Unusual name spellings

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AIBU to think that people who give their kids unusual name spellings should not get upset at 1) incorrect spellings and 2) incorrect pronunciation.

For example: There is a child I know called Leyah. (pronounced 'lee-uh' as in Leah)

Now, the mum get upset when something had 'Leah' on it, and also upset when someone, upon seeing the name, pronounces it "lay-uh" or "lee-YUH"

AIBU?

The withersee story has been doing the rounds for years

It happened to my cousin. I saw the parcel.

This is exactly why one of my stipulations when choosing baby names was they had to be names with only one common spelling, and that people recognise and know how to spell.

My best friend at school was a Lynsey and she spent her life spelling her name or being called Lindsey Lyndsey Lynsay Lyndsay Lindsay etc etc

I turned down DH's favourite name Kathryn on the basis that there were too many possible spellings.

I totally agree that if people choose an unusual name or a weird spelling for their child's name, they have no right to complain when people get it wrong. The child on the other hand may have the right to feel irritated about it but they should feel irritated with their parents not the poor person who doesn't know how to spell their 'unique' name.

My friend Marc told a barista his name was "Marc with a 'c'". They wrote "Cark" on his cup

LOL. I just spat out my coffee and have been cackling for abut 10 minutes.

My Physics teacher at school was Mr Clarke. He once had something sent to him as "Mr Clark Withernee".

(I'm struggling to think of the popular 70s name that could be mis-spelled as a dessert though)

I thought it was desert, not dessert, so maybe Victoria (or how about Sandy?)
But if it is dessert, it could still be Victoria (sponge).

Oh, if it's mis-spelled, then my brain is totally in the wrong gear!

emwithme - I'm thinking Sarah / Sahara myself

You mean "named after"? Unless you're in fact American?

I think the name will be Sarah.

Not that I'd also know from relatives spelling it Sahara on birthday and Christmas cards. Oh no....

My friend is half turkish but sounds completely English. Her name is Hulya and it is pronounced exactly as it looks: Hooleya, with a voiced "H".

However when she introduces herself and doesn't spell it she often has people who assume she is a hispanic "Julia" and fall over themselves to pronounce the "J" in that guttural throaty way the Spanish do. They think they are being clever...

I suspect a lot of people think her parents were stupid and knew neither how to spell nor pronounce her name. A bit like the people laughing at Zakirayah, Aingeal and the pronounciation of "Mahoney" on here.

my name is a bloody day of the week and the Starbucks barista still got it wrong

I know someone who had flowers sent by her husband, and when they were delivered they had the name on the card as Jackerlyn. She spells it the normal way, by the way.....I presume the person in the florists had never heard it before, though......

I do realise that names can be (and often are) spelled differently in different countries. I also realise that some words are commonly used as names that elsewhere would be an adjective (or similar).

Am not sure how I am meant to appreciate the difference between cultural spellings and yooneek spellings though. Unless someone tells me. I don't think people are deliberately sneery. I do try to give the benefit of the doubt. Context can help.

I have a slightly unusual name, which is spelt without one of the letters commonly used in it. It is the Scottish version of the name. I have had to spell my name all my life. When DD2 was born, I gave her an ordinary name, but spelt in the Welsh way, which means that it lacks a letter that people expect to be there. She has cursed me mildly for that all her life. But then, DD1 has a perfectly ordinary name and i still had someone who spelt it wrongly when she was born. I much prefer classic spellings of names, but there are often multiple variants of the spelling, so i always ask - and believe me, I came across some exceptionally awful names/spellings when i worked in Build A Bear!!

What's wrong with Jane, Susan or Mary?

DH has such a name as does DD, I think as you get older you get used to people mis-spelling & pre-empt it by spelling it out every time.

My DS has a very normal usual name yet regularly gets misspelt by family members - think Sean spelt incorrectly Shaun. We deliberately chose the name & spelling as we didn't think anyone would try to make it "unusual" as both DH & I have names that are misspelt on a daily days

I have an unusual speling for a very usual name. Its a pain in the arse anytime official documents are involved

The problem isn't the spelling or pronunciation of names .. It's the fact that people don't listen .. Or even care sometimes .. Everyone is just too busy making assumptions to actually listen ??

I think its courteous to ask if you are unsure of a spelling, and to check if you have it on a letter, email etc. I often get my common name (think Jane/Jayne) spelt wrong even though whoever is writing to me has it correctly right in front of them, they just can't be arsed to check. Last week I had to have my blood test repeated because someone spelt my surname wrong on the label, despite it being all over my hospital notes.

Also as a teacher I went out of my way to ensure spellings were right for my pupils, and I've had some weird and wonderful spellings in my time. Its probably because my own teachers would often spell both my first and surname wrong, despite me writing it on my work every day. If I'm just making notes for me then I'll have a guess or shorten it but anything that the children or parents could see would need to be spelt right.

Oh, and DH is a Matthew. He shortens it to Matt, which we both thought was the obvious abbreviation for Matthew but often gets Mat, even from his dad!!

Not necessarily not listening- I struggle with auditory processing and often cannot repeat a new word/name without having seen it written down, either then and there or 'matching' it to something I've seen previously. Therefore if I hear a new name that is similar to one I've seen before, eg Kiran I might misprocess it as Kieran.

YANBU I hate it! In DD2 Class, there are three children with the same name. Jayden, Jaeden, and Jaydin godawful name anyway imo