How do you pronounce the name "Caitlin"?

[Count_Blucher]

@Acsenray

How do you tell the difference between Philip and Phillip?

One can’t roll his "R"s…?

…well, that’s what I heard…

[SCAdian]

@TruCelt

I would assume it to be “Kotch-leen” if I were in Ireland or at a Ceili, and “Kate-linn” if I were in a more American setting.

I agree. My wife spent several years (high school and college) in Ireland, and “kotch-LEEN” is what she told me the Irish pronunciation is. Every Caitlin I’ve known in the States pronounced it KATE-lin.

[shijinn]

@Johanna

It’s Caitríona, and yes. Pretty much.

thank you.

[MrDibble]

If I was reading the name in a book, I’d mentally pronounce it as “Kathleen”. If it had the diacriticals, as something approaching “Kawtchleen” but with a terrible Irish accent .

For real people (like one I work with) it’s almost invariably Kate-lynn, and all the Kathleens I know spell it that way.

[SciFiSam]

Like others, Kotch-leen if they’re Irish, and Kate-Lynn if they’re not. Or whatever way they pronounce it to me. But I wouldn’t automatically think Kathleen because I’ve never heard it pronounced like that.

@delphica

Closest is Kathleen, as others have explained the lack of a direct translation to English. I still think of the Kate Lynn way as being a sign that people didn’t know any better, but I also realize the tide has turned and I’m just being pedantic about it. (And I say that as someone who has a relative whose name is pronounced “dee-dray” because her mother read it in a book.)

Is her name spelt Deirdre? Dee-dray is close to the Irish pronunciation of that name, if so; your relative’s Mother wasn’t in the wrong. (It’s not ay at the end, but more like uh, the schwa sound - so ay is close).

[Jackmannii]

Cattle-in.

[kath94]

@Tabby_Cat

Wow. Poll results are overwhelmingly in favor of Kate-lyn here.

So the story - the wife and I were thinking of names for the tabbykit and Caitlin was one of the names that came up. We really like Kate-lyn, with the spelling of Caitlin, but found out that the Orish way of pronouncing that name sounds a lot more like Kath-leen, which we’re much less hot about. And so I turn to the dope.

This is kind of the opposite problem we had with our first choice, Siobhan, in which we attempted to Anglicise it a bit by spelling it Shevonne. Consensus was that that was a terrible idea. But if everyone pronounces Caitlin Kate-lyn, then I think we’ve got a winner!

Thanks all.

My first name is Kathleen. I thought it was Irish. I guess it’s just an Americanized version of whatever name is being attempted here.

On a similar note, I once worked with an Irish Siobhan who was born in England. “Officially,” meaning on her birth certificate, her name was “Chavonne.” When she wrote it she wrote Siobhan. Probably with the correct punctuation, too. :o

[TruCelt]

My Celtling’s middle name is Siobhan. When I called my Father to tell him the name we’d picked, he was playing golf, and having trouble with the cell phone connection. After a couple of times trying to tell him, and spell it for him, it was his turn to putt. He handed the phone off to a friend with the words “Here, talk to [Tru] for a second. I think she just said my Granddaughter’s name is Shaboom.”

[susan]

I have at least 8000 Caitlins (Kate-lin) in my class. The Caitlins have come of age, edging out the Logans and McKenzies.

[SciFiSam]

@kath94

My first name is Kathleen. I thought it was Irish. I guess it’s just an Americanized version of whatever name is being attempted here.

I’ve met a couple of Irish Kathleens, spelt and pronounced that way - your name heritage is safe. It’s not an Irish as in Irish Gaelic name, but it’s Irish.

[Dr.Drake]

@SciFiSam

I’ve met a couple of Irish Kathleens, spelt and pronounced that way - your name heritage is safe. It’s not an Irish as in Irish Gaelic name, but it’s Irish.

It IS an Irish Gaelic name; it’s the Irish Gaelic form of Katherine. It’s just not spelled in Gaelic spelling. That’s Cáitlín. Kathleen is the original anglicized spelling of Cáitlín, now replaced by Caitlin.

The T in Cáitlín is palatalized and, in some dialects, strongly aspirated. The strongly aspirated Irish T (t[sup]h[/sup]) was heard as TH by English-speakers, even though it is not the same sound as English TH (/θ/ or /ð/) and even though our own initial Ts are aspirated. Even to my ear, the combination (t[sup]hj[/sup]l[sup]j[/sup]) sounds most like “thl” (though it’s clearly not /θl/ as in Enlgish “Kathleen”); all the actual Irish people in this thread disagree with me, though, hearing /t∫l[sup]j[/sup]/.