"Unusual Spellings of Baby Names Out of Control"

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If you had decided to use William not Wilhelm and spelt it Whylyahm then my eyebrow might have popped.

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:o oh THAT did my head in big time :ROFL:

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My issue with unusual spelling is this - there are a lot of snobs out there who are going to think if you have an unusual spelling to your name, they can assume a whole lot of things about you as a person (from the viewpoint of socio-economic status, education levels, etc).

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heheheh so Vy is oging to be a pole dancer come stripper then :p

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There is not one single child's name on here that I can't look at, and not know how to say it - even Maz and Arimeh's children's names ;)

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:hug: thanks babe needed to hear that

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They all sound the same on the playground... you're going to hear it more than you see it, so why do people want names to look different? I mean Jessica is going to be sound the same as Jessyka in the end. I don't get it.

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Because its a way to make your child unique, putting your stamp on them for life...that child is part of you and their name is one of the most important and most valuable thing you can give them bar life its self.

I hated my name as a child....my name was always misspronounced....its spelt
Maryan...and got Mary-Anne all my life..its actually pronounced Merry - en

It wasnt until my brothers headstone was layed down did I notice something very odd and questioned my parents about it. name was spelt Maryen not the usual way.
My dad wanted my name spelt MARYEN but somehow it had ended up MARYAN and it stayed. My dad has only realised that my name isnt spelt right (he has gotten a bit forgetful in old age) and isnt happy and to behonest, nor am I..... blame was pointed at my mum at first but we are now thinking that my name was changed by some 'well meaning nurse' in hospital who thought my name was actually promounced Mary-Anne...mum never changed it as she thought dad had wanted it that way and dad thought mum wanted it that was.

So a life time of missery and torment on over having my name spelt incorrectly by someone trying to fix what they thought was wrong.

And it still gnaw's at me......:(

I reckon change it Maz. :hug: Would be fun.

Bx, how ARE some of those first names pronounced? I only recently learned about Niamh, so I'm fascinated by it all.

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No Sarah :) .. I just noticed that there were a couple earlier in the thread... someone said they didn't like names like Jane mucked around with

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That was me... my DD has the middle name Jayne spelt differently :p.. I was trying to find something that I thought was quite commonly mucked with, just as an example rather than being too specific :doh: guess it didn't come off as I intended!

I was thinking more of spellings similar to the 'tryndeigh' example given earlier rather than single letter differences

No offense intended to anyone :redface:

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:redface:my middle name is Jayne and I always thought the spelling was pretty.

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ooops! ... I think so too, that's why I used it for my DD! Sorry for any misunderstanding :redface:

I ruddy HATE creative spellings. Adding in Ys and Zs and Xs to look "cool". Fair enough if it's a spelling from a country that you can call your own... but not just randomly! (I have a Welsh name and I AM NOT WELSH! It was also popular in the late 60s/early 70s so people are shocked at how young I look... I'm about a decade younger than my name, I don't just LOOK young, I AM young!) I do like Irish names but DH's Mum's parents were both Irish so we can just about get away with that - or could if DH liked them!

I hate having to constantly correct the pronounciation and the spelling. I hate having people think my last name has a Y in it because my first name does... NO. Yes, I can spell my last name... I can spell my first name too. Just you who thinks that comment is amusing.

Having said that, children with "normal" spelling suffer. Liebling gets two As in his name rather than A then E. His middle names get it too. I don't understand - we picked three very normal names! The first two names, when combined with the last name, are breweries. Why is there this problem? Because other parents made it a problem for us.

Don't they say Imogen originated from a misspelling? Guess those of us who use it are a bit screwed either way then ;)

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Because its a way to make your child unique, putting your stamp on them for life...that child is part of you and their name is one of the most important and most valuable thing you can give them bar life its self.

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Exactly. Thankyou. I know it sounds the same, but I didn't want her like all the other Jasmine's out there. I love the name, but I wanted it to be unique just like she is. I also prefer the nickname spelling - Jaz instead of Jas.

Nelle -

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Ruaridh's, Siobhan's, Muireall's and Iain's

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Rory, Shavaun (which i realised i typo'd when first typing it, lol), Muriel, Ian.

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Because its a way to make your child unique, putting your stamp on them for life...that child is part of you and their name is one of the most important and most valuable thing you can give them bar life its self.

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I have to say, i totally disagree with that. I know 4 Olivia's and every one of them is an incredibly unique individual. Two of my very good friends have the same name, are utterly different and i NEVER get them mixed up in my head or otherwise. When i was at Uni i worked on a welcome desk and practically every man i met from the middle east had a name that was some variation on Mohammed, but they were all very different people. I think a sense of individuality goes way way beyond a name and that, although the name is the 2nd Very Important Parenting Job (after getting them earthside as healthy as possible) of a new parent, in the course of years it pales, as the birth does, in terms of importance. My mother gave me the most popular girls name of the time when i was born, because, she said, she felt it could fit in anywhere. On paper i could be a lawyer or a lapdancer. In person i am as unique as anyone else. As has been said by one more eloquent than me "what's in a name, a rose by any other name would smell as sweet". JMO :D

Bx

I have to disagree with Maz and Skye too - Liebling isn't the same as all the other people out there with his name and his spelling. He's HIMSELF.

