Friend just had a baby and named her.....

[bibiche]

Evelyn is an interesting one: Evelyn Waugh was married to a woman named Evelyn. Their friends referred to them as he-Evelyn and she-Evelyn.

 

I know a 23yo male Ashley (American).

I didn't know (or had forgotten) that Evelyn Waugh was married to an Evelyn. Very amusing. The Evelyn (who always makes me think of Evelyn Waugh) and the (40 y.o.) Ashley that I know are both Australian. Edited December 12, 2016 by bibiche

[Bluegoat]

I am good with created names, and unusual names, but I don't generally like creative spellings of more established names. 

 

That being said, two of my kids have names that generally need to be spelled out, or repeated more than once for the person to catch them.

[Bluegoat]

I quite like Evelyn for a man, actually. 

[Lady Florida.]

Evelyn is an interesting one: Evelyn Waugh was married to a woman named Evelyn.  Their friends referred to them as he-Evelyn and she-Evelyn.

 

 

 

I didn't realize he was married to an Evelyn. I've always heard the male name pronounced Eve-lynn but women I've known with that name are all Eh-vuh-lynn. 

 

Not quite the same as the Waughs, but I once taught with a married couple named Denis and Denise. Ds 19 is Dennis but with two N's. I know the proper spelling is with one N but to me it leaves the possibility of being teased because it can look as if it's pronounced like the man's organ except with a D. (Also he's named after my dad who spelled it with two N's).

 

Bob Hope's real name was Leslie. John Wayne's real name was Marion.

[MotherGoose]

Hazel wouldn't be my favorite choice, but it is sweet in an old-fashioned way. Hayzel.... not a fan of alternate spellings.

 

My niece named her baby Evelyn. But she spelled it Evalynn.

And every time her name is called out by a stranger, they will say, "Eva Lynn " and she will have to correct them.

[HS Mom in NC]

I've only ever known females who spell it Shawn. The males I've known spell it Sean or Shaun.

 

My brother's middle name is Shawn.

 

[HS Mom in NC]

Here in PHX there were brother meteorologists names Sean and Shawn.  Apparently mamma and daddy didn't know that Sean is usually pronounced "Shawn" or they didn't care.  He pronounces his name Seen.

https://twitter.com/seanontv/status/690397051172098053

[gardenmom5]

some people want "unique" . . . then get upset when people either mispronounce it or spell it wrong.

[Lady Florida.]

I've never known a female Shawn, but went to school with a girl named Shawna. I've known males with the different spellings - Sean (my preference) Shaun, and Shawn.

[AnnE-girl]

When I was lurking on a birth board when I was pregnant, there was a mom who wanted to name her daughter Seauphia, pronounced Sofia/Sophia. I think the other moms talked her out of it, but she was offended that so many people thought it was a bad idea.

[shawthorne44]

This is true. My sister has an uncommon but certainly not unheard of one syllable name that people mishear and mispronounce all the time. I told her she needs a fake name for things like Starbucks cups and restaurant reservations. :)

 

My Dad does.  It started when someone took his food at one of those restaurants where they called out your name when your food was ready.  So, he went with his childhood nickname of Butch.   More than once me, a female with very long-hair has had to say, "Yes, I am Butch" when picking up food that they had ordered.  

 

-----------------------------

 

I am annoyed that DD has THREE friends who are Kaitlyn with three different spellings.  It would be easier if they all used the same spelling, but as it is, I can't remember who has which spelling.  She is also friends with two Paytons with different spellings.  My annoyance has been the deciding factor in them not being invited to DDs birthday parties, except for one girl which was a definite.  Just because I'd have to find where their parents had spelled their name in order to do the invite.  

Edited December 12, 2016 by shawthorne44

[mathnerd]

It is a fairly common name in a different language, with a totally different meaning than the English.

 

 

One of my son's coaches is a young woman named "Brighid". I assumed that she had a parent who loved creative spelling until I googled it and found that it is how it is spelled in another country.

[rose]

I don't mind the creative spellings even though they're not my cup of tea but I really can't wrap my mind around giving babies names of notorious people. In our town alone (it's tiny) there is a Dagon and a Jezebel! Can you imagine! I met Jezebel and I felt like I was cussing her out every time I used her name. My sister knew twins named Cain and Loki. I that's really who you want to name your children after-the first murderer and the Norse god of mischief!?

[Guest]

some people want "unique" . . . then get upset when people either mispronounce it or spell it wrong.

