[name]Hi[/name] all – help! My daughter has started pre-school and I have noticed that more often than not, people spell her name wrong. It is getting more on my nerves than I’d like to admit - other than here of course! (I can’t figure out why in this day and age of so many names, why one doesn’t take a moment to figure out correct spelling!) Her name is [name]Tabatha[/name] which I adore…but she often gets [name]Tabitha[/name]. Is this going to bug her as she grows up? I just want to hear from people who had their own names written wrong…or their kids’ names have been written wrong and your attitude and approach to it all. I wish it didn’t bug me but it does. So it makes me wonder if I should have gone with the more traditional spelling. To be frank, I didn’t realize the whole world seemed to assume her name should be spelled with an ‘i’ before now. I just went with what I liked and I liked that three ‘a’ spelling because that’s how I pronounce it: Ta-BATH-a not Ta-BITH-a. I also love several same letters in a name. THANKS!
I always thought the name was spelled [name]Tabatha[/name] just as you have used. I had people mispronounce my name but never really had problems spelling it. As long as your daughter learns how to spell her name correctly though I don’t imagine there will be a real problem. I can understand why you would be frustrated though.
I can understand your pain, in a way… My name is [name]Ashley[/name], and you would think, since it was the second most popular name the year I was born (late 80s) and it’s the most common spelling, that people would just naturally spell it [name]Ashley[/name]–or, as you say, look it up! But I’ve had people spell it [name]Ashely[/name], which bugs me to no end. [name]Ashley[/name] and [name]Ashely[/name] don’t even sound the same! [name]Even[/name] the people who try and spell it [name]Ashely[/name] pronounce it [name]Ash[/name]-uh-lee, not [name]Ash[/name]-ley… it’s one of the few lingering pet peeves I have about my name (I’ve long gotten over the unisex and popularity/trendy factors it brings).
I don’t really have any suggestions, especially since I probably wasn’t too polite about it when I corrected people when I was little. lol. But being polite would probably be helpful. [name]Tabitha[/name] is the most common spelling, so I can understand why people would assume it was [name]Tabitha[/name] instead of [name]Tabatha[/name], but just politely correct them and hopefully everyone will catch on. It would be nice if people would check to make sure they have the correct spellings, but most people don’t. As I’ve grown up it has gotten better for me, but I can’t say how it’ll go for your little girl, since I had the more common spelling and your little girl doesn’t. Hopefully it won’t bother her too much, though. As she grows up, she’ll learn to deal with it in her own way. 
Good luck!
My name is [name]Lindsay[/name] and it gets spelled wrong ALL THE TIME!! I hate it! My name is a family name and I just love it. Someone even told me the other day, it was actually the baker who wrote my name on my birthday cake, that my spelling was very weird and the “boy” way to spell the name. I [name]LOVE[/name] my name and it’s spelling. I would never consider changing my name so it would be spelled easier. I try to be mindful of how people spell their names, especially as a teacher, but it can be confusing with all the kre8tive spellings out there. Personally, I did not know [name]Tabatha[/name] was a legitimate spelling, I would have assumed [name]Tabitha[/name] without knowing. Once I see someone’s name spelled out though I take the time and consideration to make sure it is spelled correctly. I would always tell people that I my name was spelled with an ay not an ey and most were receptive, but now everyone wants to spell it [name]Lyndsey[/name] so I have tell them it is with an I and an AY now. It should be pretty easy for her as well just to tell people, it’s [name]Tabatha[/name] with 3 A’s and I think everyone would get it easily. It can be a pain to tell people to correct it, but if she loves her name as much I as do mine, it will be worth it
My name is [name]Bryanna[/name], and I get it spelled wrong all the time! I get [name]Breanna[/name], [name]Brianna[/name], and I even got Briauna once. Not to mention people sometimes pronounce it as “[name]Bryan[/name]-na”, like the boys name, instead of [name]Bree[/name]-anna. So I can see how misspelling or mispronouncing can be irritating.
However, I think that [name]Tabatha[/name] and [name]Tabitha[/name] sound very similar, and simply telling people there’s an A instead of an I does the trick. I always tell people that my name is [name]Bryanna[/name] with a Y.
