Am I crazy or does how you spell a name have a huge impact? I was not a fan of Carrie…but stumbled across Cari and my WHOLE perspective is changing! It suddenly seems fresh and even…dare I say… elegant? Hubby says I’m reaching and it looks even more like a nickname now😂. What are your thoughts? Any spellings of Cari you like best?
Oh! And apparently the meaning changes too! Cari mean “beloved” as opposed to “free man”.
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You aren’t crazy at all. For example, I find [name_u]Anne[/name_u] much more elegant and less plain than [name_f]Ann[/name_f]. I also find [name_f]Alys[/name_f] more modern and less “a lice” than [name_f]Alice[/name_f].
If [name_f]Cari[/name_f] is more appealing to you, that’s great. I definitely think it looks fresher. [name_m]Even[/name_m] if it looks like a nickname, there are a lot of nickname names in common usage, and that’s never stopped them.
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You’re not crazy! I do this quite often with names! For instance, the same as @GenEric, I really don’t like [name_f]Ann[/name_f] but adore [name_u]Anne[/name_u], as well as [name_f]Maia[/name_f] and [name_f]Kaia[/name_f] instead of [name_f]Maya[/name_f] and [name_u]Kaya[/name_u] or [name_f]Kyah[/name_f]. I actually follow a girl on YouTube named [name_f]Cari[/name_f]! I’m with you on that, [name_f]Cari[/name_f] is much more appealing than [name_f]Carrie[/name_f] (and definitely elegant 
).
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So, both women I know named [name_f]Cari[/name_f] pronounce it Cahr-ee. Like car and then ee. One is Latina, where [name_f]Cari[/name_f] began as a nickname for [name_f]Caridad[/name_f]. [name_f]Carrie[/name_f], like my stepsister is pronounced like carry. I also went to school with a [name_f]Kerri[/name_f].
All that said, spelling sometimes makes a difference, but the sound is more important to me when it comes to the feelings of love or not that I get from a name.
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I totally agree that spelling changes things. [name_f]My[/name_f] name is [name_u]Kelly[/name_u], and even [name_f]Kellie[/name_f] and [name_f]Kelli[/name_f] and [name_u]Kelley[/name_u] feel different to me. 
Though I admit I don’t get their point. 
But more seriously, [name_f]Ann[/name_f] and [name_u]Anne[/name_u] (both of which I like for different reasons) and [name_f]Cari[/name_f], [name_f]Carrie[/name_f], [name_u]Cary[/name_u], [name_f]Kerri[/name_f], [name_u]Kari[/name_u], etc. all have different feels! Some less legitimate than others. I often like international variants better - and [name_f]Katherine[/name_f] and [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] totally feel different to me, too.
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I can totally see Cari looking more “fresh” than Carrie with regard to modern name trends, can’t say it reads as elegant to me though. 
I think I agree with your partner that it looks like a nickname spelled this way. Carrie and Carey are the most intuitive spellings for me.
But yes I totally get what you mean.
Susanne and Susette feel totally different to me than Suzanne and Suzette, and when it comes to names that can be spelled with a F or a PH blend, I tend to lean toward PH (Sophie/Sophia over Sofie/Sofia, Philomena over Filomena, etc.)
Others:
Gwendolen over Gwendolyn
Imogen over Imogene
Isidora over Isadora
Jessamine over Jasmine (these are said somewhat differently so maybe a stretch for this discussion lol)
Madeleine over Madeline or Madelyn
Theodora over Theadora
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I never quite liked [name_f]Leah[/name_f] but when I saw [name_f]Lia[/name_f] for the first time I swooned!
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You aren’t crazy by any means! I realised this was a thing when I saw “[name_f]Sophia[/name_f]” spelled “[name_f]Sofia[/name_f].” Totally changed it for me :))
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You’re definitely not crazy! I’m struggling with examples off the top of my head, but there are lots of names where I strongly prefer one spelling (sometimes to the point of barely liking the other(s)). [name_f]Cari[/name_f] is so sweet! 
[name_f]My[/name_f] only hesitation about it is that I would instinctively pronounce it differently from [name_f]Carrie[/name_f]–CAR-ee vs. CARE-ee. That might just be me though, and it would be an easy correction regardless!
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I think a spelling can definitely alter how you feel about a name. I like [name_f]Cleo[/name_f] but don’t like [name_f]Clio[/name_f] so much, for example. [name_f]Cari[/name_f] is sweet
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I’m the same with [name_m]Lucas[/name_m]/Lukas. I don’t like [name_m]Lucas[/name_m] at all but love [name_m]Lukas[/name_m]?? Sometimes the spelling makes all the difference.
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Not crazy! I’m meh about [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] but love [name_f]Elisabeth[/name_f] so much 
[name_f]Cari[/name_f] is cool!
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I think how you spell a name can have a huge impact. I like this spelling best: [name_f]Carrie[/name_f]
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