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Kitterick

If you like Kit on a boy, don't like Christopher as a full name, and don't want Kit as a stand-alone name, then Kitterick is for you. This Irish surname, sometimes found as Ketrick or Mac Kitterick, comes from MacShitric, meaning "son of Sitric." Sitric was not native, it came from the Norse name Sigtrygg, meaning "true victory." How did this Scandinavian name get over to Ireland? Well, perhaps it had something to do with Sigtrygg Silkbeard, King of Dublin somewhere around AD 989 to 1000. His reign was so important that he was written about in  both the12th-century Irish Cogadh Gaedhil re Gallaibh and the 13th century Icelandic Njal's Saga. Before Mr. Silkbeard there was Sitric Cáech, a Viking who ruled Dublin and Northumbria in the 10th century. His son, grandson and great-grandson also became rulers.

Kit itself is not a popular choice, probably because a formal name is more desired. In 2015 only 40 boys were named Kit (and 28 girls), 10 boys with the spelling Kitt. There is no record of Kitterick being used as a given name.

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