Cat Steven''s'' / Cat Steven

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Anna242  #278154  Mon, 09 Oct 06 12:00 PM

hello

my friend is a big fan of a singer called Cat Stevens, i asked about the real name, she told me his real name is Steven! so why did  he add ''s'' to his name after adding Cat before it? if i want to do the same will my name be ''Cat Annas''? if so why?

another question this singer is a male, is cat for both male and female?

thank you

  
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nona the brit  #278161  Mon, 09 Oct 06 12:13 PM

Steven was his original first name. He decided to use it as the surname for his stage name of Cat Stevens. Stevens is a common surname, Steven is not. So he changed the spelling to make it a more natural surname.

Neither Anna nor Annas is a common surname in English so if you wanted to use one as a surname, just take your pick.

There isn't a convention of adding S to your first name if you wish to use it as a surname -there aren't any rules at all covering this situation as it is a highly unusual thing to do anyway. How many people do you think do this?

Cat - I'm guessing (because of the era) it's because of the use of cat as 60s slang for 'cool person'. It no longer has that meaning.

These days, Cat can be short for the female names of Catherine, Kate and so on. It's pretty unusual.

Anyway, he's not called Cat Stevens any more. He is now called Yusuf Islam.

  
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The name says it all.
Anna242  #278180  Mon, 09 Oct 06 01:02 PM

thank you

 Stevens is a common surname, Steven is not.

So stevens isn't a name but a surname? why they add S pls bear with me

Cat - I'm guessing (because of the era) it's because of the use of cat as 60s slang for 'cool person'. It no longer has that meaning.

These days, Cat can be short for the female names of Catherine, Kate and so on. It's pretty unusual

but can we say Cat to a male?

  
Grammar Geek  #278248  Mon, 09 Oct 06 03:43 PM

If you say "You're a cool cat" to a male, you will sound like you are trying to imitate slang from several decades ago. I advise against calling anyone "Cat" unless the person's name is Catherine/Katherine/Kate, etc., as Nona has said, and who said "But my friends call me Cat."

  
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Barbara, who answers in American English.
nona the brit  #278270  Mon, 09 Oct 06 04:26 PM

Stevens is just a name. The s doesn't have any special meaning.

Similar names: Andrew is a first name but Andrews is a surname. Peter is a first name but Peters is a surname. Other names may be the same as first or surnames, for example, Paul.

Other names are only first names or surnames. It's not a common practice to turn your first name into your surname.

  
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