Sometimes I feel I’m betraying my Greek heritage when I go by Katie – five letters instead of Katherine’s elegant nine, a trademark of classic Greek names (Bostock 32).  Could it be that I’m detaching from my culture by adopting this nickname that I’ve selfishly chosen?  Afterall, I was born Katherine, which comes from the Greek word “καθαρός” katharos and the Greek name “Αἰκατερίνη” (Aikaterine) meaning “pure” (“Katherine”). Katherine was a name that fit my parents’ criteria for a baby name: a name of Greek origin, a strong name, and a versatile name that could be shortened into a few nicknames. The Katherines before me, such as Katherine of Aragon, Saint Katherine of Alexandria, and Catherine the Great, have set the precedence for what it means to me to be named Katherine. Luckily, I’m the first Katherine in my family, paving my own path. As such, I’ve always pondered: why do I always introduce myself as Katie? 

In accordance with my mom, I’m Katherine, to my dad, Kate, and to my best friend, Kathy – jokingly – but to everyone else, I’m always Katie. Since thirteen, my dad has deemed me too old for Katie. I’ve always felt a discrepancy between Katherine (pretentious and robust but a tie to my culture), Katie (vibrant and sprightly), and Kate (youthful and energetic). Constantly introducing myself as Katie felt as if I’d created a false identity, a pseudonym for my authentic self.

The evolution of my name is a timeline of aliases:

1) Kate is the past. Being addressed as such makes me feel young and small. The number letters are half compared to Katherine, emblematic of the piece of my identity that’s torn away when addressed as Kate. 

2) Katie is who I am now – I hardly know anything else. Katie embodies youthful purity that conforms to my current self, and as a diminutive of Katherine, it’s symbolic of my youth. 

3) Katherine is the future. Dr. Katherine Komon – an adequate time to embody the pretentious and ambitious form of myself, wiser, no longer a smallish version of my soon-to-be past selves, Kate and Katie. 

I struggled to realize my animosities and discrepancies arose because Kate and Katherine are the past and future, respectively. I’m not Kate now, as I once was, nor Katherine as I soon will be – but I don’t have to be. Right now, I just have to be Katie, a step forward from my past but a step behind my future. I don’t have to choose at all, though, because all three symbolize who I am. Kate is the past, Katie is the present, and Katherine is the future. My discrepancy is no longer – Kate was a mere stepping stone to Katie, and as such, it emphasizes that Katherine is a realm that must be earned through exploration and experience. 

Works Cited

Bostock, Robert. “Greek Personal Names: An Introduction.” Classical Association of Victoria, n.d., https://classicsvic.files.wordpress.com/2018/05/bostock.pdf. Accessed 11 Feb. 2024. 

“Katherine.” Behind the Name, n.d., www.behindthename.com/name/katherine. Accessed 11 Feb. 2024.