Kathy is not inevitable. I'd use
Katherine if I wanted
Kate. I like the spelling
Katharine too and wouldn't hesitate to use it if I wanted to.
Anna isn't underused, and isn't really "plain" seeming to me. It's a little bit forgettable, but so is
Kate.
Both names are warm and dignified.
Anna seems more grown-up than
Kate,
Kate seems more happy-go-lucky, and that is the main difference to me.
Kate can go by
Katharine, though, so it doesn't really suffer from childishness.
I slightly prefer
Anna because it seems less flighty & "prettygirly" than
Kate, and more modest than
Katharine. I feel like it's more down-to-earth. But I'm not negative about Katharine/Kate;
Anna is just more my style.
This message was edited 1/7/2012, 10:07 AM