THIS is when it really annoys me. Don't get mad when people spell your kid's name "wrong" by spelling it right. I've seen this upclose and personal with family members and friends. They get all indignant and say, "The coach spelled EmmaLeigh's name wrong on her trophy!" Well, duh! What are they supposed to be? The Oracle?

 

If you want to be different, knock yourself out, but be patient about all the corrections you will have to make forever and ever. We wanted our first child to have a rarer name, so we intentionally chose something uncommon: Kyla. However, this name is often confused with its much more popular similar names for that generation of kids - all those Kayla, Kylie, Kayley girls. So I spell. And remind. And clarify. And now she does. He name is not spelled in an unusual way, but just by being a name that wasn't in the top 100, people mistake it for other names.

 

 

ETA: punctuation screw-up

Edited December 12, 2016 by Quill

[gardenmom5]

 

 

I am annoyed that DD has THREE friends who are Kaitlyn with three different spellings.  It would be easier if they all used the same spelling, but as it is, I can't remember who has which spelling.  She is also friends with two Paytons with different spellings.  My annoyance has been the deciding factor in them not being invited to DDs birthday parties, except for one girl which was a definite.  Just because I'd have to find where their parents had spelled their name in order to do the invite.  

 

I recall ordering something years ago.  I was looking at a lot of different things - and the owners name was attached to each of them.  two of the names were similar.  I confused the names - the person was rather offended and made snarky comments when she delivered my order.   I apologized about the mistake - and corrected how she was spelling my name.

 

though now I think about it - I don't' know if it was an honest mistake or deliberate pettiness on her part.

 

 

eta: I have a common spelling for my name.  I regularly get asked how I spell it, and even have people mispronounce it.  I can tolerate a lot - just do NOT drop the "t" and add an "eee" to the end of my name.  I loath that.

Edited December 12, 2016 by gardenmom5

[rainbowmama]

Hayzel

 

Ugh.

 

Could it be a family spelling? One of my kids have a less common spelling of their name, because I named them after someone with that spelling.

[EmseB]

I went to a small school in elementary and in our little class of 10 first graders there was a female Justin and a male Justin.

 

I also went to high school with a boy named Tawd.  Like Todd, but to me it always looked like someone just didn't know how to spell Todd properly and sounded it out.

[HS Mom in NC]

My middle daughter's name is Mercy-standard spelling.  Many a Hispanic woman in her 50s, whose fist name is Mercedes, goes by Merci around here, so it doesn't bother me when people ask if it's y or i.  One of my quilter's guild members is Merci, short for Mercedes. What stunned me was the time the barista wrote Mersie on her cup.  I wasn't as irritated by the barista so much as the culture that created a Kree8tyv name culture.

On a side note, her name is Mercy Crews and her pediatric neurologist had another patient named Merci Cruz.  We had to clarify at the office because they pulled the wrong file once. That's what happens when you're a white girl with a Latina name living in the Southwestern US.

[gardenmom5]

THIS is when it really annoys me. Don't get mad when people spell your kid's name "wrong" by spelling it right. I've seen this upclose and personal with family members and friends. They get all indignant and say, "The coach spelled EmmaLeigh's name wrong on her trophy!" Well, duh! What are they supposed to be? The Oracle?

 

If you want to be different, knock yourself out, but be patient about all the corrections you will have to make forever and ever. We wanted our first child to have a rarer name, so we intentionally chose something uncommon: Kyla. However, this name is often confused with its much more popular similar names for that generation of kids - all those Kayla, Kylie, Kayley girls. So I spell. And remind. And clarify. And now she does. He name is not spelled in an unusual way, but just by being a name that wasn't in the top 100, people mistake it for other names.

 

 

ETA: punctuation screw-up

 

 

my brother gave his daughter the name of one of the most famous women in the world.  same spelling.  HOWEVER - he wants it to have a Spanish pronunciation. (his ex is Latina) and get's irate when people give it an English pronunciation.  you named her after the princess of wales - get over it.

 

there are multiple Spanish pronunciation versions with english spelling that are readily used.  but he didn't want one of those.

[gardenmom5]

My middle daughter's name is Mercy-standard spelling.  Many a Hispanic woman in her 50s, whose fist name is Mercedes, goes by Merci around here, so it doesn't bother me when people ask if it's y or i.  One of my quilter's guild members is Merci, short for Mercedes. What stunned me was the time the barista wrote Mersie on her cup.  I wasn't as irritated by the barista so much as the culture that created a Kree8tyv name culture.