Good luck and don’t worry too much!
My name is [name]Maria[/name] (Pronounced [name]Mariah[/name]) it was a pain in school but once u corrected someone once they never forgot who u where and how 2 spell it 
Hey, [name]Bryanna[/name], my name’s [name]Bryan[/name]!
My name is doomed to endless misspellings of “[name]Brian[/name]” - even aunts and uncles and cousins still spell my name like that. x_x [name]Just[/name] say “[name]Tabatha[/name] with an a”. Yes, she’ll probably have to go around correcting people her whole life, but it’s really not a big deal, in my opinion. ^^ I’ve never disliked my name because of the spelling ([name]Brian[/name] is such an ugly spelling anyway. No offense!) And I’m sure she’ll grow to love the name [name]Tabatha[/name] ^^
My name doesn’t only get spelled wrong, ppl usually think it’s short for something. It’s [name]Jessie[/name] NOT [name]Jessica[/name]! I just want to scream that at everyone around me. I’ve even had legal documents put the name [name]Jessica[/name] for me when it clearly reads “[name]Jessie[/name]” on my birth certificate. If they aren’t calling me by a different name, it’s almost always misspelled. [name]Jesse[/name], [name]Jessi[/name], [name]Jesi[/name], etc. Coincidentally, I went to Mexico last year to a Starbucks where they spoke minimal English and on my cup they spelled my name exactly right and even with a smiley next to it! “[name]Jessie[/name] :)” I was so surprised and happy because I didn’t even tell them how to spell it.
I have a slightly different take here. My name is [name]Sara[/name], and of course, tons of people want to spell it [name]Sarah[/name], and always have. However, I actually enjoyed going back and forth on how I wanted to spell it, from elementary school on. It was kind of like being able to reinvent my name whenever I felt like it (I also went to a small school where the teachers knew me and my quirky habits like deciding to be [name]Sarah[/name] for a week). So maybe when she’s a little older, you can spin it positively like that for her. My mom never cared when I “experimented” w/ my name; if she had, it prob would have caused me to permanently change it to [name]Sarah[/name], just to spite her! As it is, I prefer my “less common” (in this area anyway) spelling, as I have always felt (rightly or wrongly) that it set me apart from all the other Sarahs a little. I hope your daughter will find her spelling something to appreciate too, eventually.
My full first name is [name]Jennifer[/name] so that never got misspelled, but I go by [name]Jenni[/name]. Shortening my name to [name]Jenni[/name] makes more sense to me. I never really understood the [name]Jenny[/name] spelling (yeah, I’m weird, I know!). So it gets spelled wrong ALL the time, even by people that have known me for YEARS. It’s a little frustrating. I realize it’s partially my own fault for choosing a less common spelling but at the same time, some people just don’t seem to care enough to even try. Oh well I guess.
[name]Tabatha[/name] isn’t that “out there” of a spelling but I guess I could see why people might spell it wrong. I’m confused on the pronunciation. You say “ta-BATH-ah” with emphasis on the “bath”? Saying it like that would lead me to the [name]Tabatha[/name] spelling, but it sounds kinda weird to me. I’d pronounce both spellings as “TA-bah-tha” personally.
My whole name is [name]Cassandra[/name], but I’ve always gone by [name]Cassie[/name]. Growing up, my mom spelled it [name]Cassy[/name] with the understanding most people would spell it wrong. About a year ago, I started spelling it [name]Cassie[/name] and I like it a lot better - I just personally don’t like Y’s, and honestly, it would always give me a giggle whenever I would see butchering of my name. My favorite is the one kid that took my name down when I ordered Pizza. When I went to pick it up, the ticket said Kassiey. O_O
When people hear or see a name a lot they generally associate it with a general spelling or pronunciation. That’s why people aren’t always as open to yooneek spellings, they are too used to what they normally see/hear. [name]Even[/name] I have problems with people spelling and pronouncing it wrong (it’s anne-a, not aww-na) and they usually try to spell it with one n, [name]Ana[/name], or they think my name’s actually [name]Hannah[/name] or [name]Annabelle[/name]. So yes, your daughter will probably have problems with spelling/pronunciation, but everybody does at some point.
