What's In a Name: How I Went from Cathy Ray to Katie Schweiss

My 50th class reunion is coming up this fall (Johnson High School, Class of '73). Joining the Facebook reunion group as well as some other East Side/St. Paul groups has put me in touch with friends from long ago, many I haven't seen or talked to since graduation. Of course, nobody recognizes the name Katie Schweiss, so I have to explain my maiden name was Ray, and that back in the day I went by Cathy.

And inquiring minds want to know why. So I figured rather than tell and re-tell the transformation I'd just write a post I could direct people to for the explanation.

When I was born in 1955, variations on the name Cathy (Kathleen, Catherine, etc.) were among the most popular girl names. But in my case I was named for both my grandmothers - Catherine Anne. Catherine for my paternal grandmother, Anne for my maternal grandmother. I think Catherine took precedence because I was the first grandchild on my dad's side.

Over the next few years the name 'Cathy' grew in popularity. (A review of my high school yearbooks shows lots of girls named Kathleen, Kathy, Cathy, etc.) The 'Chatty Cathy' doll was introduced in 1960; I got one for Christmas that year. She looked very much like this one; I remember the pink striped dress. And henceforth I was known as 'Chatty Cathy' in my family.

My parents thought it was funny; me, not so much. I will however admit to it being fairly accurate. Although girls named Betsy suffered worse when the 'Betsy Wetsy' doll came out, I hated that nickname. This is an important detail for what transpired about 13 years later.

Oh, and then there was the Patty Duke show, which aired beginning in September of 1963. Cathy was one of the cousins.

My first year in college I took a job at 3M, working nights during the school months and days in the summer and on breaks. Part of my job involved learning word processing in a rather small office. I think there were about 10 of us in that area, four of which were named Kathy or Cathy. Drove our supervisor nuts, and he insisted that 3 of us choose different derivatives. Eager to shed the 'Chatty Cathy' nickname, I opted for Katie. It was an easy choice, partly meant to honor my dad's mom, Catherine Whannel Ray. In our family she was known as 'Grandma Kate,' and one of her nieces called her Aunt Katie. Funny, I asked her a lot of questions about family history over the years but never got around to asking how she became Kate with a 'K' since her full name began with a 'C'. Nowadays you see names like Cady, Catie, etc., but back then it was only spelled one way. The other reason? An excellent way to ditch the 'Chatty Cathy' thing.

For fifty years very few people have called me Cathy. My parents wouldn't make the shift, and I get it - they clung to the nickname they gave me when I was born. I get that; it was a bit hard for me to adjust when my three children chose different versions of their given names. But my parents both died several years ago, and all my elderly aunts and uncles who knew me by that name are long gone. I've lost touch with my cousins and really have no contact with my siblings.

At present only two people call me Cathy - one, a long-ago co-worker and dear friend I reconnected with a few years ago via a St. Paul Facebook group (he calls me Kathy Ray, because that's how he knew me, and after nearly 50 years he's not about to change; I don't blame him - he never knew me as Katie). The other is a guy I knew in high school; we hung around with many of the same friends. We got in touch via our class reunion group, and he calls me Cath. Funny, my dad called me that at times. Pat calling me that is a special thing, which I need to tell him, because for me it's a tender term of affection and support. He was my rock and anchor through a recent health care scare involving my husband, checking in on me several times a day and encouraging me.

Oh, and the Schweiss part is easy; that one is due to the aforementioned husband. We're about to celebrate 38 years of marriage. I did keep the 'Ray' part as my middle name, mainly because of my Grandma Kate, the other Katie Ray.