do you think nurses/midwifes/registrars [ professionals involved - should be able to tell parents of new baby how actually to SPELL it?>

As a registrar I used to question the spellings of names all the time. People can be very insistent.

I know a Callum whose Mum pronounces it Kay-lem. I often wonder if she saw it written down and imagined it was pronounced like that or decided to do it deliberately.

I think the professionals should ask.

lots of people cant spell and their Dcs shouldn't bear the burden of that.

Buttons33 please please send her a pm and ask her to double check as you've only come across it as Niamh just in case she hasn't realised! At least then you'll know you've done a nice thing and she can register it properly when the baby comes...

and if she does want it spelt wrong uniquely then she can't turn around and say she didn't know!

I think it depends.

If I were a registrar then I would not question something that was obviously deliberate (Mikayla, Dayzee etc), nor would I question an unusual but know variant (Rachael, D'Arcy etc).

However, I would question something that is just slightly different and looks like a genuine mistake (Neveah, Phoebe, Abagail etc). Just to make sure that was what they wanted.

My dad spelt my sisters name differantly to how my parents had intended. Its the same name, but a less common spelling, think Rachel instead of Rachael.

Ds1 has an odd middle name, its a family name, its not an obvious pronunciation, the registrar asked if were sure that's how we wantwd to spell it. We smiled and said yes, so I don't think that checking would be a bad idea.

Can't a registrar say something like, "okay, just to confirm, this is different from the usual spelling of this name, right?".

I know someone whose father was drunk when he went to register her sister...Peregrine. He just liked the name. The registrar didn't say anything. Should registrars intervene if someone comes in pissed to register their child with some ridiculous name? I think maybe they should say they can't register the child there and then, and ask the parent(s) to come back in a few days when they're less drunk when they've had time to think.

No, you just say "thats an unusual, lovely" and dont think about it again.

Haha! SlopE even!

Intervention like that would be the first step on a slippery slop towards "state-sanctioned names". And wouldn't that just be HORRENDOUS.

There are a lot of professionals who couldn't spell to save their lives.

I don't get too bothered about spellings but I do find it odd when parents give their child a name that isn't obvious as to how it's pronounced and then get the huff when others mispronounce it!

Apparently Oprah Winfrey was supposed to be called Orpah but her dad registered her incorrectly!

We had a Jasson at a place I worked once. He used to say 'no it's Jason' through gritted teeth when people read his name badge and pronounced it Jass- on.

I went to school with a Mechelle in the 70's. Turns out it was not spelling error. Her dad had won money on a greyhound named Mechelle on the day she was born. He figured it was a lucky name.

There was someone at school who had an odd spelling of her name. When questioned she did say that her dad had got the spelling wrong at the registry office. She was embarrassed by it, and I think it must be tough to know your parents got it wrong.

I'm a midwife. When someone tells me what they're calling their baby I ask them how they're spelling the name incase it's an unusual spelling or there's more than one way to spell that name. Steven, Stephen for instance.

I have had people before tell me they don't know how it's spelt. Normally I'll suggest the usual spelling and the parents say fine. Once I didn't have a clue how to spell the name and had to go and google it!

Sometimes people want daft spellings. Their choice.

I know a child named Micheal. I know that, in this instance, it was a genuine spelling mistake on the parents' part as the child is named after someone whose name is Michael, spelled correctly.

Fair enough if people want to jazz up their child's name by changing the spelling. It's not something I'd do, but each to their own. But surely it's only right to point out an accidental error, to avoid the parent/child being embarrassed in future?

I often wonder, too, about names that sound like offensive words. For example, I know a little girl named Hoor. In Scotland that is the exact pronunciation of 'whore'. I have also heard of a Manoor. I'm sure Manoor and Hoor are beautiful names in their original language but they have unfortunate cultural connotations that I hope the parents were at least aware of before they were selected. I'm not saying they shouldn't have chosen them, but I hope they made an informed decision.

jeez , my typing/spelling is terrible!

I know someone who's brother ended up with the middle name of Fredick instead of Frederick as he Dad made a mistake when he registered him. If I was the registrar I think I would say "Do you realise.......etc" and if it's deliberate them fine but at least make them aware if you think there is an error.

Some people choose to spell names 'wrongly' - I know a vicar's daughter called Jazmin, because her parents liked jazz!

Also, I would not be best pleased if I wanted to call my child Elinor or Vivien to be told that it should be Eleanor or Vivienne (as it happens, I love the former two, and dislike the latter).

No, it's not up to "professionals". If people want to know, they'll find out for themselves.