Why do parents try to spell their child's name as weird as possible?

Question

We are in an age where MASSES of people are trying to be unique, but since everyone does it, there's nothing unique about it. For instance trying to spell their child's name as wierd and off the wall as possible. All this does is cause the child to go the rest of their life having to spell out their name and have it mispronounced.

Answer 1

I have spent all my life having to spell my name out for people. My parents decided to call my by my second name, so I would have to tell people to call me by that name and not my first. My second and last names are both unique spellings, so I either had to deal with having it misspelled or spelling it out for people. It's been mispelled on my high school diploma, every year of the school yearbook, on my baseball uniforms, in the paper when I did something good at school. It is awful.

Now I see these kids names Khristeye, Steeven, Mykaylah, Jordieen, and Cierra at my kids school. Although I used to work with Billy Kidd, Rhett Butler, Strawberry Fields, and I kid you not, Dick Organ.

I don't think people realize when they name their kids names like Rebel, Kolt, and Tiger, what kind of trouble it will cause when that cute little baby is an adult. Try leading the meeting at the board of directors by saying "Good morning, my name is Tiger Cubb." Your credibility is shot then.

Answer 2

Some people find that they really like a name like Emily. I had so many Emily's in my class in school and they were all spelled the same. I'd assume that the parents want to make their child stand out and have a more unique version then to be confused with all the other Emily's by naming her Emmalee. I want to name my child, if it's a girl Averie, I chose to use the -ie form of the name to make it more feminine since it's a unisex name these days.

I want my child to fit in, but I want them to have a unique personality and I find it quite strange how your name effects your personality(sometimes). So maybe you knew a Emily or Ashley in school and you didn't get along with them, but you really like the name so change it a little and make it your own. I agree with the fact that you force a child to have to spell their name out for everyone the rest of their lives, but how many people have to spell out their last names? I know I do. Our name is Kight, not Knight, not Kite, and it gets frustrating when you go to the bank and they screw up your Debit Card because they put the wrong name on the card. But I'd rather be unique then be another common, ordinary name any day.

Answer 3

I'm totally biased but to me I think having an unusual name is so much more logical - why choose a name that half the class are going to have so that everyone gets confused and have to use surnames or nicknames - I love being the only Tallulah if anyone shouts out after me I know its only me they could be calling. I think its a nice refection of today's world that people aren't as scared to deviate from the norm. Originality is surely a good thing - no one ever forgets who you are!! Who wants to be bland and immemorable.

Answer 4

I have often wondered about that as well. Some of the names today look like the parents are illiterate. I don't feel it is worth trying to make your kids different by making their names hard to pronounce or so "out there" that the kid is 12 before they can spell their own names.

Answer 5

cause they don't want their child to have the same spelling as the next child with the same name. My name is Haleigh, like Haley, but spelled really funny, Scandinavian, i think. My grandma said she didn't want my name to be spelled like every other Haley out there. People are always misprononcing and mispelling it, and i really does get old after a while.

Answer 6

People usually think about the kid as a thing before it is born, so they want it to be beautiful. You are right--it isn't practical at all when you need a business card in kindergarten.

Then again, all three of my names are very common and spelled normally and often have to spell them for people.

Answer 7

I think it is stupid when they do that. But I have learned it doesn't matter even when you spell your child name totally normal as I did w/my first ppl still mess it up all the time!!

I purposely named my child a common name because my name is uncommon and didn't want him to have to spell it forever...but forever I am correcting FAMILY and everyone on how to spell Zack...like Jack and they still don't get it.

Answer 8

it is getting kind of ridiculous..people trying to name their kids unique names, and then everyone going on the bandwagon and spelling it the same way cause its different,and before you know it, there are 1000 "hazels"...I don't know why celebs name their kids weird names, maybe cause they are expected to? The only problem I have is my daughter's name is ZOE, and everyone spells it ZOEY. Very frustrating!

Answer 9

I know! It's like they threw a bunch of Scrabble tiles on the floor and that's what they decided to name their kid! I know of an Emylee, Regahn, and many more people who's names have just unbelieveably weird spellings.

Answer 10

I'm not as concerned about the weird spellings of names as I am about the weird names people give their kids. Especially celebrities. I'm just waiting for someone to name their kid "eggnog".