We’ve narrowed it down to Catherine or Caroline. Which do you like and why? I have pros and cons to both and keep getting the “both are great” from friends and family which is not helpful!!! Catherine is regal, timeless, everything we look for BUT im not a fan of the nicknames. Also i see a Kate or Kathy everywhere i turn. Caroline is also classic…but is she timeless? Love her nicknames. But why do i only see her as a southern name and always seem to say it with a southern accent 
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Anyway i love them both and these are just a few of the thoughts in my head! Any personal experiences with these names? How do you view a Catherine and a Caroline? I find watching tv shows with that characters name helps me hear it more and view it on a person and all the Carolines ive seen are…dittzy…and a little “loose”.Not the best. Meanwhile the Catherines are snotty or mousey.
Sorry for the rambling! Honestly just looking for opinions as again family and friends are NO help (i know they mean well) but i have no one to bounce thoughts off of!
EDIT— Caroline would be pronounced Caro- Line, not lyn. Is that how everyone read it?
So I think [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] is a bit dated personally (and it’s so popular I would never use it myself) but I think [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] is darling and timeless.
I do think it has a southern flavor but I don’t think it’s so overly southern that people will choke on sweet tea when they hear it!
I wouldn’t go exclusively by media. [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] has been a name of royalty for some time so some of their portrayals are bound to be snobby; many girls (especially in more southern states) have the sort of stigma you mentioned and they had to name them something.
[name_f]My[/name_f] vote is for [name_f]Caroline[/name_f]! It’s classic and sweet yet fresh and without the dated vibe of [name_f]Catherine[/name_f].
[name_f]Hope[/name_f] this helps!
I prefer [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] personally. [name_f]My[/name_f] middle name is [name_f]Catherine[/name_f], and I do like it, but the sound is a little lispy to me. I prefer [name_f]Kate[/name_f] or [name_f]Katie[/name_f]. More importantly, I think Catherines tend to go by nicknames much more often than Carolines so if YOU don’t prefer the [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] nicknames, I’d go with [name_f]Caroline[/name_f].
[name_f]Caroline[/name_f] does feel a bit southern and slightly more on-trend than [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] but neither characteristic is overwhelming. She’s mostly just classic and classy!
I prefer [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] because I love the nicknames [name_f]Cate[/name_f] and [name_u]Kitty[/name_u]. If you don’t like any of the nicknames for [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] but love them for [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] then maybe [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] is the better choice for you. [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] does tend to get shortened a lot and nicknames may be hard to avoid.
Well, it’s hard because both are nice names, as you say.
Me, I love [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] and I like [name_f]Caroline[/name_f]. I’d be fine being named either.
I would use [name_u]Kitty[/name_u] as a nickname or Cath. [name_f]Cathy[/name_f] is OK, but I hate it with a K.
[name_f]Caroline[/name_f] – I’d use [name_u]Carol[/name_u] as a nn. I like that old-fashioned Christmasy name. But I loathe [name_u]Caro[/name_u] (for myself).
I don’t see [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] as [name_u]Southern[/name_u] at all. I totally picture [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] [name_u]Kennedy[/name_u] in her beautiful wedding dress.
[name_f]Catherine[/name_f] reminds me of many people. I love the soft th sound in the name.
I recommend you toss a coin (Heads [name_f]Catherine[/name_f], tails Caroline) and notice if you are happy or disappointed with the one that turns out.
I would say [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] since theres no confusion over spelling. Variant [name_f]Katherine[/name_f] especially feels a bit like a mom name now as well.
[name_f]Catherine[/name_f] does have some good nicknames so loving one of those would really be my only reason to choose it over [name_f]Caroline[/name_f].
[name_f]Catherine[/name_f] is my favorite, but I’m biased. [name_f]My[/name_f] name is [name_f]Cathryn[/name_f] and I love it. I did not have a nickname until I started working. Because I have an unusual spelling, I found it easier to go by [name_f]Cat[/name_f]. These days I’m about 50/50 Cat/Cathryn. Personally, I think [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] is so much prettier than [name_f]Caroline[/name_f], but again, I’m biased. I’ve considered using [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] for a daughter since it comes from [name_u]Charles[/name_u] and I have a lot of those in my family, but I just think of [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] [name_m]Forbes[/name_m] from Vampire Diaries and I can’t. 
