whats the big deal about spelling out names?

[argylesocks]

I'm just curious. I see so many good names thrown out on here because they're 'hard to spell'

I'm not talking unheard of names with 14 letters but normal names like Maeve and Phoebe seem to get the boot because people won't be able to spell them. Is there more of a spelling problem in this country than I realise?

What's the big deal if you have to say, "Phoebe, that's 'o-e' " a few times?

Would you only consider names that are so common there could be absolutely no question of spelling?

It wouldn't bother me having to spell a name out. I'm called Sharon and people spell it Sharron, Sharen etc

"What's the big deal if you have to say, "Phoebe, that's 'o-e' " a few times?"

The problem is that it's not just the parents who have to do this. The child themselves may well have to continue to do this throughout their life. I had a surname that wasn't an easy one to spell right the first time you heard it. I lost count of the hundreds of times I would have to spell it over the phone or every time I had to give my name when I had an appointment somewhere.

I have an uncommon spelling of my name so I spell it out all the time. You just get used to it and it doesn't bother me.

I think the problem is that you have to tell people how to spell it because they don't feel comfortable even trying to write it down unless they already have an idea how to spell it. So it just feels like both of you are a bit inconvenienced.

I have an unusual spelling of a common name, I often let people mispell it, but sometimes I can't, and then it's just a bit of faff I wouldn't impose on DC without a bit of thought.

My children have a surname that is difficult to spell and my dd has a first name that is difficult to spell and it doesn't bother them at all. They quite enjoy knowing when others don't.
I have what should be a very simple surname to spell and people get it wrong ALL the time and actually argue with me about the correct spelling. Sometimes I think my dcs have it easier as few people even claim to know how to spell their names so asking is easier and then everyone gets it right!

A few times?! That adds up to every single flipping transaction its the accrual of the tediousness of having to do it that will drive the unfortunate child mad. Oh the relief at getting married and changing my unusual surname to a more common one.

I've spent all my life having to spell my first name, surname and the village I grew up in. It's only frustrating when I have to leave answer phone messages, or when people I've known for years still spell my name wrong. Random mis-spellings or mis-pronunciations don't both me.... in fact I find it fun when people are reading out names, I always know when they get to mine because there's a pause :o
I've always loved my unusual name and kept it even when I got married.

DD has been given an equally unusual name, which is probably even harder to get your head around phonetically, and she has my surname as a middle name. I would never have dreamed of giving her a run of the mill, "Jane" type name though.

One company insisted on sending me mail addressed to "kerala Dogtit" which was NOT what my maiden name was except for the first letter.

like booandbump pointed out, even normally-spelled names can be misspelt.

My name is Andrea and i have to spell that, even though there's only one way to spell it.

I dont see it as a problem Ive always had to spell my name out first and last names and that hasnt changed since I got married.

I think of it as a conversation starter!

Wouldnt it be boring to all have names that are easy to spell, god we would all be called mary and Harry!

my surname has 3 letters too.

it's Don
and I get
Donn
Donne
Dunn
Dom
Gon
Bon
Bom
etc

I have to spell both of my names, even though they're fairly common.

My daughter's name is Esme, and nobody ever seems able to spell or pronounce it

I have to spell out my last name most of the time, and my dc's first names and last names I don't think it is that big of a deal.

Forgot to say, I never mind having to spell my name. It certainly wouldn't be my reason for not giving a child an unusual name.

I have always had to spell my first name and now my married name. Doesn't bother me. Sometimes I can't be bothered though and just let people spell it wrong.

I have to spell my (married) surname out every single time I say it, plus we live on a road where I have to spell the road name every time too.
I've given all my DC easy to spell first names as I think it would be too annoying for them to have to spell both names all the time!

My name's fairly uncommon - I've never actually met another one, or even met someone who knows another one, lol (and no it's not actually tabulahrasa)

Nobody who has heard it can spell it at all or seem to even get anywhere near it and nobody who has seen it written down can pronounce it properly - I get called another name entirely.

Every single time I ever have to give my name for something I have to spell it - to the point where I don't even bother telling them my name at all, I just launch straight into spelling it out, and then I usually have to repeat that two or three times because although it's not complicated it doesn't seem to register because they haven't heard it before.

People also seem to forget it easily, now personally I find that odd, but again I don't think they register it as a name and it's just remembered as - I knew it was something unusual.

it does get more than a bit irritating...

talking of Phoebe - I watched Friends the other day, Christina Applegate was in it, the one where she can't remember the baby's name is Emma, she thinks Phoebe is called Emma and when Phoebe corrects her, she just looks confused and says 'Why does she keep making that funny noise?'

that's the reaction I get to my name, rofl, it genuinely doesn't seem to register as a name at all.

It is, it's just an uncommon one, lol

I've started calling myself by my full name so people can hear it properly, but with my double-barrelled surname it sounds like I'm being pretentious.

Haha tabulah, that is funny. I have to spell out both my names everytime too and aside from the occasional twinge of annoyance it's never really bothered me. I was just wondering if this was an actual reason people decide against names they like since it's commonly brought up as a reason to veto names

ach it's not like it's a major major thing, it's nippy sometimes like - especially when you end up having to do the phonetic alphabet, lol, but I must admit when it came to naming the DC I was of the opinion that having the choice of literally thousands of names it must be possible to find a recognizable name that's pretty easy to spell and is also nice, so that's what I was looking for

but if I'd found one that I loved and it was hard to spell, I wouldn't have ruled it out purely on that basis

My DS's name is fairly unusual for young boys in the UK (about 650th) but it is:
a) 4 letters
b) also a common English noun
c) plenty of famous people are called it

Yet I still have to spell it out every time - even the registrar got it wrong twice

My name is fairly common and people still spell it incorrectly. My maiden name is a standard Scottish name but can be spelt with an S or a Z, not a huge issue, but annoying. Then some American sitcom have everyone mispronoucing it and adding an extra I. I now have a McName and constantly have to correct the MacName.

None of my names are unusual or uncommon, but are regularly mispelled. Can't win either way. :o

'b) also a common English noun'

for some reason (possibly hanging about too long reading things on here instead of doing other stuff) I read that as verb instead of noun and sat there thinking, walk, jump, laugh, what on earth sort of name can be a verb? What an odd name that must be rofl

It's a pain in the backside. Until I got married at the grand old age of 28 I constantly had to spell my Scottish Mac.... surname or correct people's mis-pronunciation. I then got a weird married surname which I also have to spell for people and correct the various different mis-pronunciations. It does my head in.

I have a really odd Irish surname, and I have to spell it a lot. I'm really grateful my first name's easy to spell. :)