Do "strangely" spelled names bother you?

[beansprouts]

That said, we named our eldest daughter Cady. We liked the name, and also that it gives a little bit of distinction considering our last name. It's pronounced just like Katie, is the middle name of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, yet nobody can figure it out. She's called Cody or Caddie all the time. I can't figure out how people know to say 'lady', but not translate that over to her name. It never occurred to me it would have as many problems as it does.

 

That said, I still love her name, and I'm not sorry we named her Cady!

 

 

"Cady" is an Irish name:

 

Cady

The name Cady is a baby girl name. The name Cady comes from the Irish origin. In Irish The meaning of the name Cady is: Hillock. A surname or given name meaning a rhythmic flow of sounds.

 

and I had no problem with the pronunciation. ;)

[Stacia]

No, no problem w/ uniquely-spelled names (though I hate creative versions of regular words, as someone mentioned -- things like lawnz or kidz, etc...). My name is somewhat unusual (though not unusually spelled) and my sister's is a more common name w/ a unique spelling.

 

For my dc, we selected names & spellings that would work & be appropriate for 2 cultures (American & Belgian). Since we went with the Belgian spellings of the names, I guess some here might consider the spelling a little odd. I like that my kids have a slightly unique way to differentiate their names (and a way to figure out who sold them out to various marketing lists ;)).

[Mom to Aly]

I have a name that is similar to an American name, but not, it is Indian--and I am forever having people call me by the wrong name, this has happened my entire life--I have even been told, 5 times in my life, that my parents spelled my name wrong! I wonder, sometimes, if people think that and don't say it? Perhaps that is the case with others. Many times, people say the other name and say, "That is a different way of spelling it.", before I correct them.

 

My daughter has a name that is not a normal American name--I actually made it up (or so I thought--turns out it exists in Spain). I spelled it very carefully so that it could be pronounced correctly here and in France--her dad is from France. Still, people here pronounce it completely wrongly--as an American name--that you cannot get from her spelling.

 

I think, before you assume the name is spelled differently, you should consider whether or not it may be a different name altogether.

 

Oh, as to the original question--no, I think it is cool and creative when people come up with different spellings. Why not be unique?

Edited October 19, 2008 by Mom to Aly
brain dead

[chaik76]

I like creative spellings. One of my children has a relatively unique name (not often used) but spelled normally. The other one has a name that is more common and also spelled normally. My dh husband insisted...otherwise I would have picked alternate spellings. I do have permission to spell a name creatively if we ever have a girl.:D

[OnTheBrink]

Alternate spellings don't bother me (Catherine, Kathryn, etc) but I used to baby sit for a child named Dalaynee and her sister Baylee. I asked the mom about the unusual spellings and her reason? She'd never seen either name in print before and didn't know how to spell them! So, she went with how she thought they should be spelled. I was flabbergasted! I'd never known anyone to pick a baby name and not know how to spell it. I've known people to pick names and butcher the spellings for the sake of uniqueness, but NEVER because they didn't know how to spell it to start with.

[*********]

We gave my youngest ds a name from the Bible; one of the old testament prophets. We did, however, stick with the original spelling. I've never met anyone with the same name, but we love it. Apparently, our family does not. My sil, when I was pregnant, told me that I shouldn't name him that, 'because the kids at school will make fun of him'.

 

I guess I showed her. No one 'at school' makes fun of him. :001_smile:

 

Oh, and my husband all but refuses to shop anywhere that substitutes a Z for an S in their name (as in 'Toyz' instead of 'Toys'). He absolutely cannot stand it.

[beansprouts]

We gave my youngest ds a name from the Bible; one of the old testament prophets. We did, however, stick with the original spelling. I've never met anyone with the same name, but we love it. Apparently, our family does not. My sil, when I was pregnant, told me that I shouldn't name him that, 'because the kids at school will make fun of him'.

