Liking a name but only when spelled a certain way

[clocktick]

A bit like Anne from green gables. The boys name Lee is horrible (imo.) Makes me think of 80s comprehensive schools maths sink set. But I met a little boy called Li (I think Chinese heritage) and thought it was lovely.

I also like Ceri but not Kerry.

Wondering if it is just me.

Well it sounds fine for you but I wouldn't name a chils something they may have to constantly correct

I really wanted DD to be called Alicia, but ex preferred the Alesha spelling (which I didnt), so that name was vetoed.

Yes, there are definitely a lot of names I feel this way about!

• I like Louis, but hate Louie.
• I love Niamh, but hate Neve/Neeve etc.
• Sophia is quite nice, but Sofia really doesn't look right.
• Finlay/Findlay is far preferable to Finley.
• Elliot is lovely, but only this way. Two tts is a surname, one l looks odd.
• Caitlin is sweet, other versions look cheap.
• I'm not a fan of Jackson, but it's a million times nicer than Jaxon.
• I prefer Isobel or Isabel to the frilly Isabelle.
• Lila is lovely, Lyla ok. Lilah looks wrong though, I would assume this to be short for Delilah rather than a given name.
• It's a name I'm not over keen on, but in my mind it should be Darcey for a girl or Darcy for a boy. Darcie looks wrong, as does Darcy for a girl.

It's interesting how the accepted 'usual' spelling of a name can change over time too. Many of my preferred versions are sadly being overtaken by their counterparts.

The ie/y preference is definitely a thing too. Most names only look right one way to me:-

Lucy not Lucie
Holly not Holly
Milly not Mollie
Millie not Milly
Maisy not Maisie
Tilly not Tillie
Katie not Katy
Lily not Lilly or Lillie
Freddie not Freddy
Ollie not Olly
Teddy not Teddie (but Eddie not Eddy!)

I have an Emilia, but don’t like Amelia.

I see these two as different names, but dislike when people combine the two to get Emelia.

It's all down to personal preference.

I like Catherine and Rebekah over the other spellings.

I think also if I am used to seeing a name spelt a certain way, my eyes want to correct it if I see it spelt a different way.
I have a Hannah, and recently read a book with a character spelt Hanna.
It really messed with my head, and my brain kept wanting to add the "h" on the end as it felt incomplete.

I do have ASD, so maybe a trait of that.

We were thinking of calling our daughter Isobel, which I love but I’m not so keen on Isabel or Isabelle. While I was pregnant there was a thread on here about a personalised gift with the wrong spelling of a child’s name - the general consensus was that no one cares about spellings and the OP should be grateful for the present even with the wrong spelling. It did put me off using Isobel and we went for a different name with one standard spelling in the end!

@clocktick , I get it.
Anne - I really like Ann but not Anne.

Lee - It's fine. Isn't Li a surname? Leigh - female.
Ceri - it's OK, wouldn't use it. Kerry has mean girl vibes.
Carole - It makes me think it rhymes with parole
Isabelle/Annabelle - too fussy
Huw/Hugh - they don't sound the same. I like both.
Amy - ok, don't love it. Aimee is too fussy, and wouldn't it be something like Em-ay? Amie - Ammy?
Caitlin - ruined by the Kate-Lyn pronunciation. Katelyn - naff.
Darcey - don't care how it's spelt, I don't like it.
Zac - like it, don't like Zach or Zack.
Louie - awful. Louis is fine.

Inteesting also, because I'm Katie, just that. Not short for anything!
Very cross that people always spelled it 'wrong' when i was little, about 50 years ago!

it wasn’t a Lisa Jewell book, was it? (Sorry, irrelevant!)

We were toying between Anna and another name for DD but I did think she’d spend her life saying ‘Anna, not Hannah.’ I do like it though.

@Pigeon123456 , the general consensus was that no one cares about spellings and the OP should be grateful for the present even with the wrong spelling.
That's MN for you.

@KaToby , I like Emilia but not Amelia.
@BoleynMemories13 , Emelia is awful, isn't it.

Yes, it could well have been a Lisa Jewell book! It was a while ago when I read it, but I have read a lot of hers.

Elowyn instead of Elowen. I know Elowen is the female spelling but it looks bland to me.

I prefer Elowen. I’m Welsh and names ending in wyn are male and wen are female. Like Gwyn/Gwen. So i think that’s why even though I don’t think Elowen is Welsh

Jane is good, Jayne is common. I think the more traditional spellings are much better - I hate the ‘ie’ on names like Holly etc. What’s wrong with the original spelling?

I agree with @aredcar. Elowen is Cornish and Cornish and Welsh are closely related. Changing the spelling is culturally insensitive and naff.
Would you spell Owen as Owyn? (I hope not. FWIW, Owen is an anglicisation of Owain)

Jayne is awful, but I like Jane.

I like Rachel but not Rachael. Annabelle but not Annabel

Catherine over Kathryn
Lily over Lilly/Lillie
Daisy over Daisie
Rachel over Rachael

There were a few name on our lists that could be spelled multiple ways so we ended up not using them, think Elliott, Zac(h), Niamh. We also loved Isaac but its misspelled so often!

My daughter is Lily and whenever people ask me how it's spelt I always say "correctly".