all replies!
Please be brutally honest. Do you find it too trendy-seeming? Uneducated? I think it's so pretty but I'm not sure how others view the name. Thanks for all replies!
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Cailin seems too close to Caitlin to me, if you're trying to get away from it.
Caitlin seems to have more staying power, while Cailin seems simply trendy.
It so happens that the two Cailins I know are boys (Caylen, Cailen), so I tend to visualize a young boy.
I don't think it sounds uneducated, but I do think it sounds trendy and will be overused and dated soon enough (at least in N. America). That said, there are worse names.
Caitlin seems to have more staying power, while Cailin seems simply trendy.
It so happens that the two Cailins I know are boys (Caylen, Cailen), so I tend to visualize a young boy.
I don't think it sounds uneducated, but I do think it sounds trendy and will be overused and dated soon enough (at least in N. America). That said, there are worse names.
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I like Kaitlyn better. :)
Mum to Hayley Anne
Mum to Hayley Anne
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It's not that Cailyn looks uneducated, it just looks unoriginal amid the sea of parents who are finding it trendy, creative and 'cool' to tack on a random '-lyn' ending to an unsuspecting prefix. I honestly can't imagine a CEO of a company or a grandmother named Cailyn. (Of course, that will probably change in the upcoming years.)
What irks me the most about the spelling 'Cailyn' is that 'cailín' is already a word, a Gaelic word pronounced 'coy-HLEEN' and meaning 'girl' (it's the word from which the anglicised 'Colleen' is derived). The only analogy I can think of would be if a person that spoke a language other than English decided to name his or her child 'Girl', but wanted to use the spelling 'Gerl', and instead of pronouncing it 'Girl', pronounced it 'Geerl'.
While I'm not necessarily against using words for names, I prefer for the spelling to be kept in tact and for the pronunciation to be kept as in tact as possible, which understandably may vary a tad if using words/names from other languages.
Please understand that I'm not attacking you, just stating my opinion on the name. :)
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What irks me the most about the spelling 'Cailyn' is that 'cailín' is already a word, a Gaelic word pronounced 'coy-HLEEN' and meaning 'girl' (it's the word from which the anglicised 'Colleen' is derived). The only analogy I can think of would be if a person that spoke a language other than English decided to name his or her child 'Girl', but wanted to use the spelling 'Gerl', and instead of pronouncing it 'Girl', pronounced it 'Geerl'.
While I'm not necessarily against using words for names, I prefer for the spelling to be kept in tact and for the pronunciation to be kept as in tact as possible, which understandably may vary a tad if using words/names from other languages.
Please understand that I'm not attacking you, just stating my opinion on the name. :)
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Yep, I agree!
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No, that's good to know. I knew that Cailin was the Irish word for girl (as colleen is in America), but didn't really know that it was pronounced differently than "kay-lin". Thank you.
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I think it's too much like Caitlin. All I can picture is a little girl in a classroom. She raises her hand and the teacher says "Yes, Caitlin?" Cailyn frowns and says, "It's Kay-LLLLyn" and the teacher says, "Oh, right you are Caitlin. I mean Cailyn, sorry."
Multiply that by a thousand, because it's going to happen all her life. To add to the misery, she'll also know fifty Caitlins.
It's really a shame. I like it, too.
~~she came in through the bathroom window~~
Multiply that by a thousand, because it's going to happen all her life. To add to the misery, she'll also know fifty Caitlins.
It's really a shame. I like it, too.
~~she came in through the bathroom window~~
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It looks very pretty spelled out (as does Caitlin) but the sound of kay-lin is rather trendy. I think that this spelling should actually be pronounced kay-leen because it's Irish and means 'girl' like Colleen but if you like in the USA you can very easily get away with the kay-lin prounciation. It doesn't sound or look uneducated infact I think this spelling is rather classy! I do like it, a lot! :)
How does it sound with your son's name? What is your son's name?
How does it sound with your son's name? What is your son's name?
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My 23 month old son is Andrew. I do like the Cai-leen pronounciation too, very pretty. I've always liked the name Colleen as well. :) Thank you both of you for the great replies. I wish Caitlin and like- sounding names weren't so darn popular! I've loved Caitlin since I was little and no one had the name. Oh well...! :)
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That's so cool!!! Wow!!! :) I've always thought Andrew and Caitlin or Andrew and Cailin sounded so nice too! The problem is: my younger brother is Andrew too, and his wife is Katie (Katherine). So you see why I hesitate at having an Andrew and Caitlin-possibly nn'd Caitie/Katie! There would be two of the same name pairings in the same family. Sigh...!
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