Modern spellings for classic names?

[14B01F2021P]

What do we all think of this? For example, we have DD due and I love the names Lily and Ruby but for some reason I really love them spelt like:

Lillie
Rubie

Am I being completely stupid here? Please don’t beat around the bush. I’ve had a few moments this pregnancy where hormones have took over and I wanted to name her something ridiculous then the next morning I think “what the f*%k was I thinking?!” I won’t mention in case anyone has kids named that name but I highly doubt people do

Does anyone here have a little one with a classic name that has a modern spelling or twist?

Another we considered was Gracie :) modernised Grace

MN is obsessed with children having to spell their names all their lives...I know several Sara/Sarahs and Clare/Claires and they're forever spelling their names to people, hardly way-out, wacky names.
Spell your dc name whatever way you want, I don't think Rubie or Lillie is that bad.

My friend Angee is a professional woman in her fifties, who is embarrassed by her name. Her mother chose it because she thought it was cute and different. Angee would give you a good argument why you should steer clear of creative spellings.

My teen daughter has a traditional name ending in y and I seem to have spent the past decade correcting people who put it with the ie spelling! Whichever way, you can't win!

Ruby Grace is lovely.

Why not look at the name lists, scroll down to the ones only used a few times a year, and pick a traditional name from there?

Our DDs have traditional names with the normal spellings, but they aren't in vogue now so their names are unusual.

I think that people who spell Deborah as Debra (I taught one) just can't spell. I know an Alyss too. Awful.

Rubie doesn't work, you MIGHT get away with Lillie (because Lilly is a fairly common variant already to Lily) but I still think it would be easier on her to spell it the usual way. Gracie is fine, but many people will assume she is Grace on the BC (nn Gracie) so it might be easier to do that.

Other suggestions : Daisy, Sophie, Millie, Rose/Rosa (Rosie), Amelie, Sylvie.

Prefer the conventional spellings. Ruby and Lily are both lovely names, slightly prefer Ruby.

Steffanny
Bevvaleigh
Marreeyah
Anjeller
Krysstell
Elleee
Loosea
Kaahleee

The list is endless.

I like Sophy as an alternative to the usual Sophie but I suppose she'd have to keep correcting everyone.

When I see rubie i read it rub-ie as in rubbing something, Lillie is better but I know someone who went for that spelling and now regrets it - everyone misspells it and for all the unique-ness it sounds exactly the same, hence all the misspelling I suppose. I think Lily is gorgeous as it is.

If you want a bit different you could go with Liliana nn Lily .

Iris is another lovely flower name that is not unusual , but less used.

While there are common names which have two or more spellings, people are aware of these. So if you say "Claire" the person will likely ask you if it's with an i or not. Whereas if you say Lily then most people only know that spelling.

I do like how the name Violette looks with the French spelling but I thought the gain of me thinking it looks nice isn't outweighed by the hassle it could cause my daughter.

I agree with with pp as seeing Rubie as Rub-ee

How about liliana nn lili?

How ridiculous 🤣

I do like how the name Violette looks with the French spelling but I thought the gain of me thinking it looks nice isn't outweighed by the hassle it could cause my daughter.
But the French way would be pronounced Vee-o-let and the English way would be Vy-o-ket.

Really twee and grating, sorry!

As others have pointed out, Lillie is an old version, and while unusual, is usable. Alyce (and Alys), like Edythe and Elinor, are older versions of the name and I think it's fine to use them. People are quick to take exception to anything but the most popular modern spelling as this site shows, so just do it with your eyes open. Gracie is a variation on Grace that has been around as long as Grace has, so nothing new there. I'm not keen on Rubie though.

What is a 'unique' name anyway?
'Unique' means one of a kind - therefore a name which has never been used before, ever. You would have to make one up, OP.

@cushioncovers this! I'm not British and my first name is spelt with a final "a" while the British version has an "e". When pregnant, I went for the first trimester blood test (where they check HIV etc) and was called back for exactly that reason, but they only told me once there and not on the phone. I spent 5 days and nights agonising, crying and expecting some very bad news.

I then gave my son a solid, non-top-100 classical British name and didn't realise that an American version of that exists with a slightly different spelling and now I'm back to square one with him.
Argh!

If my parents had named me Angee I would have changed my name by deed poll by now.

My cousin changed her name from a ridiculous name / spelling that her parents inflicted on her.

How about Zadie? It has the curtsey ie ending of Lillie, Ruby, Gracie but is a bit more unusual

My kids have unusual names with more normal/well known nicknames if that is an option for you. There are lots of lovely, longer, more unusual names that you could use the nickname Lily/Lillie for.

Really dislike Rubies.

@14B01F2021P

Thank you! I’ve been in this phase for 2 months or so now the longest name phase I’ve had this pregnancy

I do love unique names but I think my gut tells me “don’t do it” which I think fuelled my want of a unique spelling classic name!

DH (being the smart arse he is!) told me how lovely Ruby Grace (surname) is and I am really leaning towards that. Was unsure whether we spell it as Rubie but now reading responses - I think it’s best I don’t subject my child to a life of correcting!

If you like it with an altered spelling, go for it! But then, I like alternative spellings (as long as they're not ridiculous... Or I don't personally like when people add in a strange letter to make it into a phonetic-looking spelling, e.g."Graycie" looks strange imho but Gracie looks nice), but changing a 'y' to 'ie' is nice in many cases in my opinion.

My name is spelled in an alternative way - Rachael instead of Rachel - and I love it. I think it looks nicer (though I don't like the name in general). I do very often have to tell people it's "-ael", not "-el" (or "Racheal" which I often get when people know there's an 'a' in there somewhere and just guess haha), but I don't mind - I think it's worth it.