My name is [name]Stefanie[/name] and almost every new person I meet assumes it is spelled [name]Stephanie[/name]. I correct them when it’s important to me and I don’t when it’s not. When it comes to legal stuff I make sure they spell it correctly. When it comes to people emailing/ writing to me and spelling it wrong - I just always sign my name spelled correctly and hope they catch on - some do, some don’t.
I have always loved the slightly different spelling of my name and really identify with [name]Stefanie[/name] to the extent that [name]Stephanie[/name] seems like a different name altogether to me. But as I’ve grown older I realize more and more that as long as I am happy with it and that the important people in my life spell it correctly, the rest doesn’t matter.
[name]Hi[/name] everyone – thank you for your comments. Its really good food for thought. To clarify, I don’t overly pronounce the ‘bath’ but we dont say 'bith either. I say: Ta-ba-tha. I am not sure if there is a better way to express it. Maybe its my Canadian accent - haha. Anyhow…yes, its something she’ll have to deal with. We knew very early on in the pregnancy (four months in) that we wanted to name her [name]Tabatha[/name], and in the books I often saw [name]Tabitha[/name] first and then [name]Tabatha[/name] as the alternate spelling. I never considered the ‘i’ version…I wasn’t trying to be different. It just happened. I guess that’s the way I am
I’d just say, “[name]Tabatha[/name], 3 A’s.” I’m a “[name]Sarah[/name] with an H” because I had the reverse problem of the [name]Sara[/name] above: it seemed like everyone wanted to leave the H off. It used to drive me crazy but I don’t really care anymore. With the trend of spelling classic names in unusual ways I think it’s even more inevitable to get spelling confusion in the future.
I see, that makes more sense! Ta-BATH-ah just sounds funny, but TA-ba-tha is great. Now that I think about it more, there is a slight difference in how I say [name]Tabatha[/name] vs. [name]Tabitha[/name], but it’s pretty subtle.
Yes - I agree. Its very subtle but it does exist. (Subtle is a good way of putting it.) I suppose that is how I determined the spelling. When we practiced her name while pregnant, it always came out with the ‘long A’ not the ‘ith’
[name]Hi[/name], My name is [name]Nicole[/name] which I think is fairly straight forward, however every time I have an encounter with a new person who has to spell my name it’s something new… [name]Nichole[/name]? [name]Nicolle[/name]? [name]Nikole[/name]? These are just some of the rediculas spellings I have encountered with a very common name over the past 29 years. Is is a bit frustrating and annoying? Yes. Is is something to stress yourself out over for your daughter? No. As she gets older it will become common place to correct someone for a misspelling. To me my name is easy to spell and hard to screw up, but I know that as soon as I lean over a counter to tell a clerk my name I’m going to have to spell it for them… I say just enjoy a chuckle at people who can’t comprehend how to spell your baby’s beautiful name.
I’m an [name]Ashleigh[/name] and it’s been a pain in my butt. Everyone just assumes it’s [name]Ashley[/name], and I kinda wish it was. It got to a point in my first or second year in high school that I just changed my name completely to [name]Bella[/name]. I’ve stuck with it too. People always seem to get the [name]Bella[/name] spelling right :). As for [name]Tabatha[/name], I would always instinctively assume [name]Tabitha[/name]. It looks more correct and less made up to me. Maybe when she’s older and if it bothers her she can change it, but maybe it won’t upset her as much as it did me. Popularity also played a role in my name woes.
I am right there with ya. My daughter is 3 and in pre-school and people constantly spell her name wrong. Her name is [name]Lily[/name] and people always want to spell it [name]Lilly[/name]. I always want to tell them do you know where [name]Lily[/name] is on the ssa list and where [name]Lilly[/name] is? But obviously they are not a “[name]Berry[/name],” lol. I get frustrated but I tend to get over it quickly. She doesn’t understand yet but I hope it doesn’t bug her as much as me when she gets older.