 

On a side note, her name is Mercy Crews and her pediatric neurologist had another patient named Merci Cruz.  We had to clarify at the office because they pulled the wrong file once. That's what happens when you're a white girl with a Latina name living in the Southwestern US.

 

there are many duplicate/similar names in medical offices.  larger offices have name flags for those cases.  I found out my gyn's office had another patient with my first and last name.  exact same name and spelling.  they pulled her file for my appointment.   I'd never lived in the town she lived in, which is how it was discovered.  they gave me the file to verify the address was correct.

[UCF612]

On the topic of people getting mad when you misspell the name I remember when I worked at the YMCA childcare in college. Parents signed the kids in and then we gave the kids nametags. Once I glanced at the check in and wrote a tag for Hannah. The mom was furious. He daughter's name was Hannan. She had written it in a way that definitely made it look like an h and I'd never heard the name Hannan before (or since). I remember vividly because she seemed so unnecessarily upset with me.

[KungFuPanda]

I hear you. I actually dated a Kelly once. And I know guys that spell Michael different ways (ea vs ae) but a girl named Michael would really stump me.

 

I also once dated a Kelly.  It was an old family name.

[Julie Smith]

This is true. My sister has an uncommon but certainly not unheard of one syllable name that people mishear and mispronounce all the time. I told her she needs a fake name for things like Starbucks cups and restaurant reservations. :)

 

My name is not spelled the way it should be. When writing my name on name tags or similar things I spell it phonetically. In other words I purposely spell my name wrong. (Now if you lived in Denmark 50 years ago, it would cause no problems)

Edited December 12, 2016 by Julie Smith

[Reefgazer]

I had a distant female relative named "Michol".

When I was sitting through an awards ceremony at college, there was a young woman named Michael. Not Michaeline or Michelle - Michael. In just that half hour or so, I heard many confused mutterings amongst people sitting near me - "did they say 'Michael'? Is that a mistake?...they just said it again! Is it really a girl named Michael?!"

 

As the wife of a man named Kelly, I can tell you that crossing gender associations is problematic, but I grant MIL leeway because Kelly was once a perfectly acceptable male surname-name. She didn't know Charlie's Angels would make Kelly a female-majority name. But naming one's daughter an extremely masculine-dominant name, masculine since Biblical times, does seem to me a really bad idea.

[Julie Smith]

there are many duplicate/similar names in medical offices.  larger offices have name flags for those cases.  I found out my gyn's office had another patient with my first and last name.  exact same name and spelling.  they pulled her file for my appointment.   I'd never lived in the town she lived in, which is how it was discovered.  they gave me the file to verify the address was correct.

 

From relatives I heard that this is a major problem in Denmark since a 1/4 of the population share 3 different last names. To make it less of a problem going forward many parents make up new last names for their kids. So the kids would have a different last name than both of the parents. 

[mellifera33]

My middle daughter's name is Mercy-standard spelling.  Many a Hispanic woman in her 50s, whose fist name is Mercedes, goes by Merci around here, so it doesn't bother me when people ask if it's y or i.  One of my quilter's guild members is Merci, short for Mercedes. What stunned me was the time the barista wrote Mersie on her cup.  I wasn't as irritated by the barista so much as the culture that created a Kree8tyv name culture.

 

 

I'm pretty sure that baristas write names wrong just to mess with us. It's a boring job so I don't blame them. :)

[luuknam]

Is it a common Dutch name?

 

The Dmitri's I have known were Russian, there is no i between the D and M in the Russian version of the name: ДмиÌтрий

 

No, it's not that common. However, the comment was about a syllable without a vowel, which it is. Also, spelling is variable - in Church Slavic form, for example, it *is* ДимиÌтрий:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitry

 

And of course, it's derived from Demeter, which also has a vowel in Greek:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demeter

[heartlikealion]

My youngest has a simple, and trendy-ish name, Ava. I had no idea how many people would want to pronounce it in the Spanish way (Ah-vah). Or when I say her name, they often want to spell it "Eva". We are not in a part of the country where Spanish is a common second language, so it's been surprising.

 

I think "A-vuh" (long A). Is that how you say it?

 

I've only ever known females who spell it Shawn. The males I've known spell it Sean or Shaun.

 

I think I've only ever known one Shawn and he's a guy. Most people do spell it the other ways, though.

