We are expecting our first girl in [name_u]June[/name_u], who is to be called [name_f]Kate[/name_f], but have been thinking of using [name_f]Katia[/name_f] instead for her full name. We pronounce it Kah-tee-ah and will call her [name_f]Kate[/name_f] a lot of the time but I also see that it is pronounced Ka-sha. [name_m]How[/name_m] would you say it? Would Kah-tee-ah be strange to you?
My family background is a mix but consists of Polish, Macedonian, and Yugoslavian–but no Russian. The names we are thinking for her are very Slavic and especially very Russian:
[name_f]Elizaveta[/name_f] ([name_f]El[/name_f]-iz-a-veh-tah) was my great grandmother’s name (she was Yugoslavian) and I have a Polish cousin [name_f]Ania[/name_f] so I’m thinking maybe it’s not too much of a stretch? The names aren’t meant to honour, they are just well loved names we want to use as this may be our only daughter, and I am a bit pleased that they are Slavic since it’s a part of my heritage that was greatly overlooked.
Brothers are [name_u]Finn[/name_u] and [name_m]Leo[/name_m] and a fourth baby may be [name_f]Juliet[/name_f] or [name_u]Calder[/name_u], just to give you some idea of where we lean for naming styles.
I know a girl named [name_f]Katia[/name_f] who is from Ukraine and pronounces it Kah-tee-ya. She has said it’s a quite common name there and that’s how they pronounce it. [name_u]Haven[/name_u]'t heard Ka-sha, so if you prefer Kah-tee-ya I think you’re good!
I really like Katia, and I feel like the majority of people would pronounce it as you wish (actually I’ve never heard/seen it pronounced KASH-uh, so I’m not sure where that comes from?) however, I will say I myself ten to pronounce it as KUH- tyah or KAH-tyuh myself though, being more two syllables, than three. *Perhaps that is where that KASH sound comes from, as KAH-tyah said fast and in specific accents may sound a lot like KASH-uh to some?
Katia “Kate” is lovely, and I think both Katia, and Kate, work well with her brother’s names. I do think that all together, the three names in the combo come across very “Russian”, however, that is not a big deal, unless perhaps her surname is also ‘obviously Russian’ (which I’m assuming from your family heritage it is not?) as that may be too much.
There is also the Macedonian/Greek Katina, which might be something you like, that is more a direct link to your own heritage? Katina Anya Elizaveta “Kate” would be nice, and would give the entire combo a much less ‘Russian’ feel to it.
A number of years ago I knew a girl (she’d be in her 20s now) named [name_f]Katia[/name_f]…she pronounced it Kaa-TYUH. The family was Russian by heritage, although not from [name_f]Russia[/name_f] themselves.
I adore [name_f]Katia[/name_f]! I would absolutely say it [name_f]Kat[/name_f]-ee-uh. I wouldn’t worry about an occasional Ka-sha. Especially if you’re going to call her [name_f]Kate[/name_f]. [name_u]Finn[/name_u], [name_m]Leo[/name_m] & [name_f]Kate[/name_f] are perfect for siblings.
I love the name [name_f]Katia[/name_f], and would pronounce it as you do. [name_f]Kasia[/name_f] would be “[name_m]KASH[/name_m]-ah” to me. [name_f]Katia[/name_f] “[name_f]Kate[/name_f]” is lovely with your boys’ names, as is [name_f]Kate[/name_f] as a standalone.
The full combo screams Russian/Slavic to me, but if that’s part of your heritage and you like the idea of honouring it, surely that’s a bonus! My own teeny, tiny, nitpicky hesitation with the full combo might be that it’s just a bit TOO full-on exotic, especially taking your sons’ more mainstream/familiar names into account, but they’re all beautiful picks and I can see why you want to use them all.
I think I might slightly prefer your [name_f]Kate[/name_f] and [name_f]Katia[/name_f] combos switched up a bit to balance things out: [name_f]Kate[/name_f] [name_f]Anya[/name_f] [name_f]Elizaveta[/name_f] and [name_f]Katia[/name_f] [name_f]Olivia[/name_f] [name_f]Claire[/name_f]. But you really can’t go wrong with such lovely and meaningful names!
@katinka I’m worried it’s a bit too Russian considering I’m not and am only partly Slavic in my background. Also yes, next to [name_u]Finn[/name_u] and [name_m]Leo[/name_m], who have very classic and mainstream middles, it might be a bit much.
Would [name_f]Katia[/name_f] [name_f]Freya[/name_f] [name_f]Elizaveta[/name_f] balance that out? Being a Norse name and not another Slavic one? It’s another favourite of mine. What does everyone think?
I pronounce it kah-TYUH (2 syllables), so I say your pronunciation is pretty close to that. I’ve never come across any other pronunciations. It’s a lovely name, but I agree with @katinka that the combo you have is very exotic, too much so beside [name_u]Finn[/name_u] and [name_m]Leo[/name_m]. [name_f]Katia[/name_f] [name_f]Freya[/name_f] [name_f]Elizaveta[/name_f] is nice, but it’s the [name_f]Katia[/name_f] and [name_f]Elizaveta[/name_f] together that scream exotic. [name_f]Anya[/name_f] is used widely so doesn’t appear so obvious alongside [name_f]Katia[/name_f]. [name_m]Even[/name_m] something like [name_f]Katia[/name_f] [name_f]Anya[/name_f] [name_f]Juliet[/name_f] or [name_f]Katia[/name_f] [name_f]Olivia[/name_f] [name_f]Claire[/name_f] like @katinka suggested.
I think that the flow of [name_f]Katia[/name_f] [name_f]Anya[/name_f] [name_f]Elizaveta[/name_f] isn’t great. It could be improved by replacing [name_f]Anya[/name_f] with a name that doesn’t end in -a, or by cutting it out entirely.