 

 

One of my children has an uncommon Hebrew name which I chose for its meaning and its uniqueness (or so I thought). Shortly after the baby was born I met two other babies with the same name. :tongue_smilie:

Edited October 19, 2008 by beansprouts

[readwithem]

nope, of course my own Ceilidh has a strangely spelled name

 

Has she ever been to a Ceilidh? :) My dd does Highland dance and they're very common at the Highland games. Great fun.

[dangermom]

It doesn't exactly bother me, but I don't care for it. My personal standard for names is that it should sound good after the words "Supreme Court Justice." It seems to me that there are a lot of names around that are cute for little kids, but not so great for a 50-yo adult. A name should work for an adult and not look or sound silly or cutesy. Not that I'm saying that all boys should be named Benedict Fitzwilliam Montgomery III or anything, just reasonable for a grownup.

[fiddledeedee]

"Cady" is an Irish name:

 

Cady

The name Cady is a baby girl name. The name Cady comes from the Irish origin. In Irish The meaning of the name Cady is: Hillock. A surname or given name meaning a rhythmic flow of sounds.

 

and I had no problem with the pronunciation. ;)

 

Wow, thanks! I've never seen a meaning to her name before, it just said it was a surname.

However, I must say she was aptly named, there is a constant flow of sounds coming from her, as in incessant talking! ;)

[Kris]

Only if the strangely named person gets irritated if I don't automatically spell her name correctly.

 

Oh my yes. I don't care how people spell their names -- but when they get irritated because my crystal ball is in the shop, *that* I care about.

 

Everyone automatically wants to spell my name with a "Ch" and that doesn't bother me in the least. I just try to catch them before they do -- erasing and all that rot. But it would never occur to me to get feisty because someone didn't speeeel it write.

[Kanga]

So, I'm in favor of very, very clear names. Ann. No extraneous -e to throw people off.

 

If you need your kid to be different, I beg you, give them a funny haircut instead of a name with a quirky spelling.

 

 

:lol::lol::lol:

-Ann (no extraneous -e) One of my chosen nicknames because my unusual name is never pronounced correctly by anyone! Though it sounds much prettier when mispronounced with an accent!

[swellmomma]

Ahhh. Thanks for explaining.

 

As I said in my earlier post, unique spellings don't bother me.

I wonder, though, if you worried at all about folks not being able to pronounce, or even recognize Gaelic when you were deciding on her name.

 

Does it bother her at all?

 

Well I didn't get to decide her first name, that was her father, I gave her her middle name of Joyce. He was in pipe band and played in Ceilidh's hence his name choice. She loves her name, and is proud of the fact her father gave her that name, she hasn't seen him since she was 18 months so this is the only tie she has to him. SHe does correct people and has since she was 3, we can tell when someone is going to say it wrong as soon as they start with a soft c sound and we correct them immediately. That is all it usually takes. As luck has it, the nurse in the hospital when she was born, her first grade teacher in ps and her gymnastics coach last year were all Irish and recognized it immediately so it has not been an issue in all areas.

[swellmomma]

And my youngest has a botanical name (think daisy or rose, but not those, LOL) and no one ever gets that its a tree. A celeb named her DD the same name, but spelled different, so now we get the "oh its spelled differently!" when in fact my DD's is spelled just exactly like the tree. The tree no one has ever heard of.:confused:

 

 

 

As soon as you said it was a tree I guessed Rowan which I have heard of (because a former friend named her son that ;) )

[swellmomma]

It doesn't exactly bother me, but I don't care for it. My personal standard for names is that it should sound good after the words "Supreme Court Justice." It seems to me that there are a lot of names around that are cute for little kids, but not so great for a 50-yo adult. A name should work for an adult and not look or sound silly or cutesy. Not that I'm saying that all boys should be named Benedict Fitzwilliam Montgomery III or anything, just reasonable for a grownup.

 

 

FUnny you should say that. When I named my kids I pictured it on the gold name plate on the door. Ceilidh's name has a different spelling but pronounciation is not a cutesy name. All my kids I feel have names that would work well in a high ranking office. Years ago when I worked as a PCA in a hospital I worked with a lady named Bambi, that was her real name not a nickname and all I could think was that her parents only had ambitions of her being a stripper when they gave her that name.