I have an uncommon name but that just made me cross that my parents can't spell. It is fairly common in my family - Zaidie also originated from a spelling mistake, but a few women in my family have it now. As a child, you don't want to be different. You want to fit in. And teachers calling you "Crane" because they can't pronounce your first name properly isn't what I call fun and exciting.

As an adult you want to be different - but by then you realise that you're more than just a name, you're YOU. OK so some people do change their name, but more people change from odd name to normal name than from normal name to "no-one has a hope in hell of spelling this" name. A lot of people change "Jaymz" to "James" or "Seaufeighya" to "Sophia": they have the same name, but none of the spelling hassles. I do know a Jaymz but thankfully not a Seaufeighya.

:think:

They all sound the same on the playground... you're going to hear it more than you see it, so why do people want names to look different? I mean Jessica is going to be sound the same as Jessyka in the end. I don't get it.

Because its a way to make your child unique, putting your stamp on them for life...that child is part of you and their name is one of the most important and most valuable thing you can give them bar life its self.

I have to say, i totally disagree with that. I know 4 Olivia's and every one of them is an incredibly unique individual.

A name is not just something spoke. As some have stated in here, a name can represent generations of a family, a nationality, a passion.

A name can by no means represent an individual...saying that name out loud may sound the same even if spelt different, yet its the way its spelt that means the earth to the parents, a priceless gift etched into history.

I know a Jaymz too.

I guess we are all different. I grew up with a long Irish last name & my first name & always had to spell both. My brother & sister are Wade & Sahra (not Sarah). They got Wayne & Sarah all the time, but none of us hate our names. (I wasn't a fan of mine, but, honestly...Skye's just a magnet for teasing!)

It does mean alot to me that DD's name is different.

Maz, I'm sooooo pleased I told my parents BEFORE I changed my name now! I didn't realise that other people were so attached to names they gave away: one reason I changed my name because the daughter I probably will never have was going to have Zaidie - as she's not going to appear any time soon, or ever, I figured why wait and give it away when I want it myself!

DS's name represents a LOT of family history (we're generally better at spelling boys' names than girls') but it wouldn't upset me if he changed it: yes, I picked it and gave it to him but he can do as he wishes with it now; it is his.

Good on you for being able to do that Zaidie :clap:...its something I just cant do in respect to my parents even if it was mixed up....I dont see why causing them unnecessary hurt or disapointment in their twilight years because of it...something they were proud giving me at the time.

My solution ;) to it......... well just look at my username...that say's enough now doesnt it

I'm sensing a bit of a tense vibe in here. Surely we can all disagree without getting over-wrought or upset.

like my name... its spelt HOLLYE... y the "e"u ask??? i dont bloody know. Im so sick of spelling it to people, over and over. I give up most of the time and just let them spell and pronounce it how they like.

so yes, in some sense it can get a little out of control.

I always thought you were Holly E...
Is it pronounced the same as Holly?

yep, pronouced the same. Nah my middle name starts with an 'A' and my last name with a "d"

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I'm sensing a bit of a tense vibe in here. Surely we can all disagree without getting over-wrought or upset.

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sorry if my post came across that way hon...it wasnt ment to. :redface:

zaidie - I really do mean it......good on you! I just cant do it :( .... your perhaps a stronger person then me

What about unisex names with different spellings to denote gender. I get confused by people changing spellings there...

I am ok with Francis/Frances, Leslie/Lesley but what about Lee/Leigh? I know male and female Leighs. Also Robin/Robyn and Charlie/Charley/Charleigh....any idea? I always used to think there were maybe universal rules i wasn't party to lol!

Bx

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Most of those names were said for a LONG LONG time before they were written down. So really the spelling, even the oldest "traditional" spelling, is completely arbitrary - it's just what the first person to write the name down thought it should look like which is why there are variations between countries of origin even when the name sounds the same, and for all we know they could have been adding or omitting letters for the sake of fashion too.

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i agree with that, who says that the traditional spelling is the right one, maybe someone didnt like the creative spelling so they changed it?

I am Lisa, and I get asked how to spell my name, my gf is Leesa (she is 10 yrs older than me) and she gets asked how to spell her name, but both names are the same, so i really dont think it matters what ur name is, someone is gonna aske u how to spell it one day!

It's funny, people ask me to spell my name, Rebecca, which is spelled in the totally standard way. I always kind of wished they'd called me Rebekah to reflect my Jewish extraction...

