To not use proper spellings when naming your child

[Catterpillarsflipflops]

Am I being unreasonable to think it's ridiculous to use a funky spelling of a normal name. I spent today dealing with lost paperwork for a child as the person that took the details didn't think to check the spelling as there is no other spelling of the name.

It looks silly and just causes no end of problems for the child. It also disadvantages them as straight away people get an image of what the child is like.

I've seen

Jaymz
Ezmay
Lil-leigh

I saw this thread after I started mine in Chat...

I've come across 3 people who spell their first name the way I do. One is German, one's British and the other is Belgian

It's like the actress Sian Blake.

A BBC news programme covered her death at the hands of her so-called partner. They were inundated with callers complaining that her name should be pronounced Siân. Her family was from Jamaica and her name was pronounced Sy-an. I doubt her parents had a scoobie what kind of names could be found in Wales. The spelling made complete sense in Jamaica.

I disagree.
Some foreign names are spelled similarly to british names, but it is a completely different name from another country. I know lots of people with such names.

I knew someone called Sian, pronounced See-ann. She was English.

Oh my good god make it stop now please

I worked with a Johnathon whose father misspelled his name when he registered the birth. He also had a somewhat unfortunate noun as a surname that was a misspelled, shortened version that his family chose when the emigrated to the US to anglicise it. There was a not entirely implausible rumour that his family name inspired a Simpsons character’s name.

See-ann or sigh-ann spelled Sian or Siân drives me insane.

When I read Rosemary and Rosemarie I say them completely differently in my head. ROSEmurry and RosemurrEE.
I don't actually have a problem with fancy spellings of names, I find it interesting.
My interest having been aroused though, I might pronounce Ka-ia as KhyPHenia.
Also Zenobia is a beautiful name, as is Phoebe, but not Zenophoebia.

Sorry, but it does float my goat.

You have to share the spellings now. Were these Irish children or parents?

Drives me insane! Have a friend who named her son BJ. FFS!

It's like the story which was doing the rounds in Scotland about 15-20 years ago about a wee girl called Pocahontas McGinty, or McGlinchey, depending on who was telling the story. If true, wee Pocahontas had been educated in every school in Scotland, and attended every GP surgery and A&E.

The Scotsman published an article debunking the whole thing with the classic headline stating that Pocahontas McGinty disney exist. Similar story in Glasgow area about a girl called Versace McClatchie.

Pocahontas McGinty disney exist. 😆

Find My Past has one birth registered in the UK with Pocahontas as a first name. Not in Scotland. I won't be more specific than that, although the information is in the public domain. (FMP records don't go right up to date, so there may be others more recent.)

There have been four with Pocahontas as a second name, the earliest as far back as 1847. She, Emily Pocohontas (sic) Brown, was registered in Gravesend, which does make sense. Her father was a pilot on the river.

There have been around a dozen Versaces, though again none in Scotland.

My mum told me the "Pocahontas McGlinchey" story - relayed by a friend who apparently heard her name being called for collecting a prescription in Boots. Mum got quite cross when I told her it was a myth - Are you saying Barbara is LYING???

..or their parole application

So you taught a little girl called L-a? In the UK?

Perhaps...the lure of an interesting story got the better of her? 🤔

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/le-a/
Here we go.
Snopes were unable to locate anyone of this supposed name "Le-a" anywhere......

I think it’s from Hebrew - or at least from English posh.

I had a teacher who insisted on care-on and Shar-on for Karen and Sharon

Aye I remember that but was about 30 years ago when the film came out. Apparently there was one up the road from me.

I think the Hebrew name you are thinking of is Keren, not Caron. It means ray of light or horn, which is why Michaelangelo’s Moses has horns on his head.

Must be horrible to be accused of being common when you didn't name yourself.

When Brooklyn Beckham was born the media reported it was to be known as BJ. Thank fuck this never happened. I think his middle name is Joseph.

Have you birthed the youngest Geoffrey in the country?

I was thinking Gerald or Gerard.

Or bloats your goat? 🐐