 

Other than Ceilidh my other kids have "normal" spellings: Austin, Hunter and Isabelle.

[swellmomma]

Has she ever been to a Ceilidh? :) My dd does Highland dance and they're very common at the Highland games. Great fun.

She has not yet, we are hoping to finally make it to the highland games this summer so she can go to one.

[joannqn]

Strange names don't bother me unless they are the new brand of really funky spellings.

 

I've had issues with my name my whole life...

 

When I was dating my now husband, and even after he proposed and I accepted, I didn't know how to pronounce his last name. I was too embarrassed to ask my new fiance how to pronounce my future last name so I waited to hear him introduce himself with his last name so I'd know it. I think I waited a month or so. I didn't tell him this story until a few years after we were married. BTW, most people pronounce our last name "coon" or "con" when it's pronounced just like saying the letters QN. It's only four letters long and I have to spell it every time.

 

My first name is a common name but it is always misspelled and occasionally mispronounced. "JoAnn...capital A, no space, no e" is what I have to say to get it spelled correctly. Many people have called me Joan.

 

My mom tried to name me Tempest. As a kid, I thought that would be a cool name.

[Karen sn]

Oh dear Lord, yes.

 

Sometimes I think the French have it right--baby names must be picked from an approved list.

 

Well, my dd has a most unusual name - never have met another.

Wouldn't be on a list.

But it sounds normal - and EVERYONE loves it.

 

Picking from a pre-approved list is.....boring to say the least.

[elegantlion]

I don't mind unique names. I think parents need to think about how that will ultimately affect the child.

 

My dh has an Irish spelling of a common name, I just spell it for people out of habit.

 

My maiden name was of English orgin and I had to spell it for everyone! When I got married I thought I wouldn't have to spell my married name, sure enough people get it wrong about half the time.

[Melinda in VT]

Alternate spellings from different countries/languages don't bother me. It's the completely made up ones that drive me crazy. (And as others have pointed out, it probably shouldn't, but it does.)

 

Spellings like Raychul, Payj, Natahlee, Jeniffer, Jurni, Jessyka, Skyy.

 

(Apologies if these are the names of anyone here--or their kids.)

[BamaTanya]

There's a branch in our family tree that feels the opposite of me. They named their children lovely names and then spelled them in most unconventional ways. I mean, with all the beautiful ways you CAN spell "Caitlyn," why would you choose the ONLY way that's not in any name book? And that doesn't follow ANY phonetic sense? In any language? Sigh.

 

I speak from personal experience. My name is TAN-ya, not TAWN-ya. Yes, I know. It's different. But that's what my parents named me. When I was a kid I was too timid to correct people. Sometimes I would assert myself, but I can't tell you how many times my name was misspelled in yearbooks or mispronounced when I was called awards ceremonies. My last name was different, too.

 

I decided MY children would be named names that were easy to pronounce and easy to spell. They have moderately unusual names, but people recognize them when they see them written. It's important to me that my children NOT have to spend their lives hearing their names mispronounced or having them misspelled.

 

I *on purpose* didn't pick some favorite names because they had too many possible spellings or pronunciations . . . Elise and Helena, for instance.

[5knights3maidens]

Well, my name isn't spelled the way it sounds. That is because my mom came from Germany so the sounds are different. But it does bug me because almost everyone says my name wrong and it gets annoying when I have to repeat it a thousand times. People need to open their ears! (Not being mean just stating a fact). ;) By the way, I love my name, I think it is very pretty and some what unusual.

:)

[SnowWhite]

 

I *on purpose* didn't pick some favorite names because they had too many possible spellings or pronunciations . . . Elise and Helena, for instance.

 

 

REALLY? What other spelling could there be for Helena? I would have thought that would be fairly consistent.

