Changing a name because too many people spell it incorrectly?

[fluffygrave]

He's 14 weeks now. Driving me slightly mad!!! Very rarely do people spell it correctly, even though it's the original spelling. It was super close between name 1 and name 2 anyway but ended up going with the one I had a slight preference to but name 2 wouldn't have the spelling issue...

DD is called John.

He once had a birthday card to Jhon.

My brother is 'Kurtis' and he's 25.. my auntie has spelled it 'Curtis' in every single card he's ever received. She has done the same with my other brother who is 'Stefan' and he gets 'Stephan'.

Some people just won't be told, others will do it once and then ensure they get it right going forward.

... and some people will just passive-aggressively misspell it forever in order to make the point that they think it should be spelled their way!

I have two nephews called Elliot both spelled that way. I know my brother says Elliot with 2 ls and 1 t a lot! To me that's the correct spelling for a first name. Elliott is the surname.

Elliot was a top name contender for me, and it is because i knew people would spell it wrongly, with two t's that I decided not to go with this name. I'm not sure what advice to give with regards to changing it. It'd annoy me too much to give in to the consensus and spell it the other way....plus sometimes people would still spell it wrongly even if you did. Maybe just stick to your guns and keep the spelling. When you say his name you'd have to say "Elliot with one t" and hopefully that'll be the least painful way of avoiding mispellings.

@SemperIdem I have a friend whose surname is Elliott. Presumably it has been that way for generations - who are you to say it's 'incorrect'?

There are multiple ways of spelling Elliot and none of them are 'wrong'. People use surnames as first names all the time and that doesn't make those names wrong, it just makes them the version the parents chose!

ugh thank god other people agree there is not one 'proper' way to spell Elliot. Two T's also goes back centuries. OP please don't go round telling people 'well this is the PROPER and ORIGINAL spelling ACTUALLY' - you are going to come across as the most sanctimonious bitch.

This is really not a big issue in the scheme of things. Don't change the kid's name if you like it.

He'll correct them himself soon enough. I'd right thank you cards back with the correct spelling. Many names have alternative spellings so I wouldn't worry about it especially as both are pronounced the same.

Oops, DS obviously!

Keep it.

I came on to say change it, I was blessed with a made up version of the name Catherine, now there are loads of ways to spell it, with a C or K, with a Y or not, with an e or not with two letter 'a's but no one, ever got it right because it was a made up fudge of the real name(s). I changed it by deed poll.

I'm a supply teacher, I always ask classes to tell me the correct pronunciation of their names. Louis can be with or without the 's' pronounced, I'm quite used to ignoring 'z' in Polish names, if it looks a bit like an English name with a couple of extra 'z' or a 'y' I use the English name it looks most like.

Eliot a lovely name.

I agree with PPs, you'll get people spelling his name wrong whatever it is, I have a relative who constantly writes "Emilly" instead of Emily.

My record was 7 different spellings in Christmas cards one year when I was at secondary school. No big deal. (My name is Eleanor so not even wildly exotic, although it was more unusual 30 years ago than it is now).

I agree with ladycarlotta, no need to change your son's name,. But it's not the 'correct' or 'original' version. It's just the version you chose.

People seem to misspell names almost compulsively. Even with apparently simple names like John and Jane you get things like Jon, Jhon and Jayne.

No please don't change it. Elliot is a gorgeous name. It's a very gentle name and just gives a vision of the sweetest and kindest little boy.
With most names where there are alternative spelling you're going to get people making mistakes.

@NotMe321 Jayne isn't spelt wrong. My middle name is spelt that way. It is the English way of spelling it whereas Jane is derived from the French name Jehanne

I have a 7 year old Elliot, people catch on! As a parent the name I dread when writing cards etc is Findlay (etc!!!)

It's an awesome name, don't change it. I love it even more now than I did when he was born.

Elliot is a nice name - I wouldn't change it. I'd automatically spell it this way for a first name unless I was told differently.

I had some very interesting variations of Phoebe when arrived. My name was often spelt incorrectly for most my childhood too, until I shortened it, it's pretty much impossible to get wrong now. Good luck with your baby, whatever he's called

My name is still quite frequently spelt wrongly, I am 60 and it's not a particularly unusual name .

My children’s surname is always misspelt. My son often gets called by a completely different name, even by my SIL . It doesn’t bother me. I certainly wouldn’t change DS’s name.

Jayne is just a fancy way of writing Jane.

It's a lovely name, don't change it.

We have an Elliot and an Elliott at work and I always manage to spell their names correctly.

I prefer your spelling to be honest!!!

Like @Soveryouting - I know a Ryan who has had it spelt Rayn and various other ways.