What is wrong with unique names/spellings???

Question

Seriously people! Even common "safe" names are mispelled. What about all of the Jodi's, Jody's, and Jodie's of the world? And the Ann's and Anne's? I don't remember how many times I have been asked to spell my name, and it is Jessica for pete's sake! (or is it Jesika, Jessika, or Jesicah?) Sara or Sarah? Hanna or Hannah? Samuel or Sammuel?

So what if some of us want to choose a unique name for our children? Imagine growing up when there were always at least 3 other Jessica's in your class and turning your head everytime one of your names was called. In college I was forced to go by Jessi (which I hate) because the teacher decided she would call one of us Jessica, one Jess, and one Jessi and I was the last to pick my preference.

I promise my children, whether their names are Raelyn or Mariana or Dane or Jayton, will not have to worry about their best friends having the same name!

So more power to the Raeghan's and Haleigh's and Belah's and Bryton's of the world!!!

Um, if she wants pencil's with her name on them, that is what the internet is for. Don't you think she'd be even happier if her pencils had her name and favorite animal on them??? I mean, thank goodness for custom made objects nowadays. So gald we are not living in the 1900s!

That's my point! People are going to generally ask how to spell it anyway! So I just don't see the big deal. Try having a polish last name! I spell it and pronounce it for people probably 25 times a day in my line of work. It doesn't make my life more difficult and doesn't make me wish that I had different parents so my name was shorter and easier to pronounce and spell.

I can kind of understand the point about spelling common names way off, but Stefani looks so much prettier than Stephanie... And Leigh is so much cuter than Lee.

Why don't we all just name our kids Olga and Charlotte and Mabel? Then there would never be any change! And change all of our last names to Smith and Jones. There, no one has to pronounce or spell their names for anyone anymore!

Sorry to all the Sadon's and Laquisha's and Abhjeet's of the world! Change your names to Sam, John (or Jon?) and Bob!

UGH!

OK, my last comment before bed--Since when have we all become so busy and rigid that the 5 seconds it takes to spell or pronounce your name kills you? And is it the end of the world if someone says it wrong? I spent a half of a semester being called Jennifer and I survived it. I laughed and moved on. It is the big joke in our family to see how many times my sister Jodi's name is spelled wrong on birthday cards. "Santa" and the "Easter Bunny" used to spell them wrong on purpose -- Jodiey -- Lighten up a little. I am just so tired of people badmouthing the names other people choose for their children because they do not like the spelling. Hey, I hate the spelling of Kay and much prefer Kae. But I don't respell names for people. Say whether or not you like the name, not that it is spelled wrong -- that is how they want to spell it and it will all be OK in the end. No one has ever dies or committed suicide for having to spell their name too many times!

Answer 1

I totally agree with you. My name has always been mis-pronounced and misspelled. But I wouldn't change it for another name.

My name is DeAndra. It is pronounced Dee-Ann-dra. And the funniest thing, because people will always ask me to spell it and then they will say, "oh just like it sounds". Well DUH! But I'm used to it. And I have NEVER had to worry about answering someone who is talking to someone else with the same name.

And as far as getting "pencils" or anything else for that matter with my name on it, it was never really that important. Like someone else said, you can always have it personalized.

I tried to give my boys unique names but it seems like once you use the name it starts spreading like wildfire. My oldest son's name is Chanse, spelled with a "s" instead of a "c". My middle son's name is Tanner and the youngest is Jordan.

More power to those who want to be different. I encourage it in my children to be their own unique self.

Answer 2

Clearly you are being very defensive. If you have decided on a made up or misspelled name for your child, that is your prerogative completely. You can name your child anything in this country and so go right ahead and do that.

The argument against unique or made up and misspelled names are many.

1. Other children can be incredibly cruel. I have loved the name Forrest since I was in junior high, years before Forrest Gump came out. But I would not in good conscience name my son Forrest. There are some names that just would invite ridicule. Not that it would be the end of the world, but if a parent chooses to name their child a name that they know will be the source of jokes, hopefully there is a good reason for that (such as it being a family name).

2. When a person misspells their child's name to be creative, what it really looks like is that they just don't know how to spell. Sara and Sarah, so what? What the big issue would be is something like Sayerah, or Sayra. Huh? Is the mom just too dumb to look the name up? Or did she really think spelling is Sayra would help her kid later on. Your name is a perfect example. Bad enough to be called Jessica right? But what if your mom had taken the extra step and said, lets spell it Gessackah! How cool and creative, right? I don't think so. You think it's bad to be jessica, how would you have felt if you were Gessackah? That's exactly how the Haleighs and Immaleighs and Mikinzeys of the world are going to feel. Those are common names, misspelled.

It just seems that a parent would not want to make a child's life start off so complicated to begin with. There is nothing wrong with unique names whatsoever. I like plenty myself. But made-up and misspelled names... it just doesn't work for me. If it works for you then by all means call your children whatever you want to call them. Everyone has their own preference and when someone is on here asking for opinions, then they're going to get opinions. Some will say "I like the name better spelled correctly" or "I hate the name it's weird." So what? You can still name your kid whatever you want.

