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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

odd spellings/deliberate wrong spelling

69 replies

discobeaver · 17/10/2010 10:16

Why do people do this? The name sounds the same, and all it means is the poor child will spend its life telling people how to spell their name, with people getting it wrong on cards and letters and forms and so on.

Sometimes I think parents get carried away and don't think about the implications of actually living with a name.

OP posts:
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isisandivan · 19/10/2010 18:54

whats the point. if your trying to be 'original' then choose an original/different name, not just a common name with a different spelling!! And as for Trayc from the x-factor...although she didn't choose the name it just makes me think less of her :/

strandeadatsea · 19/10/2010 18:15

But at some point people had to make up names. Why are we so against people getting creative and making up some new ones now?

(although I am very confused by $eisha or whatever her name is)

lurcherlover · 19/10/2010 17:27

MintyMoo, I believe Alys is in fact the old English spelling, and Alice the French one which became more fashionable post the Norman invasion. But I don't think that's the same thing - Alys is rare, but it is an established alternative spelling, as is Huw and all the variations of Katherine etc. Treyc, Katey, Maddelyn and their friends are in a different category.

MintyMoo · 19/10/2010 10:12

'La-a, pronounced Ladasha'

But surely that should be Lahyphena?

I don't think using a foreign spelling is unreasonable, I have Welsh roots and would love to have an Alys if I ever have a girl to reflect her Welsh heritage. I don't see why I should spell the name Alice just because I'm in England, not Wales. Same with Huw/Tomas etc. Using a foreign spelling when you have no connections to that country is a bit different though I guess - but at least the spelling is legitimate. Like Elisabeth/Elizabeth, Katharine/Katherine/Kathryn etc.

canella · 19/10/2010 09:33

dh and i come from different countries and spelt dc1's name the way it would be in his country despite us living in britain at the time! it caused a lot of people to have trouble spelling her name even tho we had only added one letter to it!

but we now live in his country and there's no more trouble.

but it made us very aware of making sure dc2 and 3 had names that you could really only spell one way!

Minione · 19/10/2010 09:26

Oh that is the best name ever! Whatever goes through a person's mind to name their child that?

Absolutely, without the fadas I assume it is spelt incorrectly. However, Micheal had nothing on La-a!!

mathanxiety · 18/10/2010 22:54

If Micheal was Irish there would be two fadas, one on the I and one on the A (pr. Mee-haul)

I would assume it was just spelled wrong without the fadas. Even in the US, the UK standard version probably accounts for 95% of Michaels. I would assume it was a misspelling in the US too.

The one that takes the Biscuit is a girl at school with DS, who rejoices in the name La-a, pronounced Ladasha.

MardyBra · 18/10/2010 19:25

Even if Rueben and Micheal are legitimate names, they smack too much of misspelling to me.

sparkleshine · 18/10/2010 16:08

I thought of Treyc from xfactor also. Strange way of spelling, but it's spelt how it's said I guess.

There's many ways of spelling my name and I have to spell mine out a lot but it's just become an automatic thing for me to do.
My friend has called her girl Caytlyn rather than Caitlin that I'm used to seeing. I don't think there's a proper way.
I know an Ivie, ( Ivy) at DS nursery. A school friend was/ is called Raechelle

Minione · 18/10/2010 14:04

I think there's a difference between somebody having Gaelic/Irish connections and spelling Micheal this way and somebody who has just spelt it wrong!

My name is a fairly common name but it is pronounced differently (the old english rather than the more popular continental way). Whilst I expect to have people pronounce it the more common way on reading it, I get seriously pissed off when people tell me that my name is this and that it is spelled wrong when I correct them. I had many teachers do this to me at school so as a teacher myself I am ultra careful when pronouncong names etc.

Ineedsomesleep · 18/10/2010 12:16

Ellie, Micheal maybe a legit spelling in America, but its not here.

mummy1982 · 18/10/2010 11:28

debby or debbie?

elliephant · 18/10/2010 10:35

Micheal is a legit spelling . Popular in US and with a fada on the 'a' it is a gaelic version of Michael.

lurcherlover · 18/10/2010 10:24

Proudfoot, I didn't say I judged children as a teacher if they have odd spellings - I said it's irritating. Which it is. And Jakob is NOT the standard spelling of Jacob in Britain, therefore counts as an odd/deliberate spelling choice IMO. All the Jakobs I have known have not had any German/Eastern European heritage - but have had parents who were determined to give their kid a "cool" name.

HRHCavey · 18/10/2010 09:05

Another fan of the Bad Baby Names site here.

I don't have a problem with ethnic differences in spelling (Amy/Aimee etc, but I can't abide names that have been deliberately spelt incorrectly. These parents are dooming their children to a lifetime of correcting other people.

And as for the random "y" that has entered common usage [shudders]....

readywithwellies · 17/10/2010 22:30

sorry there isn't a donought is there?? Biscuit

readywithwellies · 17/10/2010 22:28

Kristoefer [donut]

plonker · 17/10/2010 21:47

I have come across some weird and maybe not so wonderful name spellings. The ones that stand out off the top of my head are Abbie-Gayle and Khaiyl (Kyle) Confused

1Catherine1 · 17/10/2010 20:58

Strange as it may sound my mother didn't even pick the spelling of my name and there are plenty of them!! She was rather unwell the day the birth was registered and told the woman my name and she spelt it how she thought it should be spelt without even consulting my mother. Years later when my mum came to enrol me in school she had to consult my birth certificate to find out the spelling. Even worse is when I went to university and my dad had to fill in a form for me he spelt it wrong!!

proudfoot · 17/10/2010 19:32

Jakob is not a misspelling - it is the normal spelling where I am (German-speaking) and all around Eastern European! I am a bit Hmm that a teacher would "judge" this name...

I think there is a big difference between cultural variations and real misspellings.

There are some names where I really like the alternative spelling (such as Elinor, which is an older version than Eleanor) and I would be a bit annoyed if people thought I was "uneducated" for picking the "wrong" spelling Confused

Some spellings are cringey thought IMO - Elouise, Racheal, Pheobe...

discobeaver · 17/10/2010 19:19

Well crikey ihave3beauties (sorry but I think 'is that 3 nipples?' I know I know, wrong! Especially with my username :)) of course there are more serious issues to discuss, but this IS a baby names forum!

OP posts:
merryandmad · 17/10/2010 17:45

My dd1 has a less used spelling of a very modern name. Initially it was because we were going to give her a more grown up name on her birth certificate and use the shortened version as her day to day name.

The longer spelling was to incorporate her nick- name more into her full name- giving her nick name the correct spelling. (Hope that makes sense)

People assume it is because it was spelled incorrectly. We weren't trying to be unique, or clever. Just trying to give her a name which she could use either way and have options.

However this has since slightly back-fired as she is nearly always called by her full name and not the shortened nick name. Also she would dearly love the crappy tat that has your name on it, but can never find her name.

It is also a name that has received a fair amount of criticism on Mumsnet, but we love it, because it is her name.

flopsy1974 · 17/10/2010 17:26

Silly parents trying to be original. A bit daft if you ask me.

silkymitts · 17/10/2010 15:18

What about Treyc on the xfactor (Tracy) who would ever spell her name correctly.

Minione · 17/10/2010 14:58

I think Micheal spelt that way cis possibly Irish and is pronounced Me-hul (or similar!). However as a teacher I have taught a Micheal and I don't think there was any Irish influence, more a case of a unique spelling!

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