I’ve seen a lot of hate on variants of the name [name_f]Caitlin[/name_f], and I wanted to fully explain my views on what is or isn’t an “acceptable” variant. I’m not trying to hurt anybody’s feelings, so please be respectful to me and others of you choose to reply. This is just my opinion. Thank you.
There are two base spellings that every variant of [name_f]Caitlin[/name_f] comes from: the original Irish [name_f]Caitlin[/name_f], and the anglicized [name_f]Katelyn[/name_f]. These are the popular spellings, and if your name is in the family, you can bet these are the first spellings people try.
[name_f]Caitlin[/name_f] is the Irish variant of [name_f]Catherine[/name_f], and was originally pronounced “[name_f]Cat[/name_f]-leen”.
I call [name_f]Katelyn[/name_f] the English version of [name_f]Caitlin[/name_f], though I’ll be honest, I’m not certain of how this spelling came to be.
Looking at these two names it would not be unreasonable to assume that they came from different places. [name_f]Katelyn[/name_f] could easily be a compound of [name_f]Katherine[/name_f] and [name_u]Lyn[/name_u].
A good rule of thumb I stole from somebody (feel free to come forward to take credit) is that if you want to make a name more unique, only change one thing.
By this rule, the original [name_f]Caitlin[/name_f] to my favorite,[name_f]Catelynn[/name_f] is a pretty drastic change. However, if you go from [name_f]Katelyn[/name_f] to [name_f]Catelynn[/name_f], the difference is only as severe as [name_f]Katherine[/name_f] [name_u]Lyn[/name_u] to [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] [name_u]Lynn[/name_u].
In conclusion, please follow the “one change” rule when modifying [name_f]Caitlin[/name_f] or [name_f]Katelyn[/name_f] to avoid a kre8tif spelling, but know that I will defend K8lynne against someone who tries to tell me [name_f]Caitlin[/name_f] is the only way. ([name_m]Just[/name_m] give me some time to prepare an argument. 
)
I only like [name_f]Caitlin[/name_f] because it is the only one which retains the pronunciation “cat-leen” which I love. It’s a beautiful name to me when pronounced that way, and while I have nothing against [name_f]Katelyn[/name_f] & Company they are just not names I like the sound of (and I have personal preference for older names with history behind them).
I feel like everyone in the world is named [name_f]Caitlin[/name_f] (or whatever spelling), and therefore I don’t like any of them.
From what I’ve seen, the original Irish name was Caitlín and it was the acute accent that gave the “KAHT-leen” pronunciation. [name_f]Caitlin[/name_f] (see Meaning, origin and history of the name Caitlin - Behind the Name) is an anglicized form since it lacks the accent mark, which is the only thing that is different alphabetically in the name compared to the English alphabet. Additionally, it’s hard to really narrow down, imo, how we anglicize words. There isn’t very much consistency when it comes to the C/K switch, for example:
- the Danish capital city København to Copenhagen
- the [name_m]German[/name_m] cities of Köln to Cologne
- [name_m]Ky[/name_m]”to to [name_u]Kyoto[/name_u]
- [name_f]Kassandra[/name_f] to [name_f]Cassandra[/name_f]
- [name_m]Christopher[/name_m] stayed the same
I think I’ve only had the [name_f]Katelyn[/name_f] spelling once or twice, although I think it was when I had a class with a [name_f]Katelyn[/name_f], the most common ways I’ve had it spelled are: [name_f]Kaitlyn[/name_f] and [name_f]Caitlin[/name_f]. [name_f]Caitlin[/name_f] was how people usually “misspelled” it when I was younger, while [name_f]Kaitlyn[/name_f] is the most common error I get now. But, that’s just my experience, another region of the US may use [name_f]Katelyn[/name_f] more often than what I see in my area.
[name_f]Caitlin[/name_f] for sure. I’ve never understood why this name has spun so many spelling variations, but now almost all of them look illegitimate and a bit trashy. I feel bad for anyone with the name as they must be asked constantly “Who do you spell it?” Theres [name_f]Caitlin[/name_f], [name_f]Caitlyn[/name_f], [name_f]Katelyn[/name_f], [name_f]Kaitlyn[/name_f], [name_f]Kaitlin[/name_f], ect.
This would be a sweet, fun, and pretty name if it weren’t for all the variations. I know these are the popular ones, but it would just be too frustrating.
[name_f]CAITLIN[/name_f] is the Anglicised version. The Irish version is CAITL”N – with the accent.
[name_f]Caitlin[/name_f] and the other variants are one the overused names in my school. There’s 1 [name_f]Caitlin[/name_f], my friend. 2 [name_f]Kaitlyn[/name_f]'s, 2 [name_f]Katelyn[/name_f]'s in my school. And my cousin(spelled [name_f]Katelynn[/name_f]) and my favorite spellings are probably [name_f]Caitlin[/name_f], [name_f]Kaitlin[/name_f], and [name_f]Kaitlynn[/name_f].