[Sun]

Makes me think of hayfever for some reason... Poor child

 

Yes! My first thought was why would anyone want to put the word "hay" in a child's name?

[gingersmom]

Part of my streets name is Curtis spelled with two S's, Curtiss.

 

I have to tell everyone how it is spelled and it's always a topic of discussion. No, I tell everyone, I don't know know why they spelled the street name like that.

 

I can't imagine having to go through life telling everyone how to spell/pronounce your name.

[IsabelC]

After many years of fascination with names and naming trends, I have concluded that there is simply no accounting for taste, and there will never be agreement on what is best or most appropriate. 

As far as spelling goes, I have noticed that many people just cannot spell names, no matter how simple, common or straightforward they seem. My son is called George, and people ask how to spell that; I mean, seriously, isn't 'George' the only way to spell it in English? Unless we went for 'Jorj' for that extra special alternate (or Duggar family!) spelling? My daughter Elizabeth gets asked whether it's Elizabeth with a Z or an S. She has also had people assuming that Beth must be short for Bethany (which it can be, of course, but surely everybody knows it can also be short for Elizabeth?) And my Amelia gets all kinds of spellings, as well as queries about whether her nickname (Milly) stands for Millicent or Mildred. I suspect that even if a kid is Bob Smith, people would be uncertain of spelling. 

Edited December 13, 2016 by IsabelC

[Audrey]

Meh. So? I have really strong opinions on names, but unless I birthed it or am raising it, I keep my opinion to myself. I'm not the person who has to live with the name anyway.

 

Not my circus. Not my monkeys.

 

YMMV.

[umsami]

My son's name is Sami (hence my name, means mother of Sami).  It's pronounced Sammy.  I debated the spelling, but decided to go with the most common English-spelling of the Arab name I saw.  Samy just looked like it was missing an "m" to me.  The negative is that people think it's a short form of Samantha.   The positive is he can just be "Sam" if he wants.

[elegantlion]

After studying medieval history for a while, modern name spellings don't even hit my radar. Unless it's Aethelstan or Aethelbert I generally some gender direction on Anglo-Saxon names. 

 

One of my grandfather's name was Lois - yes spelled just like that. One of the historians I've been reading lately is a male named Vivian - early 20th century historian. 

 

Hayzel seems almost serene compared to some creative spellings though. Maybe it's because I have an "hay" in one of my names. 

[8circles]

It sounds lovely.  I couldn't possibly care how they spell it unless I need to write it.

[gardenmom5]

Part of my streets name is Curtis spelled with two S's, Curtiss.

 

I have to tell everyone how it is spelled and it's always a topic of discussion. No, I tell everyone, I don't know know why they spelled the street name like that.

 

I can't imagine having to go through life telling everyone how to spell/pronounce your name.

 

it becomes automatic and you don't think about it.

 

I have a straight forward last name.  you'd think.  people misspell it so often, I automatically spell it.   I've even had people who've known us for years - mispronounce it.   sigh.

 

it's not like it's some polish or Czechoslovakian name ...  . (like some of the girls I went to school with.)

[heartlikealion]

it becomes automatic and you don't think about it.

 

I have a straight forward last name.  you'd think.  people misspell it so often, I automatically spell it.   I've even had people who've known us for years - mispronounce it.   sigh.

 

it's not like it's some polish or Czechoslovakian name ...  . (like some of the girls I went to school with.)

 

I get lazy and just use a nickname sometimes. I don't have a weird name, just uncommon these days. Like if we order pizza or something, it's easier to just use a nickname or my husband's name as they just need to jot down something.

 

[Plink]

My name is not spelled the way it should be. When writing my name on name tags or similar things I spell it phonetically. In other words I purposely spell my name wrong. (Now if you lived in Denmark 50 years ago, it would cause no problems)

 

DD's archery coach does the same thing!  On her nametags you will always see "Siobhan (Shiv-awn)"  For the record, her name is spelled correctly, 

[UCF612]

I have to constantly spell my first name. It is an ordinary spelling but my name has an abundance of common spellings and some real oddball spellings. It was not a popular name when I was a kid but came into popularity later.

Edited December 13, 2016 by UCF612

[Charlie]

Critiquing fashions is interesting for me to watch. Creative names aren't "necessary," but then what fashion is? It's expressive. It's creative. It adorns life and adds a little bling to the practical. Since the caveman days when the first generation dared to strut out in leopard spot animal skins rather than the classic tiger stripes, the older generation has been saying the fashions of kids these days are unnecessarily and flamboyant. My mother thought more than one earring in an ear was "unnecessary." Well, I can't argue with that, but so what?