Answer 3

No matter whether you are Mikayla/ Michaela/ Muhkaylah/ Mykaela/ Michayla/ you are STILL Michaela. So, you are not being different when you spell a name incorrectly. It's still the same name. If anything, in my opinion, you are taking away from the name. There is nothing unique about these names. In most cases, the parents just look uneducated. It can cause alot of unecessary confusion to spell a name crazily. Yes, even common names have different spellings (Megan, Meghan), but they are acceptable alternate spellings that still look pleasant. But, Mayghenn does not look pleasant.

And sadly, our world can be very cruel and prejudiced. Employers sometimes overlook outlandish names on applications. Why do that to a child?

And your teacher who decided to call you Jessie was just immature. You, by know means, had to be called that. You should have told her firmly that you only go by Jessica. And even if you were Jesikah, you'd still be another "Jessica." So, a crazy spelling does not make the name any more orignal by sound. And by spelling, it just does not look classy at all.

Leave the kreatyff spellings for internet screen names. In the real world, people can have the same name as one another AND still be an individual.

Answer 4

I agree--it DOES always suck to have to spell out my name. Think of how many times, being a Jessica, that people didn't have to ask and just guessed and, being Jessica, it was right... more than you could ever know.

I'm a teacher and the first two or three weeks of school suck because I don't know everyone's names, much less the spelling--I have 135 kids this year. Try writing out hall passes. I feel bad that I don't know how to spell their names when they say them, and I have no clue if I get them right until a few weeks later. At least with a Jessica, 9 times out of 10 it'll be spelled that way (in fact, I've never seen it another way, so I'd just write down Jessica unless I knew it was different from looking at the roster before school starts).

The thing with unique names/spellings is that it's not just how it is written, but it's also how they can get mispronounced and misemphasized. Is Raelyn pronounced as Ray Lynn, or Raylin and is Mariana Mary Ahnna or Mary Anna? You're setting kids up for a lifetime of mortification.

My name is Malea--when I was eight I added an "h" and became "Maleah" thinking that it'd help make pronunciation easier. It didn't. I then dropped to Lea and don't have any problems. It's mortifying when you walk across the stage to accept your diploma and the person can't read your name off of a piece of paper, or you're being called on in class and the teacher gets your name wrong.

Being a Jessica, you haven't the faintest idea what it's like to have a name that people can't spell or pronounce. When they ask you to spell yours, they're covering their a**es because of the rest of us who have had to deal with this crap our whole lives.

Answer 5

I have a first name that always has to be spelled for people. And a maiden name that had to be spelled. And married a guy with a name that has to be spelled.

It gets really old.

Really.

Old.

If someone truly wants to give a name that is a gift, then using a common name but spelling it wrong doesn't do the trick. If Stephanie is Stefani or Steffini, when you say it out loud it's still the same old thing. Give a kid a break and spell it right.

A better way to achieve the goal is to use a name that feels familiar, but is just different enough to stand out. Example? There are lots of girls named Malory. (Which, BTW, means "ill-fated") A cooler choice is Ellery. Unique, yet not freakish.

Answer 6

It just puts an extra burden on the children which they don't really need. I like the comment I heard once that before parents decide on a name for a child, they should picture it on a business card - and I think that's an interesting way of thinking of it.
I'm a teacher and it's really crazy to go through years where there are "name fads" - and you have three Jordans, or Justins, etc. in the class. What our school did was use the surname's first letter added on to the first name - so there was Anna B., Anna M-F, etc. Just nuts...

Answer 7

First there really isn't anything wrong with a "unique" name. The problem comes with the different spellings people come up with. Not only does the parent look ignorant, but the child is made to look as though they dont know how to spell their own name. I'm a Jody and I spell mine with a "y". Usually that is how a boy spells the name and I'm a girl. Using "i" or "ie" is the feminine form of the name. There are genders to some names, there for the different spellings. There are legitimately different spellings for names, like Hanna(h) and Samuel/Sammuel because of cultural differences. But to do that just to do it makes the parent, again, seem ignorant. Not cute, not creative, ignorant.

Answer 8

Well, lady, I'd trade names with you any day. So what if there are others with the same name? Nobody's teasing you for it.

My parents named me a unique name. An ugly name, too. And then they compounded their sins by spelling it funny. So, all my life, I've have people say "Your name is WHAT???" and then giggle madly. and "How do you spell that?" and giggle madly again.

I've often wondered why they hated me so much, as to give me a weird name. That's a bad thing to do to a baby.

I mae up my mind that when I had kids, they'd have the most common of common names, and spelled correctly, too.

Answer 9

"It is true that a person should not be judged by virtue of his name alone. However, despite good intentions of not judging people by the name they have, society could not help but giggle at people who have funny or odd names, especially those who hold respectable positions in the community."
You have to think of where your Jessikah will be later in her life and who may look at her name and automatically assume she's an air head. It's not right than people do that but can you honestly take Bambi or Candy seriously? What about Jo'niqua or Sunshine? I think these names are awesome but all children can have a solid "normal" name and another "cool" name. That way they have a choice.
Example: President Bambi Lynn--bad
President Chelsea Moonbeam-good

Answer 10

It is not very fun always having to spell your name, getting birthday cards etc. with your name spelt wrong and having people completely hash up the pronoucation of your name. (Personally, not getting monogramed T-shirts or pencils or T-shirts is a plus!!).

This coming from L-E-E-S-A... Yes, said "Lisa" no, not Leesha (as a stupid high school teacher would say even after being corrected many, many times...).

In a perfect world, it would be OK but unfortunately a vast majority are not very bright... :-) LOL