I love love love the name Caroline!!l It feels fresh but also timeless to me. It’s so gorgeous and I personally prefer it to [name_f]Catherine[/name_f]. This could also be because I knew a couple Catherine’s growing up but didn’t know any Caroline’s.
[name_f]My[/name_f] preference is [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] or [name_f]Katherine[/name_f] and to call her by her full name, which is seldom done. It is only two syllables. It makes the name that much more special. Of the two names it is by far the most classic.
To me. [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] is three syllables.
Both are beautiful! I prefer [name_f]Caroline[/name_f], but you can’t go wrong. I don’t think either are too dated, just classic sounding. Definitely not ditsy or anything. And [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] can sound [name_u]Southern[/name_u] but it doesn’t have to. I also think you can have her go by her full name for either without much issue. But if you were to choose a nickname, my favorite would be [name_f]Cat[/name_f] for [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] and [name_f]Cara[/name_f] for [name_f]Caroline[/name_f].
[name_f]Caroline[/name_f] is timeless! [name_m]Can[/name_m] imagine it on any age - and, as someone from the UK, I can imagine it (and hear it) here quite easily, so I don’t think of it as purely [name_u]Southern[/name_u] (not that that’s a bad thing 
)
[name_f]My[/name_f] associations:
[name_f]Catherine[/name_f] - I think mostly of Wuthering Heights tbh - slightly wild, rugged vibes, strong-willed and determined, but full of potential kindness and quietude too. I’ve known several Catherines, all who have been massively different people - a childhood friend was quiet and gentle, a fellow uni student was creative, very clever and persevering, a colleague at work who’s to the point and efficient - to me, it has no set vibes because it’s so classic and used so liberarlly
[name_f]Caroline[/name_f] - my main association is [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] Helstone from [name_u]Shirley[/name_u] by [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f] [name_f]Bronte[/name_f], so, slightly quiet and withdrawing, but full of kindness and quietly knows what she wants. However, again, I’ve known multiple who have been very different - from that quieter [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] image, to some sharper edged people, to a chatty, bubbly therapist Like [name_f]Catherine[/name_f], it doesn’t have a particularly fixed vibe for me.
Still, I think personally, [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] is maybe the more interesting and compelling of the two - the nickname potential is great - [name_f]Carrie[/name_f], [name_u]Coco[/name_u], [name_f]Lina[/name_f], [name_u]Carol[/name_u], [name_f]Cara[/name_f], Roro, [name_f]Ro[/name_f] etc.
I don’t like [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] but I like [name_f]Katharina[/name_f], [name_u]Kitty[/name_u], [name_f]Katherine[/name_f], [name_f]Katharine[/name_f], [name_f]Ekaterina[/name_f], I just don’t really like the C forms of it.
[name_f]Caroline[/name_f] is beautiful. I choose [name_f]Caroline[/name_f].
[name_f]Caroline[/name_f]. [name_f]Carolyn[/name_f] is my middle name, but I also love [name_f]Caroline[/name_f]. [name_f]My[/name_f] preferred nn is [name_f]Carrie[/name_f], no one seems to have mentioned that possibility? I have known a lot of Catherines but not one [name_f]Caroline[/name_f].
[name_f]Catherine[/name_f] to me is similar to [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] - absolutely timeless and classic. It could just as easily be a princess as the girl next door. Personally I like [name_u]Kitty[/name_u] best but there’s also [name_f]Cat[/name_f], [name_f]Cate[/name_f], even [name_u]Wren[/name_u] if you don’t like [name_f]Cathy[/name_f]!
[name_f]Caroline[/name_f] feels a little 20th-century dated to me personally - in [name_u]England[/name_u] it feels perhaps a bit posh and 80s - although I did know one at school (90s baby). She went by Caz which I’m not keen on at all, but I’ve really grown to love [name_u]Caro[/name_u] recently.