Bx

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Meh-kel-tee

We tried to spell it phonetically.. LOL

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This is why I decided to spell Jorja the way we did

J-or-ja :)
And it suited her LOL

Personally I don't like creative spelling much. But really if the parent has a reason for it, even just to put their own stamp on thier child, then that's fair enough.
My name is Kellie. I have people spell it wrong all the time and they just assume its Kelly. I don't really care except if it's something important. But because of it, I tired to give my kids simple names, spelt the most common way (or so I thought!) But I have already had 'Lily' spelt in every combination possible and even 'Liam' has been Leem, Leiham, Leam.
Being a child care worker I see every spelling under the sun. At the moment we have so many double and triple names, all spelt differently. One name in particular, we have 5 girls with the same name. Only one spells it in what I would call the 'normal' spelling. It makes it tricky when the parents get upset at us for spelling the names wrongly, and while I can understand it, it's hard to know who's name is spelt which way!!
So I think no matter how you spell your kids names, they are always going to be asked how to spell it!

It's funny Jennjorja when i see jorja i "read" YorYa. Must be a german-head thing! lol.

Bx

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It's funny Jennjorja when i see jorja i "read" YorYa. Must be a german-head thing! lol.

Bx

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I'm a bit like that. I have a friend who's DS is Djaygo (Jaygo), I always read it as Diego :doh:

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It's funny Jennjorja when i see jorja i "read" YorYa. Must be a german-head thing! lol.

Bx

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ROFL me to...my eldest brother Jan and here in Australian he got called Yun and one of my other brothers is Klaus and gets claws

:) I didn't see any offence, Maz. It's something I have wanted to do since the age of about 14 (all my school books have it on them!) so I thought at Easter "I've wanted this name half my life... why wait any longer? Silly graduation present for next year when I want my proper name on my certificate." So I spoke to Mum and changed my name! Dad laughed at me but his mum was really thrilled as it was her mum's middle name. I should have gotten Mum to do it for me age 14 (she said she would have) then less hassle with changing it on FAR more things now. It's not strength, it's realising I want that name and am never going to get a chance to use it unless I use it on myself!

Bec, I went to school with a female Lee. And Robin is unisex, but Robyn is female. At the moment. But look at The Pickwick Papers - Tracy's a boy! The rules change a lot.

I still say the traditional "Sophia" would never have been "Seaufeighya" - because most people go for the easiest spelling. Adding in extra letters, changing letters to make it more "cool"... I don't get that at all. It just makes life difficult for the child, from my experience.

Like names ending in ea - is that an "eee" sound or an "ear" sound: Bailea I figure is probably the eee sound but Lea would be - which one actually, Lee or Lear?

ETA - I always thought Jorja was from the Spanish: I know they spell George as Jorge, same pronounciation. Which would be pronounced "yorg" (hard G sound) by a Scandinavian.

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It's funny Jennjorja when i see jorja i "read" YorYa. Must be a german-head thing!

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lol

I guess jenni is a J rather than a Y - sound so to me Jorja sounds the same.
Hmm... i don't know if i've typed it right....

See I get around the unusual spelling by picking weird names in general :rofl:

I do believe in some circumstances it can go too far when things are spelt out of control but I don't have problem with a few letter substitutions to make it a bit different.

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Don't they say Imogen originated from a misspelling? Guess those of us who use it are a bit screwed either way then ;)

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From what I read it was a misprint in a Shakespearean play, it was meant to be Innogen or something like that.

JEnni I love the way you spelt Jorja! It does suit her! :)

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Like names ending in ea - is that an "eee" sound or an "ear" sound: Bailea I figure is probably the eee sound but Lea would be - which one actually, Lee or Lear?

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When i made the change is Bailea s name, besides being for numerilogical reasons, it was also because i thought it looked more feminine, and i thought that most boys had the spelling Bailey.
Her name has the ee sound, but i get people asking of its Bai leah. as they see lea as being leah.

I didn't want DS to have to spell his name so all the names we picked were fairly straightforward (as well as having other meanings for us)- I thought Peter would be an easy one for him, and it probably will be- for him, but not for me. I can't tell you how many times this past year people I have said his name over the phone and the paperwork comes back saying "Peta"!!

I have a friend who works at a dental surgery and she and the other staff keep a book of unusual names. The winner last year was Kerosene (pronounced Kirossony) :D

Maz your ears must have been burning this past weekend as i was telling my Mum about your children's names & that i especially liked the spelling of Vyolett & Wilhelm ... and my Mum instantly said " Oh, that's the proper German spelling of them, That's WONDERFUL " ... hence my Mum should know as her Dad was German :dance:

Kerry, I've heard of a "fem-arley"... spelt "Female". I think that won a Dr's surgery sweepstake on "strange name of the year".

Yes, there's some really unusual names out there (I teach out west and we see quite a few). The mother of Kerosene told my friend that she'd seen the word Kerosene on a sign when they were driving somewhere and she'd really liked it. My favourite from teaching is a boy named Sham (his surname is Payne). :)

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hehe would you be talking about me?

I can't take credit for putting that "y" in Jayne - its my middle name - so my mum must have been just as weird as me!! LOL

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Me and my mum must be weird too!! both myself and DD have Jayne as a middle name!!

I have a really simple first name: Emma and I still have had it spelt Ema, Ma and Emer lol

I have always had to spell my name and I don't mind. The spelling of my name is the original biblical spelling. In 1975 my name was one of the most popular names and hence I ended up with 3 other Rebecca's in my class. I liked that I was always referred to as Rebekah with a K!!!