 

My pet peeve is not unusual spellings (because I haven't seen so many of those), but the CUTESY names chosen for little girls lately. Precious? Treasure? Princess? As if there are not plenty of wonderful classic names that we can choose without using terms of endearment.

 

I would love to use the name Katelynn for the child I am expecting (except for the fact I'm convinced it's a boy.) Do you all consider that to be an unusual spelling? I wanted Katherine Joy, but sadly that's been "taken" by a close homeschooling acquaintance at our church. I like the "plaine Jane" spelling, and the ability to shorten to Katie, which would be harder if I went with Caitlin. Caitie? Methinks not. It's probably a moot point, because I think I vaguely remember dh vetoing Katelynn anyway.

[Melinda in VT]

I don't think I've ever seen Katelynn before, but it's not a spelling so unusual as to raise my eyebrows. However, my first instinct would be to put the accent on a different syllable than I do with Caitlin.

 

Caitlin=KATE lin

 

Katelynn=KATE LIN or kate LIN

 

Of course, I'd figure it out eventually if I ran into you often enough. :-)

[Carrie12345]

Sometimes they bother me, but I probably don't have the right to judge. My dd's name is Haleigh, and most people miss the fact that it is a legitimate spelling, simply because it's unusual.

 

Then again, I get annoyed when people try to spell my name C-a-r-e-y or K-a-r-i. Or worse, K-e-r-r-y. E and a are completely different sounds, people!

[jejily]

Yes, I admit, they bother me. And I have a fairly uncommon name - Cecily (which no one ever seems to be able to pronounce or spell correctly).

 

I'm not as bothered by foreign spellings for common names (like using Gaelic to spell Cayleigh/Kaylee), but I do find myself getting irritated by "made up" names.

 

My sister recently forwarded to me an email about an unusual name someone had run across, and how upset the mother of the child would get if people didn't pronounce it correctly.

 

How would YOU pronounce this: Le-a

 

Like you would the name Leah? or Lee?

 

No! the angry mother said. It's Ledasha!

 

That's right. The "dash" is not silent.

 

:001_huh:

Edited October 19, 2008 by jejily

[Jackie in AR]

The only time I can remember the spelling of a name bothering me was a couple of years ago when a lady here in our town was running for political office. She had large signs all over town. Her first name is the same as my dd's (a long, traditional name), but this lady leaves off the final *e* in her spelling. For some reason, that drove me nuts every time I saw one of her signs. :D

[Tracey in TX]

It normally doesn't bother me unless I can't ascertain how the name is supposed to be pronounced.

[Diann]

Because I have an uncommon spelling of my first name, it's never been an issue if others names are also spelled differently. My maiden name was very unusual and always misspelled and mispronounced. Until I was married and took my dh's name, I had to spell, and pronounce, both my first and last names. It never bothered me, it was something I expected.

 

Diann

[unsinkable]

Yes, I like things simple. However, it does annoy me with last names. My maiden name was Gagnon and no one could get it right even though it is spelled exactly like it is pronounced. Same with my last name name it's spelled exactly as pronounced but people can not, CAN NOT, get it right the first time and even mess up when it's spelled out to them:001_huh::glare:

 

So you pronounce it GAG-non or gag-NON?

 

I would have said: gan-YON

[Parrothead]

Well, my dd has a most unusual name - never have met another.

Wouldn't be on a list.

But it sounds normal - and EVERYONE loves it.

 

Picking from a pre-approved list is.....boring to say the least.

There isn't anything that bothers me about unusual names. Often they are quite appropriate and lovely.

[Parrothead]

 

How would YOU pronounce this: Le-a

 

Like you would the name Leah? or Lee?

 

No! the angry mother said. It's Ledasha!

 

That's right. The "dash" is not silent.

 

:001_huh:

I would have never gotten Ledasha from Le-a. I was thinking Leah.

[Liberty]

This is a pet peeve of mine and I think the reason is this: my maiden name is also a very common first name, but spelled differently. All growing up I had to contend with people misspelling my last name (they just assumed it was spelled like the commonly spelled first name). I hated it.