If I had to be called one of the two I would rather be [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] because it feels that bit more classic to me, plus as an [name_u]Austen[/name_u] nut I’d rather share a name with [name_u]Kitty[/name_u] [name_u]Bennet[/name_u] than [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] Bingley 
I much prefer [name_f]Caroline[/name_f], but there’s nothing wrong with either name. I personally find [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] quite dry, just personal taste, but it’s definitely very classic. I would say though, that if you dislike intuitive and common nicknames for [name_f]Catherine[/name_f], to avoid choosing it, as I feel they’re almost inevitable. [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] is one of very few longer and established names that doesn’t get inevitably shortened (Carol would be the obvious one but I’ve never heard a [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] get shortened to that) though there is (imo, very cool) [name_u]Caro[/name_u] should you want a nn yourself. I do see [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] as somewhat timeless though not quite in the same category as the very classic [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] and the like. [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] is definitely more regal.
[name_f]Caroline[/name_f] is one of my all-time favourite names, and high on our list if we have a girl one day! I prefer the [name_f]Katherine[/name_f] spelling to [name_f]Catherine[/name_f], as [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] has always given me a totally different vibe and feels much more stiff and rigid, where as [name_f]Katherine[/name_f] feels light and fun, if that makes sense?
Both options are timeless and classic, so you can’t go wrong with either in that sense, but I think [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] is my favourite!
I’d go for [name_f]Catherine[/name_f], although I do like both. I’m from the UK, and whilst I love [name_f]Caroline[/name_f], over here it has a ‘posh woman in her fourties’ image that would prevent me from using it; [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] is just ageless and timeless - I think of the heroines of Northanger [name_u]Abbey[/name_u] and Wuthering Heights, as well as countless historical Catherines (Catherine the Great, [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] of [name_f]Alexandria[/name_f], [name_f]Katherine[/name_f] of Aragon… I could go on). I feel like [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] has more history and heft behind her; there are plenty of alternative nn options (Kit, [name_u]Kitty[/name_u], Wren), but all the Catherines I know are Catherines and no-one tries to shorten. That said they are both lovely names, high up on my list and either would make a lovely choice 
Looks like it’s fairly evenly spilt. I’m on team [name_f]Catherine[/name_f]. I prefer the sound and breathy grandeur of it. I would hope for people to use the full name but otherwise be more than OK with [name_f]Cate[/name_f], [name_u]Kit[/name_u] or [name_u]Kitty[/name_u] - I don’t like Cath or [name_f]Cathy[/name_f] and [name_f]Cat[/name_f] is OK (fun but not as literary and spoilt as Kitty).
I know a number of Carolines and they just don’t suit their name. It’s almost doing too much - Car, Carols, Rolling and [name_f]Line[/name_f] - what’s it trying to do ;)?! In all seriousness, it does have something substantial and very confident about it, and I can see it as a polished choice - I just can’t quite warm to it. FWIW, I don’t see it as strictly [name_u]Southern[/name_u], it’s pretty common for people over 45 here in Australia for eg. I would use [name_f]Carrie[/name_f] or [name_u]Caro[/name_u] as a nn (and avoid Caz) but to bang on a bit more, they’re both different vibes to [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] whereas I see [name_f]Cate[/name_f] and [name_u]Kitty[/name_u] as still similar imagery as [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] (though of course more vintage cute than strictly regal). I’d almost prefer just [name_f]Carrie[/name_f] or [name_u]Caro[/name_u] as first name.
Anyway, they’re both strong, established names and either one will work across contexts and age really well. Good luck!
i’m on team caroline! 
she’s so sparky and brilliant - catherine seems a little heavier as a name, less personality, a bit weighed down. for caroline, i love the nicknames calla, callie, and coco! definitely not “too southern”, if anything just fitting to the sparkly vibes. like an emmeline or georgia! catherine feels more like a susan or mary - nothing bad, just a little duller than their counterparts.