Is this spelling really cruel on a poor child?

[bohemianbint]

(who doesn't speak Irish?)

Name of today* (for a girl) is Meadhbh - pronounced Mayv.

I had a friend with that name and thought it was lovely but I dunno whether it would be a nightmare at the learning to write your own name stage trying to explain how that spells mayv?

What dya think?

*should point out that name preferences change day to day and that I have no idea what sex I'm expecting so this is all hypothetical really!

Having grown up with a name I have to say then immediately spell, I would avoid difficult spellings.

Important to acknowledge heritage etc, and I love Irish names, but if it's a child in Britain with no Irish background, I'd be inclined to go with Mavis.

Not cruel, though.

Apparently it can also be spelt "Medb".

According to Wikipedia she was killed by a piece of cheese?

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Like Maeve?

You give a child a name spelt like this if you want to make life difficult for them.

Ah, now you see, oddly I really don't like Mavis.

DS1 already has his work cut out as has a Scandinavian name that starts with a J but is pronounced with a Y. Only fair to give them an equally hard time eh?

Why do they want to spell it like this?

Are they Irish?

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She is likely to have her name spelt incorrectly for the rest of her days. My name is not unusual but still incorrectly spelt a lot of the time. I would go for a more familiar spelling.

Who, me? I have some family in Ireland but have all been Manunians since my great grandad came over. I've just only ever known one Meadhbh and that's how it was spelt. Think Maeve might be a better spelling for a Manc baby...

If it is going to be pronounced Maeve, why not use Maeve?

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I can't completely see the point of adopting the full gaelic spelling of a first name if you don't have gaelic spelling for a surname also. I have been spelling my first and surname letter by letter all my life and it can be a little waring.

It's alovely name, but you might be better to spell it in the more straightforward way. I have friends with gaelic names who havve adopted different spellings and in one case a new name entirely as she was so sick of having to spell it or tell people what it was if they say it written down.

Dont do it!

i used to know a mhairi ("vari") and thought that was pretty

Is this for your child? If you are in UK then go with Maeve (it's a name I LOVE!).

I had to always spell my name when I was younger and it drive me mad.

Be kind to your child!!

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Is Marc a friend of Liza Witherzee?

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My name is gaelic, my whole life I dreaded that pause at the register while the teached psyched themselves up to pronounce it. Wrongly. I HATE my name because I have to spell it to everybody, and phone calls etc take longer than they should. I still hate being different in that no-one can spell it, Unusual names are great, so long as they are easily spelt/pronounced. Rant over!

It will be really difficult for her when she is learning to write.

DS1 is William (4) and he loses the will to live after the second L.

Also you get smug parents of children with names like Ben, Tom or Mia bragging that thier children can already write their name when your poor child doesn't stand a chance!

I taught a girl who pronounced her name sy-o bahn - Yes you guessed it - Siobhan.

I think her parents saw it in a book and thought it was nice Teachers would call her Siobhan and she would correct them "it's sy-o-bahn"

On the flip side, Maeve is a much easier pronunciation. My parents are Irish and wanted to give my sister a Gaelic name but, after running Grainne by a few English people, they gave up.

Grainne is a lovely name. Mine is stupid because it sounds like an English name, but is spelt differently. I'm putting Grainne on my list of girls' names. In case I'm ever allowed another child. Or get to influence somebody else.

as someone who grew up with a name I always had to spell, I am firmly in the camp of giving people straightforward names. You cannot imagine how damned annoying it is in day to day life unless you have been there.

My husband is Scottish and we dearly wanted to give our daughter a traditional celtic name but in the end we just couldn't justify the name becuase the spelling was awkward, and we knew the difficulties it would cause her for the rest of her life.