To change my son's name (kind of) at 2 years of age.

[Writerwannabe83]

DS is 2yrs and his name isn't particularly uncommon but nor is it an overly used one either. Prior to having DS my DH was really keen on this name, me not so much but I did agree to it on the premise that we wouldn't spell it in the typical way because that way can lead to a pronunciation of the name which I really don't like.

But anyway, two years down the line and people are still using the typical spelling and it's driving me mad. Anytime he comes home with something from nursery they've labelled it with the typical spelling, they use the typical spelling when writing in his daily journal, when people text me regarding him they spell his name the typical way and I still get birthday and Christmas cards and they have his name spelt the typical way. He received a certificate yesterday after some activity he'd done at a toddler group and as soon as they heard what his name was they automatically wrote it on his certificate but in its default form so now I feel bummed about that because it my eyes it's not my DS's name.

I have told people soooo many times how we spell his name but it's still constantly spelt in its most common form.

It's really starting to grate on me now.

BTW - the spelling of his name is perfectly legitimate but it's just not the spelling that people associate with the name.

I don't particularly blame people because they just spell it as they assume it's spelt but it's starting to get me down now.

As an example of what I'm trying to say, imagine there's a boy called Luke, but instead of his parents wanting to spell it that way they want to spell it Luc but everyone still writes his name down as Luke because that's the typical spelling. That's probably a rubbish example but I just wanted to try and demonstrate it a little

Anyway, despite me really not liking the common way of spelling his name I'm seriously considering changing his name to it because this misspelling of it is driving me mad and I have a feeling DS will be dealing with this all his life and it will no doubt piss him off in the same way it's pissing me off.

Don't change it, is what I meant!

Writer I'm not surprised, I'd be annoyed too.

I'm with you OP!
Aaron - Air-on
Arran - Arran (like the island)
Arun - A-run (Indian name)

People will probably misspell it sometimes, but I think that's better than mispronouncing it to be honest.

He'll correct people himself once he learns to write, and I think it'd be quite cool for him to say "My names Arran, spelt like the island" (if they don't know of the island then they'll ask for the spelling, so it's all good).

Nursery should know better though, please have a word with them about it.

I would take it up with the school as in "can you please spell his name correctly as he is learning to write it and getting confused?"

Tbh I have never seen the Arran spelling, so would always spell it Aaron.

I'd leave it as it is, I think your logic of pronunciation is sensible. When he goes to school/pre-school, you can make sure it is spelt and pronounced correctly at the start.

I considered Arran for my first DC (if she'd been a boy).
I don't like Aaron for the same reason you don't like it; Air-on is not a pronounciation I like at all.

I wouldn't change the spelling. I would say it's better that people spell it wrong than say it wrong. And your ds can just correct people when he's older.
My name is Katy. I'm not called Katherine. People always spell it Katie (which, to me, you use if it's short for Katherine), so I just correct them.

It's no big deal but I'd be more annoyed if people pronounced it wrong (not that you can with my name but I'm just making the point that perhaps people spelling it wrong is better than people saying it wrong).

Christ, that's a ramble but I hope ykwim?!

Are you really going to let complete strangers, or people who won't be in his life forever, dictate that you change his name? Of course you are not. Your mistake is you haven't corrected them every single time they have made a mistake. Do that. Keep the name and pronunciation you want.

I spent my whole first twenty years spelling my first name. And the last sixteen spelling my married surname .

If I heard 'Arran' I would automatically spell 'Aaron' unless corrected. But then I would remember that that Aaron was Arran.

I've always considered 'Air-on' American?? I dislike how it sounds a lot.

I would be peeves with nursery, especially as they must get used to 'interesting' spellings of many names.

My name sounds similar to another when said over the phone etc.- is much so that I used to reply to both in one job.

My son totally nuts self is called Eamonn. We once received a card addressed to Amen

I don't ever go on name threads but I had to on this one, because Arran and Aaron are two different names FFS!

So FWIW YANBU to be massively annoyed if people persist in both mis-spelling and mis-pronouncing it. Aaron is pronounced 'Air-un'. And it isn't his name!

Hah. My name is old-fashioned and not common, but not unheard of. It's spelled the way the name is normally spelled. Still doesn't matter - I've still spent most of my life teaching people how to spell and correctly pronounce my name. You'd be amazed how many people get it wrong, reading it off a sheet.

There's no need to change your son's name. If, for example, you had a Louie instead of a Louis, just carry on correcting the spelling. Especially at nursery!

To me Arran and Aaron are similar but different names and I wouldn't misspell or mistake the two as they are pronounced differently. I'm in Scotland though where Arran is a popular name and Aaron not so much (more an American name I think)

It annoys me far more to hear my name mispronounced than to see it misspelled. Misspellings are just made in an effort to stay true to the way someone heard my name, and are easily (and quietly) corrected. Hearing my name mispronounced, on the other hand, is a bit more embarrassing.

I'd stick with the name that leaves no doubt about pronunciation.

I'm wondering where the Air-on pronunciaters are from? Is this an English pronunciation? I have heard Aaron pronounced Air-on once in my life, and Aaron was quite a common name 20 years ago. Here some people say Urn

To me they are completely different names!

So people see Arran and say Air ron? How very odd!

Oh damn, I missed the Aaron/Arran debate.

In my foreign land, Aaron is pronounced "Aaa-run" and rhymes with Arran. Definitely not pronounced "Air-run". Is it possible some of the people misspelling your son's name grew up with lots of American TV?

I'd keep correcting people until he is old enough to do it himself.

Its easy enough to say something like Arran Like The Island, with a double R.

at Amen.

Aaron is a Biblical name- he was a prophet and Moses' brother. Jewish people certainly pronounce it Air-ron in my experience so for me that is the "right" way to say it. Arran is an island and pronounced as it looks.

I can't help you decide whether to change but I can say I deliberately chose names people would know how to spell and pronounce after having a friend growing up with a name with many possible spellings, and it drove her round the bend, always spelling it or correcting people.

I'm having this trouble at the moment with DDs unusual name being replaced by a more common name, 1 syllable different. Think Susan instead of Susanna. Turns out I hate the name Susan and should have chosen a different name completely 3 years ago to avoid this. But DD has started to respond to it. I guess she'll decide what she wants to be called when she's bigger. For now I correct when I can and hope people remember.

I would pronounce Aaron as Air-on, but I know a lot of people don't. It's biblical. Do people really call Moses' brother Arun? Arran is actually not the same name anyway - it's not Biblical; it's a place-derived name. So tell them not only are they spelling your child's name wrong, it's not even the same name in the first place. It won't stop them though ;)

I'm so relieved that people don't think I'm being crazy!!

Aaron and Arran are two different names, I have never really thought about it like that anymore.

I'm going to write a little note in his home/nursery journal for them to read on Monday about ensuring they are spelling his name correctly, the argument that it's important for him to start recognising his name is a good one!!!

I'm wondering where the Air-on pronunciaters are from?

London. Air-on is how Aaron was always pronounced - perhaps it is because that how it was pronounced in RE lessons, who knows. To me, it seems to be more recent to pronounce it Arran, perhaps linked with more US TV?

If I wanted to ensure Arran, I would spell it like that (which is what the OP has done I think). I would just keep correcting written stuff and accept that, going forward, there will always be problems like there are with many names. DS2 has the traditional anglicised spelling of an Irish name and it is often spelt incorrectly. We just sigh :)

Aaron and Arran are different names not just different spellings and I would pronounce them differently. Put your foot down with the nursery.