[Mrs. Y]

I met a young lady cashier with the name "Shannah", which happens to be my dd's name. We say Shan-nah (rhymes with Hannah). This gal said hers is pronounced Shay-nah. She says hers is a regrettable misspelling and nobody gets it right.

 

I still wish we would've named our daughter something simple like Lisa. Sigh.

Edited December 13, 2016 by Colleen OH

[Joyofsixreboot]

I met a young lady cashier with the name "Shannah", which happens to be my dd's name. We say Shan-nah (rhymes with Hannah). This gal said hers is pronounced Shay-nah. She says hers is a regrettable misspelling and nobody gets it right.

 

I still wish we would've named our daughter something simple like Lisa. Sigh.

Trust me, Lisa ( or Leesa, Lesa, Lise) still gets misspelled.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

[Guest]

After studying medieval history for a while, modern name spellings don't even hit my radar. Unless it's Aethelstan or Aethelbert I generally some gender direction on Anglo-Saxon names. 

 

One of my grandfather's name was Lois - yes spelled just like that. One of the historians I've been reading lately is a male named Vivian - early 20th century historian. 

 

Hayzel seems almost serene compared to some creative spellings though. Maybe it's because I have an "hay" in one of my names. 

 

I think it's about time Aethelbert and Aethelred made a come back!

 

Man. I so would tell my family that's what I was naming a baby if we ever had another kid just to see their faces. I would make them do the fancy grapheme thing too: Ã†thelred. 

[Caclcoca]

I have spent my entire life correcting the spelling of my name.  My mom says that when she named me, there was an "e" in the feminine spelling and no "e" in the masculine spelling.  Because of this, I named my children simple names with simple spellings.  I still have to spell them for people.  I have decided that it really doesn't matter.  Someone is going to be confused.

[Mrs. Y]

Trust me, Lisa ( or Leesa, Lesa, Lise) still gets misspelled.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

Lol. Right. Colleen has been painful at times too. I endured a 5th grade teacher sincerely calling me (and I am not kidding) "Cool lean". Like, who would purposely name their kid a name like that???

[Caroline]

I love kre8ive names. I love ethnic names. I have spent most of my life spelling my last name for everyone. My married name isn't any easier for people. I just say "last name" starts with a K automatically. I don't think it is any big deal. I get that other people do, though. And I also get that employers will discriminate against people with kre8ive names.

 

My kids all have easy to spell names. Funny PSAT story--apparently one year my oldest, Alexander spelled his name wrong on his PSAT answer document. He spelled it Alander. We got mail from colleges for both names. The same colleges. And we got recruiting calls from colleges for both of them. I mean, the college would cal for Alexander and three minutes later call back for Alander. That kept us laughing for a couple of years. University of Chicago never did figure it out.

 

Anyway, I have met kids with some beautiful names. And I associate kre8ive names with some very wonderful children.

[alisoncooks]

I have a kiddo named Ivy. Three letters (!!) and we still get asked to spell it.

"I-v?" "I-v-e-y?"

 

I truly wasn't expecting this name issue.

[*Lulu*]

there are many duplicate/similar names in medical offices. larger offices have name flags for those cases. I found out my gyn's office had another patient with my first and last name. exact same name and spelling. they pulled her file for my appointment. I'd never lived in the town she lived in, which is how it was discovered. they gave me the file to verify the address was correct.

My great grandmother had a somewhat unique old fashioned name. She was 97 when she was hospitalized with a woman who had the same name, and was also 97. My family was extra vigilant checking with the nurses about which "Gertrude" they wanted

[Mrs. Y]

My great grandmother had a somewhat unique old fashioned name. She was 97 when she was hospitalized with a woman who had the same name, and was also 97. My family was extra vigilant checking with the nurses about which "Gertrude" they wanted

I had a great grandmother named Gertrude,too.

 

Born in 1903.

[theelfqueen]

I have a kiddo named Ivy. Three letters (!!) and we still get asked to spell it.

"I-v?" "I-v-e-y?"

 

I truly wasn't expecting this name issue.

 

I have a friend whose mother named her Ivey. (with an E) When she got to about high school she stopped using the "E" and wrote her name Ivy forever after. I'm not sure if she legalized the spelling when she changed her name after marrying or if she still has an "e" in her legal name. But she hates it.

Edited December 13, 2016 by theelfqueen