The Catherine/Caroline Question

[StefanD99]

Yuletide Greetings.
This might have been asked before, but were the names Catherine and Caroline interchangeable back in the 19th Century? I haven't found anybody asking this before, but I did find after a search on this forum a few examples of Catherines and Carolines seeming to replace each other in records. I too have found an example amongst my ancestors where this may be the case.
Cheers, Stefan

[avm228]

It’s not one of the classic ones (e.g. Ellen/Eleanor/Helena; Emma/Emily/Amelia) but I too have seen examples of Catherine and Caroline apparently being treated as interchangeable.

[StefanD99]

Thanks for the reply avm.
After sleeping on it I decided to go back to what I knew and start from a slightly different angle. I have now uncovered two Thomas and Hannah's in the same county who must be of a similar age, one are Catharine's parents and the other are Caroline's. So far I have only found one couple on their children's christening records, and not in their own right. No prizes for guessing which couple I am interested in.
Cheers,
Stefan

[avm228]

It’s always the way! Obviously feel free to post more info if you’d like Rootschatters to help in the hunt.

[Maiden Stone]

Might it have been clerical error?
Caroline is a feminine form of Charles. Catherine is a very old name, possibly Greek origin.

[a-l]

In my experience , I haven't come across those names as being interchangeable .

[avm228]

There’s an example in this old thread:

https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=544871.9

[Maiden Stone]

There’s an example in this old thread:

https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=544871.9

It was suggested twice that the cases of Catherine/Caroline may have been incorrect transcriptions.

[ThrelfallYorky]

The idea of poor handwriting and then careless transcription from that was what first occurred to me. Is it possible to check out original images of the records that may / may not be your ancestors?