What about Peighzzleighhh???
Or Kar-ian (pronounnced Kardashian)??
I know someone who named their son [name_u]Kamryn[/name_u], said like [name_u]Cameron[/name_u].
Here’s the problem: different letters indicate different sounds. [name_u]Sterling[/name_u] and Styrling are not pronounced the same way. Ditto [name_m]Isaac[/name_m] and [name_m]Izaak[/name_m]. If I saw your son’s name on my roster, I would not think was said [name_m]Drake[/name_m], but DRAY-kee. It’s absolutely all right to be creative with names – but deliberately misspelling your child’s name isn’t creative, it’s just cruel.
I say this as someone with a legitimate alternative pronunciation of a common name. It’s been a huge pain my whole life, and I’m at the point in my career where it’s also becoming a liability. I have to publish under my first initials instead of my name. One of my favorite names is [name_f]Zadie[/name_f], and even though it’s a legitimate alternative form of [name_f]Sadie[/name_f]/[name_f]Sara[/name_f] with a long history of use, I’d hesitate to give it to a my daughter because I wouldn’t want her to be saddled with the same struggle.
That said, it’s interesting that you list [name_m]Zygmunt[/name_m] and Kahn. These are real names, and both are spelled correctly! There are a wealth of interesting names out there that are legitimately different.
This semester I had a [name_m]Brayan[/name_m] ([name_m]Brian[/name_m]) and a Kristhoffer ([name_m]Christopher[/name_m]). I pronounced both as spelled – [name_u]BRAY[/name_u]-an and [name_m]CHRIST[/name_m]-hoffer – until I was corrected. Poor guys.
I knew a girl named A’Briahn. Pronounced exactly like [name_u]Aubrey[/name_u] [name_f]Ann[/name_f]. She went by A’[name_f]Bri[/name_f].
Agustys = [name_m]Augustus[/name_m]
[name_f]Erynne[/name_f] = [name_f]Erin[/name_f]
Kelcii = [name_u]Kelsey[/name_u]
Maddysun = [name_u]Madison[/name_u]
Wyntre = [name_u]Winter[/name_u]
These threads always make me so mad. Like, why would you do this? Your kid is still going to have to go by Steffahney (Last Initial) regardless of how badly you spell it. It doesn’t make them any more unique. Besides, who cares? Them being their own individual self is what’s going to make them unique, NOT a crappy spelling of a common name.
I also know a few people who have taken a common name and changed it just slightly to make it more unique, but it just winds up confusing everyone. I know a [name_f]Nichelle[/name_f] instead of [name_f]Michelle[/name_f], a Nikayla instead of [name_f]Mikayla[/name_f], a [name_m]Garrek[/name_m] instead of [name_m]Garrett[/name_m]…
Creative spellings like Kenadie or [name_f]Destinee[/name_f] don’t bother me in the slightest, because I can still pronounce the name if it’s in front of me. My big issue is when the spelling conflicts with how you say the name.
The worst I’ve ever encountered was probably Bryden instead of [name_u]Brighton[/name_u] or Saryniti as others have mentioned.
I don’t mind creative spellings at all really. I think it’s unfair to the kid at times BUT 9 times out of 10 when I encounter an adult with a unique spelled name they seem to love it. I know my really good friend named [name_f]Krysta[/name_f] loves her spelling! The most unique spelling I’ve ever come across has been Alycesaundra aka [name_f]Alessandra[/name_f].
As a [name_f]Kristin[/name_f], I really hate “creative” spellings - you can see from the first few posts on this thread that my name is a prime victim! I swear I’ve gotten more “[name_f]Christyn[/name_f]” and “[name_f]Krysten[/name_f]” variants on my coffee cup than my correctly-spelled name. [name_m]Even[/name_m] the more-common [name_f]Kristen[/name_f] bothers me because it’s the masculine form in the original Norwegian.
The thing about “creative” spellings is that they are not actually creative. It’s not creative to replace “i” with “y” or “y” with “eigh” or “ee.” It’s simple intentional misspelling, and calling it creative is like calling spelling it “tellyfone” creative. It makes it seem like the parent thinks of themselves as really clever and unique, but is actually so basic and boring that they can’t think outside of super common names they are already familiar with, and have to resort to corrupting them to make themselves feel original. Which is really just is a disrespect and disregard for the name and its history - purposeful corruptions sort of dislodge it from that history and meaning, which takes away from the seriousness of the name. It just comes off as self-centered.
I know it’s risky to really hate on them, since there are class-based prejudices that are part of the common aversion to them as well, so I’m just trying to articulate what I find more inherently annoying about it.
This thread reminded me that I once met a girl named Broadie (pronounced like [name_m]Brody[/name_m]). That’s probably the most unfortunate name I’ve ever come across, for so many reasons. I dislike dudebro names like [name_m]Brody[/name_m] to begin with, but at least if were spelled traditionally, it wouldn’t include the sexist term “broad” in the spelling. Poor girl.
the worst spelling I’ve come across was Gazmyin, and I think it was supposed to be said like [name_f]Jasmine[/name_f]. (never heard it out loud, only saw it written.)
I know a
Deyvid ([name_m]David[/name_m])- His parents were from Mexico so I guess they wanted to do a phonetic spelling?
[name_f]Giana[/name_f]- Her mom has this superstition that if someone has double n’s in their name they will have an unhappy life? Not sure where she got that, never heard of that one before. Although I’m so used to her name that [name_f]Gianna[/name_f] looks misspelt to me now.
[name_f]Kaydence[/name_f]- my niece, [name_u]Kay[/name_u] is a family name on my sisters husband side so they wanted to incorporate that.
[name_f]Ashlee[/name_f]
[name_m]Cristian[/name_m]/[name_u]Cris[/name_u]- my hubby, although that’s not really a misspelt, it’s just a Spanish variant.
Allister- my son. I had a really hard time deciding between that or [name_m]Alistair[/name_m]. We pronounce it as [name_f]Alice[/name_f]-stir and I was afraid that if we spelt it [name_m]Alistair[/name_m] people here would pronounce it has [name_f]Alice[/name_f]-stair. We figured here in the States, Allister would be more recognizable.
Usually I’m not a fan of different spelling because I think it’s unnecessary difficulties for your kid. I would be pretty annoyed if everyone spelt my name wrong.