Does changing the spelling of a male name to use it on a girl make a difference? Does it make people think your child is a female just by the spelling alone? If you have done this, or are thinking of doing so, what’s the thought process behind this (if you can explain it)?
2 Takes:
This excludes boy names that have a traditional female counterpart. [name]Daniel[/name]/[name]Danielle[/name], [name]Andrew[/name]/[name]Andrea[/name], etc. [name]Evan[/name] and [name]Evyn[/name] are both the same name, no matter what the gender of the wearer, to me. They’re still pronounced the same and a lot of people (at least that I know) would assume [name]Evyn[/name] is a boy, but with a unique spelling/misspelled name.
Another take on it: She’ll be thought of as a boy on paper, before anyone even meets her. To add a spelling change on top of that is just giving her another thing to correct people on. (“Yes, my name is [name]Emerson[/name]. Yes, I am a girl. Yes, it’s a ‘y’ and not an ‘o’.”) Saying those things over and over could get old fast. At least with the traditional spelling she’d just have to correct people on the gender thing.
No offense intended to people with those names or to people who have done this, or are thinking of dong so. I’m just trying to understand if it actually makes a difference or not.
You can never get everyone to love the name you choose. Someone with always dislike it. So you should choose the name you love.
Nah. They look like boys names spelt wrong, at least to me. When I see [name]Emerson[/name] spelled Emmersynne, it doesn’t make me think “oh that’s a girl name” at all. I still notice how they tried to take out the “son” at the end of a name that means [name]Emery[/name]'s son.
I only agree with this with names that seem to have ‘accepted’ girls and boys spellings, i.e ones that have probably been used for a while:
[name]Robin[/name] - [name]Robyn[/name]
[name]Tony[/name] - [name]Toni[/name] (the y coming from [name]Anthony[/name], the i from [name]Antonia[/name])
[name]Charlie[/name] - [name]Charley[/name]
Other than those (and maybe some I can’t remember at the moment) I agree with above.
To me, it doesn’t make a difference, though renrose brings up a good point with [name]Robin[/name]/ [name]Robyn[/name] and [name]Tony[/name]/ [name]Toni[/name].
My thoughts on this is that a some point in time someone had to have decided that they were going to call their daugter a “boy’s” name, how to we get names like these if calling your child a “boy’s” name is bad/frowned upon - some names that seem to be ‘accepted’ probably weren’t when they were first used… I think that you either like unisex names or you don’t, you can’t really turn around and say 'well that name has been used on both genders for a long time, and so therefore I will accept it".
just my opinion…
To OP, I really think that it depends on the name to me [name]Emerson[/name] is either boy or girl but [name]Emersyn[/name] is all girl, [name]Charlie[/name] is boy and [name]Charli[/name]/[name]Charley[/name] is girl, but [name]Evan[/name]/[name]Evyn[/name] is all boy no matter what…
Funny, all the girl Charlies I know use this spelling (as nn for [name]Charlotte[/name]).
I also think [name]Sammi[/name]/[name]Sammie[/name] for a girl and [name]Sammy[/name] for a boy is pretty well used(as nicknames for [name]Samantha[/name]/[name]Samuel[/name]) from what I’ve seen, though most go by [name]Sam[/name].
Also [name]Nicky[/name] for a boy and [name]Nikki[/name] for a girl seem to be the more common way to go.
I also met a [name]Roberta[/name] who went by [name]Bobbie[/name] (this spelling) compared to the usual [name]Bobby[/name] on boys.
And one that might be controversial to US Berries - I see [name]Ashley[/name] as male but [name]Ashleigh[/name] as female (it’s remained pretty unisex in the UK, and all the female Ashleighs I know have this spelling).
I know a woman named [name]Aaren[/name]. Because of the Aa-, a lot of people seem to assume it’s masculine, with a change of spelling from [name]Aaron[/name]. On the other hand, people that meet her prior to seeing her name in writing probably assume it’s [name]Erin[/name]. I’m not sure what her parents were going for, and she doesn’t seem terribly bothered by it, but I could see how it would get annoying.
Unless its a name that has a lot of popular variants (like [name]Aidan[/name] or [name]Caitlyn[/name] for example), I do assume a unisex or more common male name with a unique spelling is a girl (on paper).
But just food for thought, the whole [name]Emerson[/name]/[name]Emersyn[/name] thing may also have to do with pronunciation. A few may like the “sin” sound at the end over “son”. Others probably do it to make it seem more feminine.
I think [name]Skyler[/name] is another name like that. [name]Skyler[/name] for boys, [name]Skylar[/name] for girls. But I could be wrong.
I guess when I see the name on paper with a different spelling, I do assume it’s a girl but that they tried too hard to feminize it. Because to me, it’s still a boy name and sounds odd on a girl and adds another level of confusion for those addressing her or trying to spell her name. With the whole pronunciation idea, with [name]Emerson[/name]/[name]Emersyn[/name] I actually pronounce them the same (with the emphasis on the 1st syllable, not the last). But I do see how others could pronounce them differently. That’s a good point.
[name]Charlie[/name] - This is the only spelling I like. All the others look misspelled to me. I actually don’t mind it as a nn on a girl, but I like longer, feminine, full name.
[name]Tony[/name]/[name]Toni[/name] - I don’t mind the ‘i’ because it’s directly from the full name. And I prefer a longer, feminine full name with [name]Toni[/name] as a nn.
[name]Nicky[/name]/[name]Nikki[/name] - I see as male/female respectively. But I do prefer a longer, feminine name for [name]Nikki[/name].
[name]Aaron[/name]/[name]Erin[/name] - [name]Aaron[/name] is male, [name]Erin[/name] is female (along the lines as [name]Daniel[/name]/[name]Danielle[/name], [name]Andrew[/name]/[name]Andrea[/name], etc.). I see anything that starts with ‘aa’ and I assume boy and ‘e’ I assume girl.
[name]Skyler[/name]/[name]Skylar[/name] - I see the first as male, and the latter as female. But I know a lot of people who only see it as a male name, not matter the spelling.
There are too many other examples to name. Again, not offense meant towards those with those names or that like those names. They were just the first example that came to mind.
I agree that it depends on the name. Using the [name]Emerson[/name]/[name]Emersyn[/name] example: I’d probably assume [name]Emerson[/name] is a boy, but [name]Emersyn[/name] is a girl, then I’d roll my eyes (sorry, just being honest). But that’s also a name that seems to be on the rise for girls more than boys. Taking [name]Jayden[/name] for example: I’d assume any spelling of this name is a boy since it’s a very popular boy’s name. But I do know of at least one girl with this name. Not sure of the spelling, but let’s say it’s [name]Jaidyn[/name]. I’d still assume misspelled boy’s name. So again, it depends on whether or not it’s a popular boy name and/or if it’s one I’ve heard on a girl before.
In Australia (at least how I have heard it) [name]Aaron[/name] is pronouced and as in ant, sounding more like an a sound than an E, while [name]Erin[/name] is pronounced like an e.