I associate Serena with Gossip Girl, not Serena Williams. Also, I grew up with a girl named Serena and when she went through a slutty phase in 8th grade, became known as Sleazena all through high school.

Serena Kate is beautiful as a double-barrell name (or whatever it's called.)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love them both but Kate (just Kate not Katherine) is my favorite girl name but I married a Katz so we could use it.

Both are powerfully strong yet feminine names.

Real missed opportunity for Kitty Katz.

Hahahaha, this made me lol

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love them both but Kate (just Kate not Katherine) is my favorite girl name but I married a Katz so we could use it.

Both are powerfully strong yet feminine names.

Real missed opportunity for Kitty Katz.

You should have been my maid of honor

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kate is a nickname for either Catherine or Kathleen. Please do not just name someone Kate. Give your daughter the option to use a more formal name someday if she chooses. Also, this name has been wildly popular for 25 years--there are lots and lots of Kates.
Know that the name Serena will always be associated with Serena Williams--I don't think it's stuffy.
These are very different names, each with a very different style. Are you sure there aren't any other names you'd consider?

My first association was Serena and Lily. Which conjures feminine, coastal vibes to me. I like it.

My first association is Serena Southerlyn from Law and Order.

My first association is Serena van der Woodsen.

Anonymous wrote:I love them both but Kate (just Kate not Katherine) is my favorite girl name but I married a Katz so we could use it.

Both are powerfully strong yet feminine names.

Real missed opportunity for Kitty Katz.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These two names are wildly different. I prefer Kate because I like traditional names.

Plus 1. There are not many Kate’s.

Maybe were you live there are not many Kates (no apostrophe) but where I live there are loads, in almost every age group.

When we had our child 9 years ago it was the top female name for new babies in the DC area.

Anonymous wrote:I don't like nicknames as full names so even though I like Kate as a short form of any number of great names, I lean toward Serena.

I'm not a huge tennis fan but I'm confused by how many posts seem to think an association with Serena Williams is a bad thing.

We seriously considered Serena for our child. We are white. As we discussed it with others I found more than a few people had a negative reaction to the association with Serena Williams. Here I'd thought that was a good thing. I like Serena Williams. That was part of why I liked the name. Serena Williams is a polarizing figure. It's hard not to see people's reaction to her as a gauge of misogyny/racism, even if internalized.

I personally had more reservations because of the association with Gossip Girl.

What finally clinched it was when an insightful friend raised her eyebrow at this name in the context of our loud, emotional family and said "Do you think it likely your child will be serene?"

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kate is a nickname for either Catherine or Kathleen. Please do not just name someone Kate. Give your daughter the option to use a more formal name someday if she chooses. Also, this name has been wildly popular for 25 years--there are lots and lots of Kates.
Know that the name Serena will always be associated with Serena Williams--I don't think it's stuffy.
These are very different names, each with a very different style. Are you sure there aren't any other names you'd consider?

My first association was Serena and Lily. Which conjures feminine, coastal vibes to me. I like it.

My first association is Serena Southerlyn from Law and Order.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These two names are wildly different. I prefer Kate because I like traditional names.

Plus 1. There are not many Kate’s.

Maybe were you live there are not many Kates (no apostrophe) but where I live there are loads, in almost every age group.

They're just so different! Do you have any other kids? Does one sound better with your last name?

I slightly prefer Serena but, as others have said, it's hard to pick because they're both nice names, just totally different. Serena is fancy and elegant, and Kate is sporty and classic.

Anonymous wrote:These two names are wildly different. I prefer Kate because I like traditional names.

Plus 1. There are not many Kate’s.

I don't like nicknames as full names so even though I like Kate as a short form of any number of great names, I lean toward Serena.

I'm not a huge tennis fan but I'm confused by how many posts seem to think an association with Serena Williams is a bad thing.

Anonymous wrote:Kate is a nickname for either Catherine or Kathleen. Please do not just name someone Kate. Give your daughter the option to use a more formal name someday if she chooses. Also, this name has been wildly popular for 25 years--there are lots and lots of Kates.
Know that the name Serena will always be associated with Serena Williams--I don't think it's stuffy.
These are very different names, each with a very different style. Are you sure there aren't any other names you'd consider?

My first association was Serena and Lily. Which conjures feminine, coastal vibes to me. I like it.

Anonymous wrote:Please let me know your vote. We’ve narrowed down to two names. I love the classic simplicity of Kate. Serena is also feminine and less common, but a little stuffy? Please let me know what you prefer!

Kate but I would give her a real name like Katherine or Kathleen and use Kate as the nickname.