Why do people name their kids names that are hard to spell or pronounce?

Question

Do you think there are too many people who don't put themselves in their child's shoes when picking out names?

Why do parents pick names that are hard to pronounce?

Or why do they pick common and easy to pronounce names but then change the spelling?

Do you think there aren't enough parents out there who take in to consideration that it gets very annoying having to pronounce your name for everyone? Or that it gets annoying having to spell your name for everyone?

Or maybe they just don't care--as long as it sounds good?

What do you think?

Answer 1

Because all too often they think of their new baby as a sort of animated doll, and completely neglect to realise that it will become a five year old learning to write that name, an eleven year old going to secondary school and having to explain over and over again how to pronounce and spell it, an eighteen year old who will have to get certificates changed because people assume their name is spelt the usual way, and an adult with a name which only sounds good on a child of under 2 years old.

Answer 2

I was wondering the same thing looking at questions here over the last couple of days.

Some of the spellings made me cringe. When I meet an adult or kid with a poorly spelled name I have to wonder if the parents were illiterate or just ditsy.

Quite frankly some of the names just sound ridiculous and changing the spelling of a name so it will be "different" is just dumb. There are 5 billion people on the planet, the kid is going to have to share a name with somebody, get over it!

Do any of these people think about how the name will look on a job application? Will someone with a ridiculously spelled, trendy, dated, or weird-sounding name be happy to see it on business cards or will they shudder and go by their initials?

Come on, folks. When you meet someone whose parents had to come up with a brand new way to spell Sean (since there are only about 5 spellings in use right now!!!) you wonder if they inherited what is either an obvious lack of sense or the belief that the world MUST revolve around them.

Answer 3

I think that the parents are just trying to make their child unique, in a way. If the parents do like a certain name that isn't all so orginal, with the thought of having a unique child, then they might change the spelling of that particular name. If the parents want the child to be completely unique, they might pick a name that no one has ever heard of. Of course, I don't know this for sure. It's just my theory.
With the whole deal of being in the child's shoes, the parents are probably biased towards the name they like. If the parents like it, most likely they think everyone else likes it too.
I hope this helps :]

Answer 4

I definitely find the whole created -- and often ridiculous -- names trend and the misguided purposeful misspellings (to either feminize a masculine name or make a common name somehow less common) completely tiresome. If you like Henry for a girl -- to use a non-crossover example LOL -- use Henry, but for Pete's sake don't spell it Hynreigh and try to justify it by calling it "prettier." I fail to see how a horrible misspelling should inherently indicate femininity. Quite frankly, the mothers using these poorly-spelled "feminizations" should be offended by the very thought! LOL And as to the common names with uncommon spellings ... Emily is Emmuleigh is Emma-Lee. LMAO If you want an uncommon name, USE AN UNCOMMON NAME! ;)

That said, I'll take a properly-spelled, traditional name -- no matter how unusual -- over the above atrocities any day. I can fully understand if someone happens to love Aloysius or Xerxes enough to deal with any possible spelling or pronunciation hassles. Or a family, such as my own, to whom names like Siobhan, Seamus, Niamh and Maeve are perfectly normal, not at all difficult to understand and reflective of their heritage. Real names with actual histories, when spelled traditionally, are rarely "bad" choices.

So yes, created names and misspellings simply to be "unique" are quite horrid. But real names that happen to be underused? Refreshing. ;) With repeated usage, people will come to recognize and remember nearly any correctly-spelled name, no matter how unusual. But there's simply no way to "get used to" Madison, Maddison, Madysan, Maddysian, Madisynn, Madizann, etc., when no one seems to want to stick with the same spelling. So bring on the names that are actually unique!

Answer 5

I think it's annoying too. I like nice, normal, somewhat traditional names. To me it seems low class to just make up a name. I always think that your child has to live with that name forever and also that name has to go on a college application and resume possibly someday. A lot of people laugh at strange names, even if they don't admit it. I think that kids with odd names wish they were Jennifer or Michael! It sounds so much smarter to name your child a correctly spelled, nice, normal name!

Answer 6

Well my name is suppose to be spelt Kayliegh thats how nearly every1 i know spells it so 4 some reason my parents chose 2 spell it Kailey, its not hard to spell but i get called so many things kelly, keeley, kylie, Hayley, Katey... very annoying!
Also i once babysat a little boy called Quakacey or something like that strangest name ive ever heard and i bet he had trouble spelling that at school!

Answer 7

I think it really does go back to the idea that people don't think of the baby as a person that will grow up to become an adult. A lot of people think of a baby as an object.

One names book I read suggested choosing names that you would like to have been named. At least as a jumping off point for most people.

Answer 8

This drives me nuts too. People can be so selfish when naming their children. They don't stop and think that the name they choose will be a burden the child has to bare the rest of their life.

Answer 9

I think people want to be "unique" I think it's completely ridiculous to name you child Ava but spell it Ayvah to be "different", it's the same name no matter how you spell. Honestly, I think it just makes the parents look illiterate and uneducated. I don't think they take their child into consideration, just their need to be "different"

Answer 10

because parents don't realise that it is the personality of the human that makes them unique, not the name or the way its spelt. I guess they are taking out a type of insurance that if their kid is boring and dull they won't be forgotten in this world with a stupid name.