 

Also, I always feel so sorry for those kids who go to buy those tourist trap, personalized pencils/license plates/note pads and can't find their name. At age 8 and with friends running to the cash register to buy theirs, that would suck!

[kokotg]

They kinda bother me. I am very hesitant to criticize other people's name choices, though (at least in public :D) since my kids have pretty funky names themselves. But, for me, I like standard spellings and names that are unusual but still have a solid history as names.

[mommaduck]

No, and I believe saying that people have to pick from an "approved" list is downright wrong.

 

I have an unusual name for my ethnicity and gender. Even when I use the part of my name that is "normal" people can't get it right.

Edited October 19, 2008 by mommaduck

[akmommy]

No, and I believe saying that people have to pick from an "approved" list is downright wrong.

 

:iagree:

 

I try not to worry about what other people do. I do prefer names that sound like names and i do wish people would try to at least keep it phonetically correct, but to each their own.

My son has an unusual name and we chose to use y for the long i sound, but it is easily read correctly and when people mispell it it is easily corrected. Actually because the name is a bit unusual most people ask how it is spelled if they need to know.

What I have a hard time with is people who go in for the latest fad names, so you have tons of kids close in age all running around with the same name.:001_huh:

[Parrothead]

I have an unusual name for my ethnicity and gender. Even when I use the part of my name that is "normal" people can't get it right.

You're going to have to pm me and let me know about the unusual part.

[CAMom]

I'm a name fanatic and I like it when people have creatively-spelled names. I do think parents should take into account when they name their kids that if they spell their names TOO creatively, their kids may have to endure lifetimes of mispronunciation.

 

Although, I have to say, even what seems like an obvious spelling can be mispronounced by someone who isn't familiar with the name. My name is Erika and I can't even tell you how many teachers on my various first days of school called me "Eureka.":tongue_smilie:

 

HA! Now you Know I'm gonna have to call you that the next time I see ya!:lol:

[Storm Bay]

When it's been respelled just to be different (and it's usually quite obvious) it bothers me, because I can't see the point. That said, I'm quite happy my parents used an i intead of an e, because it's less common. However, it's not only a legitimate spelling, but "Karin" is actually older than "Karen,"at least according to the name trees my mother gave us when we were having babies.

 

So, I don't mind seeing John, Jon or Jean (not with the long e, but the French way where the J sounds like the s in "treasure"), but if someone were to make up Jawn, I'd think it was rather tacky.

[Storm Bay]

So you pronounce it GAG-non or gag-NON?

 

I would have said: gan-YON

 

Yes, as the french name, it's Gan NYON (or as you said), but in the States, people say the g. When I first moved here I had to keep biting my lip when it came to French surnames, because anglophone Canadians don't Anglicize them nearly as much.

[TravelingChris]

This is one of my major pet peeves. It didn't really matter that much until my oldest had a girlfriend he was at that time serious abou who had a wrong spelling of her name. the pronounciation was a common enough name but the actual spelling was of a city which would not be pronounced that way at all. She actually had a perfectly lovely and normal first name but she and her family used this mispelling. I had a very hard time remembering it since it was not spelled correctly.

 

Another wman I met had a name that looked like it should be a common name but was actually pronounced like a city in France.

 

I have to say that I have no problems with foreign names or anything like that. My three children have normal names, two fairly popular, one less so but still would be on approved lists everywhere. Their first middle names are regular names too.

[newbie]

I like names spelled differently, it makes them uniques, my dd who has a wrongly spelled name, hates it.

[mommaduck]

What irritates me more are people who REFUSE to pronounce your name correctly....even after being told.

[Deeke]

It doesn't bother me but sometimes names look ugly to me when spelled weird.

 

Sometimes names seem like they sound different too. The name Jacob has a soft sound to me, Jakub has a harder sound, with more emphasis on the 'ub' part.

 

 

ETA Jakob or Jakub aren't ugly, just a different example of how the spelling affects me.

