Hello Berries,
The spelling of my sons name has really been bothering me and I need opinions/advice! My sons name is Allister, prn [name_f]Alice[/name_f]-stir. I originally wanted to spell it [name_m]Alistair[/name_m] but didn’t for a few reasons:
- Was worried people here in the US would prn. it [name_f]Alice[/name_f]-stair not [name_f]Alice[/name_f]-stir.
- I figured most people would spell it Allister anyways because of the surname McAllister, and [name_m]Alistair[/name_m] is such a rare name here. It just entered the top 1000 last year.
- DH family is Mexican, and Allister seemed the most intuitive spelling in Spanish.
I guess my problem is that Allister still looks weird to me. Sometimes it doesn’t bother me but lately it’s has been bugging me. I thought I would get used to it but still haven’t. I mention changing the spelling to my DH but he doesn’t want to. I figure it’ll be a lot of paperwork too. So what do you think I should do? [name_m]Just[/name_m] leave it or change it? If you’re in the US, what do you think would be the most common spelling??
[name_f]TIA[/name_f]!
I think Allister [name_m]Vaughn[/name_m] is such a handsome, charming name and it will age well with him! I’m from the US, and when I see Allister I pronounce it [name_f]Alice[/name_f]-stir. When I see Allistair I prounouncd it [name_f]Alice[/name_f]-stare. I think the name is perfect the way it is!
I’m in the U.S. and I would pronounce [name_m]Alistair[/name_m] as alice-STAIR. Probably changing the name legally will be a big hassle and a lot of paperwork. Before you go through all that, just write his name [name_m]Alistair[/name_m] when you go places - like on the sign-in sheet at storytime, that kind of thing. One of my kids has a pretty unusual name (Zephan - which is correct because it’s a truncated variation of [name_m]Zephaniah[/name_m]), but nobody seems to be capable of reading it so I write it Zephen when we go places. Lots of people use nicknames and variations of their names (how many women of the previous generation decided to spell their names with I instead of Y?) without changing it legally.
I would keep the spelling you chose for all the reasons you listed. I’m afraid you would get [name_f]Alice[/name_f] stair in the US.
People in the US don’t know the name Allistair and its correct pronunciation?
I find it sad that people declare here “I’d say it STAIR”. Why? That’s wrong. You don’t get to pick how a name is pronounced having done no research into the name. Should I post that my preferred pronunciation of [name_m]Ian[/name_m] is “eye aye en”? No. Lol I am getting a little riled up.
People shouldn’t have to misspell names due to other people’s ignorance.
If you hadn’t picked a spelling yet I would strongly suggest the typical spelling and tell you to educate/ignore/bear with the people who don’t know how to pronounce it. But since it’s already been chosen I don’t know what to suggest.
I’m from the U.S. and I say them the same way, because I know how [name_m]Alistair[/name_m] is pronounced. apparently not that many people do, considering the three previous people saying they would say or you would get [name_f]Alice[/name_f]-stair with that spelling. normally I’m for people keeping the original spelling, but in this case it seems like you made the right choice.
I sincerely apologize for my ignorance.
I am in the US and honestly didn’t know Allistair is supposed to be pronounced [name_f]Alice[/name_f]-stir, and haven’t ever met anyone by that name. I think when I see the name it reminds me of [name_m]Fred[/name_m] Astaire.
But now I know!
I’m from the US and pronounce [name_m]Alistair[/name_m] [name_f]ALICE[/name_f]-stair. I blame [name_m]Alistair[/name_m] Cookie 
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I tend to favor traditional spellings, so I think if it’s not a huge pain, you should consider changing to the usual one, and hoping people will catch on when you pronounce it the way you want. But if it does look like a ton of paperwork, then I think Allister is OK since it’s similar to the surname. I prefer the look of [name_m]Alistair[/name_m], and the one I knew spelled it that way (he was from Australia and mostly went by [name_m]Al[/name_m]. I wonder if it was because we were pronouncing his name wrong…).
I’m sorry, but I don’t agree with your answer at all. While I feel as though OP should spell her son’s name however she’d like to, the fact remains that Allistair is an uncommon name here and people who aren’t familiar will probably pronounce it phonetically. To say that it’s “sad” is unfair to many people in [name_u]America[/name_u]. Why would someone do research on a name they may never encounter? A receptionist in a doctor’s office may see 100 kids a day. [name_f]Do[/name_f] you actually expect them to have the time to look up the “correct” pronunciation of all of those names? OP asked berries in the US how they would say Allistair in order to make a decision.
For what it’s worth, without knowing the correct pronunciation of Allistair, I’d probably also pronounce it [name_f]Alice[/name_f]-stare as well.
Thanks to everyone that replied! It will be a hassle with all the paperwork so maybe I’ll just keep the spelling as is. I don’t know if I want Allister having to correct everyone on the spelling/pronunciation if I end up do changing it. I guess I’ll talk to my hubby again and see what he thinks.
Thanks Berries for the input!