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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To want other people to spell DS's name correctly

73 replies

fifi669 · 22/12/2013 10:57

He's called Isaac. It's not difficult. Nursery spell it wrong. Even done of his paternal family do....

OP posts:

greenfolder · 22/12/2013 14:06

You need to chill out- mispelling happens all the time with our 3 dds perfectly ordinary names. No doubt I have mispelled some of dd3 friends- Bodie?

lljkk · 22/12/2013 14:55

Who decides what is standard spelling?
Which is standard: Isobel, Isabelle or Isabel?
How About Daryl or Darrell?
Alicia, Elisha, Aleycha, Aleesha or...?
Don't get me started on the Amelie-Amelia-Emilia-Aemilia's all masquerading as Milly-Millie.

My dad's favourite is Letitia. He says each & every one is spelled differently and they all insist that theirs is the only "usual" way. And he works in the court system, so MUST get it right.

TeacupDrama · 22/12/2013 15:18

YANBU as you have spelt Isaac the normal way, the way Isaac newton spelt it and how it is in the bible,

I have much less sympathy when someone chooses to spell a normal name like David "Davyd "and then a card or something arrives with David and they are livid, if I hear someone is called david in passing I would assume it was spelt david, however if you were a patient and I had you name written in front of me i would spell it the way you had told me

if a 5 year old told me that his friends were called John, Benjamin, Tom and Samuel I would just assume that is the spelling not Jon, benjammine, Thom and samull

some names have alternative spelling that are well known Catherine/ kathryn' ann/anne, michel/ michael

Greenandcabbagelooking · 22/12/2013 15:26

I have to remember that "Isaac has lots of energy, like a double A battery, so double A in his name."

ClaudiusMaximus · 22/12/2013 15:33

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

longjane · 22/12/2013 15:40

I do my family history and I found Isaac and I spelled it wrong but I a do have dyslexia.

trashcanjunkie · 22/12/2013 15:53

Ooh ooh, dp told me about his friend who works in a hospital seeing the name Le-ah.

It's (apparently) pronounced.... Ledashah

Love it!!

Laurel1979 · 22/12/2013 16:38

YANBU, Isaac is a fairly mainstream name and surely most people should be able to spell it. I have come across some names though that are impossible to pronounce, take Blaithin for example. She was most offended when I said it wrong! It's an Irish name but I had managed to live in Ireland for 34 years before coming across it! (It's pronounced Blaw-heen .... How the heck would anyone guess that!)

Marylou2 · 22/12/2013 16:51

My dd is Isabel . I can go through all my Christmas cards and find 5 different spellings but can't be bothered to be cross.

AutumnFire · 22/12/2013 16:51

I embarrassed myself with an Irish family friend who had been introduced to me by email as Siobhan.

And so when I met her face to face, I called her "See-oh-ban".

Now I know its actually "She-vonn", but don't think I would ever have guessed that .

manchestermummy · 22/12/2013 17:18

No-one could spell or pronounce my maiden name even when I spelled it out on saying it. And worst of all would then proceed to tell me that I was pronouncing and/or spelling it incorrectly. Drove me mental. I have an extremely common surname now. My first name is also very common and virtually impossible to not spell correctly.

When DD1 left nursery her leaving certificate was spelled wrongly. I was furious. Not only could she spell and read her name by this point and was upset as a result, having given the nursery 30k-worth of fees for two DC I honestly expected someone to get this right.

breatheslowly · 22/12/2013 17:42

There is a difference between people not knowing which of the accepted variants you use and just misspelling your name when there is just one correct spelling.

nooka · 22/12/2013 17:44

I think that there are a few scenarios here:
1 names with several accepted spellings
2 names that you have chosen to spell 'differently'
3 names that no-one has heard of before
4 names with an accepted 'normal' spelling

I think that the OP's son falls into category 4 and is rightly annoyed. I thought my dd's name was also in 4 but have since found out that there is another accepted spelling, so although it's irritating when another 'l' appears in the middle we have accepted that it is likely to happen.

My name falls into 3 and I really don't get bothered if it is misspelled, I always spell it out for people as a consequence. Much to my surprise ds's name is now also in that group where we live (it's very very common in the UK).

I don't have a huge amount of sympathy for parents who have opted for 2. Generally names don't look better if you spell them weirdly, and it will be a pain for your child forever. As an example ds had a friend called Erikah - what was wrong with Erica?

JuneauWhoIAm · 22/12/2013 17:45

The name
Micheál is Irish and spelled wrong according to many here. If you see it written down are you sure it's not pronounced differently to Michael?

Quenna · 22/12/2013 17:49

One of my DS is called Joseph.

Often get people writing Joesph. Really? It's one of the most common names in the world!!! Aargh.

Weeantwee · 22/12/2013 17:54

I wouldn't know how else to spell Isaac other than the correct way

I have a name that confuses people when they have to write it down. The best spelling I have had was 'Chayrsc'. Try to guess what that is supposed to say!

Groovee · 22/12/2013 17:54

My friend has a Katharine not Katherine like the school office believe she should be. She has returned numerous forms spelling her name correctly.

Skogkat · 22/12/2013 18:04

My DS2's name is from another country but it has a spelling which is widely known in the UK, but isn't commonly used iyswim (think Susannah/Suzannah or whatever) compared to an alternative. So I don't mind people spelling that wrong (he can't care less either).

I have a name which is common here- but said differently where I'm from. I can't give a shit about people pronouncing it wrong, but when they spell it wrong, it gets on my nerves (unless it is due to pronunciation issues, but then that is fairly obvious in my name's case). A similar example would be someone spelling Carrie as Carry.

RooRooTaToot · 22/12/2013 18:23

Quenna I'm pretty good with names and using the correct spelling, but Joseph is always the name I have to spell out to myself. I had a friend called Joseph when I was five and had to spell it out or I would write Joesph. I still spell it to myself 25 years later! I think it is the 'Joe' sound at the beginning which gets me.

I can cope with a wide and varying assortment of spellings from a range of cultures - but Joseph just won't stay in my head.

PurplePidjin · 22/12/2013 18:28

My ds is like Michael or Rachael but not one of those. I introduce him as eg Michael but we call him Mica, or I introduce him as Mica (the -a shortening is the most common, there's a very famous tennis player if the same name)

Most people, 99% or so, then refer to him as Mica

A significant few - none of whom know him well, my boss who has met him once is one of them - then refer to him as Mikey. Seriously, wtaf?!

Fwiw, he can choose the nn he wants when he's older. He's 13 months old though, so i get my way... For now...

ShoeSmacking · 22/12/2013 18:34

I haven't read the whole thread - was too outraged in the first 20 responses or so.

How is it considered something you should just suck up?! Sure, the barista at Starbucks might not get it right but anyone who has an official record of the correct spelling should bloody well use it. I simply cannot understand why the person whose name is being used/pronounced/spelled incorrectly is being unreasonable for correcting people, especially in an official capacity.

Op- tell them politely but firmly to please take note and get it right.

GoldenGytha · 22/12/2013 19:03

DD1 is Rebecca,

Not an unusual or uncommon name, but XMIL insists on Rebbeca,

She's only had nearly 23 years to get it right though.

Original poster

fifi669 · 22/12/2013 19:30

weeandtree I have no idea what that is supposed to spell!

OP posts:

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