Would you tell someone they’ve misspelt their baby’s name?!

[CaptainCabinets]

A colleague has recently announced the birth of ‘Pheobe’ on Facebook and have since referred to the baby as ‘Pheobe’ several times.

Would I be awful to gently suggest the correct spelling or just hope it’s picked up on when they register the birth?!

No, oe in English is ee as in phoenix and diarrhoea

Comes from the Latin oe which is a rendering of Ancient Greek oi

^This! Other examples are coeliac and foetus.

i have no idea why but my daughter was called amy just plain and simple but i have lost count of the number of folk who have asked if it is the French spelling of Aimee no idea why

My friend text me to say her granddaughter Felissity had arrived. I queried 'not spelt Felicity ?' She replied no, parents want to call her Fliss for short.

I'm curious of the age of "pheobe"...I have one on my Facebook with this misspelling who is around 2-3 months old?

You really can’t say that oe as in Phoenix or people when you have words like cough and though that although they end in ough are pronounced differently

I would message them and ask if it’s pronounced like Phoebe in friends. They might then say yes (you then know it’s not a mistake) give you a different pronunciation (poor kid, everyone will think her parents didn’t know how to spell phoebe and she’ll have a lifetime of correcting people) or they’ll say oops typo and correct it. You then don’t cause offence by telling them they’re wrong but you’re clear on spelling and pronunciation.

You really can’t say that oe as in Phoenix or people when you have words like cough and though that although they end in ough are pronounced differently

Of course you can, much is etymology dependent. English is a very irregular language.

I meant that both oe and eo have the same ee sound with the letters in a different order. Some pp are saying that the spelling of the name is definitely oe and using a word like Phoenix as an example. Others are saying well what about people. That is why I’m saying it’s not a good example. The English language must be a nightmare to learn

Yes, they are saying that because Phoebe is a name from ancient Greece. Phoenix also comes from Greek. Read my previous posts.

People is from Latin and has a different etymology.

I would guess it's a misspelling but it's a common enough misspelling that lots of people use it every year. Or she could just be not properly proof reading her Facebook. Either way, hopefully someone close enough to her to be able to tactfully point it out will do so.

At least it's not as bad as an acquaintance who, wanting to use a unique spelling for 'Damon', called her baby 'Daemon'.

My son is Mathew
One T.
His first card from his big sister was spelled this way so it stayed that way at registration.

Two T is more common.

Not everyone knows where words originate from.

Btw, I agree, the correct spelling is phoebe, however I’m trying to give op a solution on her original post without causing any embrassment or offence to the parents of a new baby

Not everyone knows where words originate from.

Clearly. But it’s not hard to figure out or even look up.

I’m Amy spelt Amee, it’s never done me any harm. If it was a close friend I’d maybe say but if not I’d just leave them to it

Just leave them to it, it's probably quite common with Phoebe. Some of my friends have a Keiron/Kieron/Keiran

I suppose any spelling is correct for a name.

I met a lady who's daughters name was pronounced why-vone-ee - spelling was Yvonne! Each to their own.

I went to school with a Jaime - she always got called Jamie then said no it's pronounces ja-may (the j being soft). I think it was supposed to be french as in J'aime.

I would say something. It’s not fair for the child to go through life with a name that is such an obvious spelling mistake.

I believe Issac is the Islamic version of Isaac and is pronounced Iss ( as in miss) ac and it’s not just an alternative spelling of Isaac

@Ngaio2 The Arabic form of Isaac is Ishaq, and therefore that's what Isaac is known as in Islam.

Issac is an English abomination misspelling.

I think that the people who are naming their daughters Pheobe are not the type to take a general interest in etymology.

Kristofer is legit, by the way. It’s the spelling in Sweden and Norway. Kristófer in Iceland.

@reginaphalange89 I know someone who deliberately chose to spell it Pheobe having asked for advice on Facebook. She said she preferred it that way. I pointed out she would always get people spelling it wrong. Lots of her friends told her to go with what she wanted so she deliberately chose that spelling. Bonkers.

I know a baby ‘Roary’ which makes me cringe - i think it was deliberate sadly so never said anything

If someone is named Lilly then it is!

It's the name of one of my relatives

the type that name their daughter
Really...what's that 'type' then...no, I don't want to hear.

Really...what's that 'type' then...no, I don't want to hear.

And yet you’ve taken the time to misquote me with a PA implication that I’m a snob.

So you might not want to know, but to expand:

People who name their daughter Pheobe are setting their child up for a lifetime of frustrations; of people doing a double-take when they see her name written down, of autocorrect changing their chosen spelling, of misdirected emails. They either do not know the correct spelling, or they have deliberately chosen a non-standard spelling and do not care what frustrations it causes their daughter in later life. I used to teach a Pheonix who had already had enough of this at the age of twelve.

People who take an interest in etymology are, by definition, interested in language. Correctness and precision is likely to be important to them and they are fairly unlikely to choose a non-standard spelling for their child’s name.

I stand by my assertion that there is very little overlap between these two groups of people. You should feel free to project whatever judgement you like onto that but that was not my point.

are not the type to take a general interest in etymology
Were your exact words.
We are well passed the age of English names being spelt only a certain way. We are a multi-cultural society who's responsible for making sure a name is correctly spelt and pronounced, out of respect for the bearer, no matter how its spelt. I do draw a line at Hitler tho!!!!

These ppl 'types'. Ergh!