In schools, they often teach the rule whether to use C or K in a word. The rule has 3 parts. I will demonstrate the rule with various names. As always with [name_f]English[/name_f] there can be exceptions. Obviously, other languages have their own rules. [name_f]Do[/name_f] you tend to prefer spellings which follow these rules?
Beginning of the word:
K before E, I and Y (Kelly, [name_f]Kirsten[/name_f], Kyle)
C before anything else (Cassandra, [name_m]Colin[/name_m], [name_m]Cullen[/name_m], Chris)
Middle of the word:
[name_m]Long[/name_m] Vowel + /k/ + e, i, or y → spelled with k (Ezekiel)
[name_m]Long[/name_m] Vowel + /k/ + anything else → spelled with c (Jacob, Lucas)
Short vowel + /k/ + e, i, or y → spelled with ck (Beckett)
Short vowel + /k/ + anything else → generally cc but can vary (Rebecca)
End of the word:
[name_m]Long[/name_m] vowel + K sound is spelled Vke. [name_m]Jake[/name_m], [name_m]Mike[/name_m], [name_u]Zeke[/name_u]
Short vowel + K sound is spelled Vck. [name_u]Jack[/name_u], [name_u]Nick[/name_u]
Multi syllable word + -ick/-ack sound is generally spelled -ic/-ac. Some names like this have a -ck option (Dominic/Dominick)
Other Languages
Spanish and [name_u]French[/name_u] use QU instead of K before E and I. [name_m]Enrique[/name_m], [name_m]Jacques[/name_m]
Italian uses CH before E and I. [name_f]Chiara[/name_f].
Irish always uses C. [name_m]Cillian[/name_m].
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I never learned any of these… and nope not really! Especially as my name starts Ka… Also prefer Killian
Some of these wouldnt be pronounced the same swapping c and k. So for easy pronunciation I like a “normal” spelling.
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I’ve never heard any of these rules before but it certainly is interesting! We just had “I before E except after C” and that was about it (and even that one doesn’t work!).
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Its so confusing I just memorize which words use what lol, easier for me
I never really learned any of these, and it definitely isn’t something I’d go by. There are a lot of gaps… one being [name_u]Kris[/name_u] vs. [name_u]Cris[/name_u].
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I do tend to refer these spelling to their variations; Celly, for example, just [name_f]Lola[/name_f] strange to me, as does Ezeciel. Mice also doesn’t work, obviously!
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That’s all we had as well.
That means in the great debate between [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] and [name_f]Katherine[/name_f] the C version is the more “correct” one. (I’m glad to hear that since that’s the spelling I like better.)
[name_f]Katherine[/name_f] and anything related to it (Kate, Karen) seem to be a common exception.
They don’t tend to teach all of these as it’s too complicated for children. The beginning of the word rule is most commonly taught.
Cycle circle cent kangaroo koala knit karate krusty krab lol
I learned [name_f]English[/name_f] grammar / spelling a long time ago and can’t remember much about how they taught it. I do remember learning how e at the end makes a long vowel. For example Jake/rake or Jace/race. Im certain the beginning letter was just K makes a hard sound and C is sometimes like a K and sometimes not. This is why I prefer [name_u]Killian[/name_u] over [name_m]Cillian[/name_m] since it looks how it sounds to me even though its not the original spelling.
Maybe I would have been taught more of these if I learned [name_f]English[/name_f] as a second language? [name_f]Glad[/name_f] I didn’t have to go through that
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Honestly, in almost every single situation where I am given a choice with a name I will pick C over K, I just like how it looks way better. I’m usually not huge on altering spellings just for the sake of it, but I personally have [name_f]Kathleen[/name_f] as a name I want to honor, but like how [name_f]Cathleen[/name_f] looks so much more.
When I taught kindergarten we did a lot of phonics work and I actually did teach something similar to my students! I didn’t apply it to names, but I did teach that Ca, Co, Cu (/k/ sound before a, o, u) is a hard sound and Ce, Ci, [name_m]Cy[/name_m] (/s/ sound before e, i, y) is a soft sound. The same goes for G (Ga, Go, Gu are hard sounds, and Ge, Gi, Gy are soft sounds). Of course there are exceptions to the rule! (The word girl and get for example). Thanks for sharing!!
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