 

We went to buy Halloween costumes the other day, they take your name and call you when they bring yours out. Well I looked at the tag they wrote my son's name on and they spelt Kaleb as Kaylub. Sheesh.

[BamaTanya]

REALLY? What other spelling could there be for Helena? I would have thought that would be fairly consistent.

 

I would love to use the name Katelynn for the child I am expecting (except for the fact I'm convinced it's a boy.) Do you all consider that to be an unusual spelling? I wanted Katherine Joy, but sadly that's been "taken" by a close homeschooling acquaintance at our church. I like the "plaine Jane" spelling, and the ability to shorten to Katie, which would be harder if I went with Caitlin. Caitie? Methinks not. It's probably a moot point, because I think I vaguely remember dh vetoing Katelynn anyway.

 

For Helena, I was thinking of pronunciations. I've heard it pronounced 3 different ways. I had one of them in mind (Hel' - en - uh) when I considered it for our dd, but decided I wouldn't want her to have to correct people. The others I've heard were Hel - EE' - nuh and Hel - AY - nuh. I have no idea which is more or less "correct" or common. I just liked it the way I'd heard it first -- probably like my parents when they chose my name. :001_smile:

 

No, I don't think Katelynn is too unusual. It makes sense phonetically and it looks and sounds pretty. I can't imagine that anyone would stumble over it when they saw it. My particular relative added a bunch of silent vowels for no apparent reason. I shouldn't care, but she didn't send me an official announcement and I can never remember how she spells it. Would it hurt her to include the children's names on a Christmas card? :tongue_smilie:

 

As an aside, I teach an elementary school pullout program and I currently have 3 Caitlins -- all spelled differently -- one like you suggest. I learned to spell them all after their second visit to me. It's important to me to get my students' names right!

[Josie]

To each his own!

[runamuk]

My two youngest have older names that are often spelled incorrectly. My daughter's name could be spelled two different ways - the way I spelled it or the way it's spelled for boys or the holiday. She's often called by a different name completely - maybe because people misread it? My son's name is spelled the traditional way and the only way I've seen it, but it's misspelled nearly everywhere we go. Add in our last name and they have some very odd names on their soccer trophies.

[astrid]

Picking from a pre-approved list is.....boring to say the least.

 

And perhaps a teensy bit <gasp> socialist?! :D

 

astrid

[Obi-Mom Kenobi]

I have a non-traditional name, not weird just not a Jennifer, Becky, Susan or Lisa type traditional girl's name. That said, I went to school with two other girls with my same name and we all spelled it differently - and we were all quite sure that our spelling was the correct one. I hated to even see the other spellings and I know at least one of the girls refused to write "our" name anyway but with her spelling.

 

That said, Dad Windu and I we did choose the more traditional spelling for our son's somewhat unusual (foreign) name. Regardless, people generally have to ask how to spell it and often say it wrong anyway. Sigh. :)

[Storm Bay]

My two youngest have older names that are often spelled incorrectly. My daughter's name could be spelled two different ways - the way I spelled it or the way it's spelled for boys or the holiday. She's often called by a different name completely - maybe because people misread it? My son's name is spelled the traditional way and the only way I've seen it, but it's misspelled nearly everywhere we go. Add in our last name and they have some very odd names on their soccer trophies.

 

My son has a very traditionally spelled name that no one around here can pronounce when they read it, but since there was both a very famous athlete and a famous singer with this name in the 1970s I would think people my age and older would get it. However, people around here just aren't used to ethnic names and are very sheltered when it comes to pronunciation of letters in European languages (eg, J can be h or y for us, x can be very different, etc.) When he was little he thought it was funny, but sometimes now he gets a bit fed up. This is why it took dh months to decide on a name for ds (it was one of our top 5 choices--we actually had 5 names the same on our lists, which never happened with girls' names.) Ds has a different, very masculine name, that people here often think is a woman's name, even though they've never heard it before and it's similar to an English male name.