To think that children's names should be spelt roughly how they sound

[cleggy36]

There's a boy in my Cub pack who has a name which sounds like a very common boy's name but which has what I assume is a traditional Gaelic spelling. As a result it is more than twice as long as the more common spelling and has only the first letter in common. There is no possible way that anyone not familiar with the name could get even close to pronouncing it correctly. And it's not one I've ever come across before, such as Niamh, which is also tricksy, but slightly better known.

I just think that as a child life has enough challenges without being lumbered with a name which almost everybody is going to pronounce or spell completely incorrectly just to satisfy the parents cultural identity.

like trey-c you mean?

i know a jorja.

whats the name? How is it spelt/pronounced?

errr no, i don't.

I can assure you that my life has been rich, rewarding and fulfilled despite two names -forename and surname - which most English people apparently find impossible to spell. Sure, I get annoyed. But, you know, I rather love my name. And it's my cultural identity too.

I'd rather not say, on the off chance that lad's parent's will read this. I would bet money that there's only one Cub in the whole of the UK with this name.

In the case of Irish or Gaelic spelling, or indeed any original spelling, then I think YABU. It's unreasonable to expect traditional names to be changed because you haven't heard of them.
In the case of Trey-C then YANBU. Why oh why oh why

What you say could be quite offensive to the Irish...especially the Gaelic speaking community!

Wuld you suggest that th French spell Jean as John? Or other countries dispense with their own versions in favour of English ones simply to
to make it easier for you?

I know a KT.

To be honest and speaking as somebody who has has to spell her name to everybody, and explain how exactly to pronounce it, it does not really casue me any major head ache in life.

Yes it takes an extra few moments when I give my name, take a phone etc. But overall it really is not much of a hinderence.

Trad. Celtic etc. names, yabu.

Chavvy name changes, like Kloe, Klara or anything of that ilk, yanbu.

Right, so an Irish child with Irish parents should have his name spelled differently (and incorrectly) just because you can't spell it? Right...

Should I have spelt my DD's name Jenaveev then, just to make it easier for you?

I admit I'm a snob about 'creative spellings' but where the chosen spelling has history like many Gaelic names, or like my DD's name, then that wins over easy-for-cleggy36-to-spell every time.

Clare / Claire / Clair
Sara / Sarah
John / Jon
Stephen / Steven

YABVU.

I forgot to add...you are being ridiculously unreasonable

DS is Irish, with an Irish name, his english relatives still struggle to pronounce it (although in Ireland its a normal everyday name). Even if I lived in England it would never occur to me to modify the spelling to a wrong one

I can understand why someone who is Irish or has Irish roots goes with a name like Niamh or Siobhan or Podraig etc. It's when someone has no connection with the language or the country and still chooses to saddle the poor child with a name like a bad hand at Scrabble that it makes less sense.

I think people who are close to/teach this boy will know how to pronounce and spell his name?

I like hearing names from different cultures/ languages etc and you can always ask if you're not sure on how to pronounce. I did used to think Niamh was pronounced Neema!

I don't like deliberate mis-spellings in order to make a name quirky though- like the Jorja mentioned above.

So yes I think YABU.

Well Niamh only became known because people used it. If everyone followed your line of thought many beautiful traditional Irish names would disappear (including my own). Mine is very common in Ireland but practically unheard of outside of outside and is spelt completely different from how it is pronounced.

I find it rather weird, actually, the idea of having a name that people can spell or pronounce.

And I very much like the fact that I am the only person with my name (the combination of) around.

Do you mean Ruaridh instead of the Anglicised Rory?

Sorry but YABU.

Try learning Gaelic as this will aid your pronunciation and comprehension of the meaning of names.

BaggyCoconut - I'm interested in your comment because it's only the child's experience that I actually care about, not mine or his parents. I pronounce his name correctly and if I write it on anything he's going to see I make sure it's spelled correctly.

What was it like when you were 8 or 9 - did it cause you any distress or was it just something you'd had to deal with forever so you never noticed?

Oh Shinade, Neeve etc, MUCH better
or, the flipside
a name pronounced Wyvonne.