OK, everybody. Time for a public service thread. Post real names that are unusual but not so bonkers that the poor child will have 80 years of explaining, spelling and justifying to deal with.

[seeker]

Clemency
Timothy
Edith

are my first 3.

[WafflyVersatile]

Adeline.

[Peka]

I LOVE Franklin!! Such a fab name!

[capedcrusader25]

Mine and my dd's names are on here, as is my surname! My name (both names) definitely do not belong on here, every single time I'm asked for either I have to spell them and I'm always asked about my first name.

[IroningBoredDaily]

Nyah is a beautiful name. It sounds nothing like a sneer if pronounced properly ( Ny-ah ). It is one that would need spelling, but luckily is only short.

[delilah88]

George.
Albert.
Millicent.

[delilah88]

Hercule.

[delilah88]

Marmaduke! "Duke" ...come on!

Reggie.

Harvey.

Zia.

[WormCanner]

What sort of name is Nyah? Sounds like a sneer, or a playground taunt

Nyah nyah n'nyah nyah!

[shoobidoo]

Marcus
Xavier
Quentin
Clement

Georgia
Alannah
Tamara
Natasha

[notimefors]

Oh nice to see DD and DS's names here. Unusual but not bonkers was just what I was after.

[exoticfruits]

I don't think that some fit under the rule. Pebble and Echo sound bonkers to me, with massive scope for teasing. Talesha, Carenza, Fionnhuala, Nyah, Sorcha would have a lifetime of spelling.

[manicinsomniac]

I think some of these are pretty 'out there' to be honest.

Names of children I know that I think fit the bill. I've discounted any names that are not commonly used by British families otherwise there's just too many unusual names.

Miranda, Joanna, Vivienne, Maria, Polly, Iona, Zia, Millicent, Fenella, Nyah, Marta, Juliette, Camilla, Callie, Athene, Tess, Meg, Celest, Fionnhuala, Hester, Sorcha, Genevieve.

Tristan, Rex, Orson, Teo, Gregory, Manuel, Angus, Hal, Patrick, Albert, Paris, Terence, Darren, Alastair, Gavin, Jared, Scott, Anton, Rory, Stephen, Ashton, Xavier, Simon, Jude, Robin, Clyde, Hamish

[mirry2]

startail - pebble? You can't be serious? It's from the flinstones!

[plantsitter]

I have always wanted to call a boy Mention. I know it's not a name, but DH so much about it when pregnant with mine it has started to sound like one to me (we had girls).

[plantsitter]

Avery for a boy.

Astrid for a girl.

[WormCanner]

Kerena?
Good grief, there must be a record number of spelling possibilities for that one. Carina, Karina, Karena, Corina etc etc etc

[Startail]

Rhys
Ross
Roy
Evan
Ian
Stephen
Talesha
Carenza
Pebble
Sally
Sarah
Echo
I love Ottile, but I think it's not rare enough.
Lara (loads of Larens)
Jane
Diane
Marie
Wendy
Julia
Kerena

[TheOldestCat]

I have the most dull, most frequently used name of the 1970s. There are 40 of us at my work.

And I still have to spell it out sometimes.

If you love a name, go for it. Otherwise we would all have the same three names. Dull dull dull.

(have given son a hard-to-spell Irish name!)

[shoobidoo]

Eliott is another name that has to be spelled out - Elliot, Elliott or Eliott?

Or what about Finlay or Finley

[exoticfruits]

I have seen quite a few on here that don't pass the spelling criteria-they would constantly have to spell them for people.

[AlisonClare]

I have a Helena and a Lawrence (Lawrie). Both classical, and relatively uncommon.

Some problems with Helena and pronunciation: frequently called Hel-ee -na or He-lay-na when we chose He-lenn-a.

Lawrie/Lawrence probably gets spelled with a u more often than we'd like, but not to the point of annoyance.

Other classical names I would have considered: Gabriella, Dominic and Francesca.

[vladthedisorganised]

Speaking as someone who suffered a childhood marred by having my given name as a song title, Delilah has the disadvantage of people of a certain age / musical taste singing "Why, why, why?" at you for what seems like your entire life.

I quite like Felicity, but would be ironic when she turned into a grumpy teenager.

[InLoveWithDavidTennant]

hmm my name, my dh's name, my uncles name and my cousins (sp?) name are on this list.

as far as i know neither of us have had to spell it for anyone... or explain them. they're normal names as far as i know

i know a few daves and davids. all under 50!

[silverfrog]

well, yes.

but as has already been pointed out, the most 'normal' and traditional of names can be spelled different ways:

Catherine/Katherine/Katharine (and many more!)
Philip/Phillip/Phillippe
Elizabeth/Elisabeth
Alistair/Alasdair
Rebecca/Rebekah
and so on.

All solid, traditional names, which have to be spelled out, some more unusual than others. But it is not so simple as 'weirdy new fangled names are a cross to bear, you'll always be spelling it out, so just use a sightly unusual traditional name'.

I have one of the commonest names imaginable (for my age), yet am always asked to spell it. I am not bothered by this, and it only irritates me when peopel get it wrong after asking me, or being corrected.

[ZolaBuddleia]

Are some of these not rather pushing the explaining and spelling criteria?

Boaz?
Muscari?