The name Cato/Catoe and other variants are the Americanised version of the
Scottish name Catto. When I lived in Scotland, I bacame very used to the
fact that if I told anyone my name was Cato (pronounced KAY-toe), the would
immediately begin to write it (as we've all had happen to us many times...)
as "Ka..." and I'd have to correct them. I had one man look at me (after I
explained to him the spelling of my name) as if I were crazy and he
patiently explained that my family were not a bunch of Romans and I should
learn to pronounce my name correctly--kat-OE. I finally gave up fighting
it after about a year, and for the next several years I was Amanda kat-OE.
I still kept the "Cato" spelling.
The name Catto is very old in Scotland, especially in the north, and
probably of Pictish origin. (No, I am a Celtic scholar--I am not
disseminating tourist pap! There's more than enough of that going around
with some names.) It comes from cattech/cattenach, which means the clan of
the cat. It is in all probability the origin of the Clan Chattan (or clan
of the cat, as seen in the clan crest), which is much older than the story
of the legendary founder, Ghillechattan Mor. Tribal or clan names based on
totem animals have been found to be some of the most ancient divisions of
societies, and what few Pictish names are left, both familial and place,
are based on nature. This is very common before the taking of familial
descent-based names.
Our name has nothing to do with the Roman orator and senator, despite what
some of the more fanciful Victorian "genealogies" have to say. Its further
inclusion in any scholarly work on genealogy or family history is an
affront and insult to a fascinating people.
Amanda Cato