I’m not totally against all unique spellings, but there are a couple issues that tend to confuse me as far as reasons for people doing so.
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Appearing to fashion a “foreign” variation from thin air. Wanted something exotic and unfamiliar, yet familiar. Either they don’t feel like taking a real French or Russian or [name]German[/name], etc., variant is within their rights if they aren’t French/Russian/[name]German[/name], and so invent an exotic looking variant from scribbling on a pad of paper until they find something that “looks cool,” looks a little classier than the “normal” American/English variant, or they aspire to seem more Euro than they are. Despite standardized education requirements, some people still don’t know the difference between your and you’re and ur, and so think names aren’t even real words - you have the liberty to just spell them any way you want to. I’m not sure they’re totally wrong, but they can be extremely wacky with their intentions. People with poor grasp of language origins are just playing with what they consider a malleable format, assuming there are no rules. Making up “Irish-sounding” names is also a popular hobby. Adding “Mc” to a name doesn’t make it at all Irish, but also, working over a biblical Hebrew name so it has elements of Gaelic in the re-spelling doesn’t make it Irish either. Better to find the official variant of the name in original Gaelic, if there is one.
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To head off a potential for mispronunciation. Please, this is the worst reason to misspell a name. First of all, a lot of people already vary their pronunciations due to their accent. It’s not the end of the world to correct someone when they say your name wrong, but it’s kind of a cut off your nose to spite your face to have that name in all the records spelled wrong forever. I have said this before, it is like painting the front of your house to tell your neighbors to turn down the stereo instead of going over to ask them nicely. You’ve made a mess of it permanent style instead of the occasional, “actually, it’s (name pronounced correctly),” and because it’s spelled in an unrecognizable way, people who would know how to pronounce it correctly will assume you varied it because it has a different pronunciation.
If you like a name in all other ways except you are afraid people will mispronounce it, even frequently, this is the worst reason to vary the spelling. Most people encounter this trouble from time to time, especially with their last names. Sure, it can get “old” to correct people, but you are shooting yourself in the foot with this rationale. Picking an easier name might be “too boring.” Well, the balance is spelling the hard name correctly, and a hard name to pronounce might even be an ice-breaker, whereas a misspelled one gives people an instant idea as to the person’s upbringing.
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[name]Rock[/name] starz. I think it used to be fashionable in a punk/urban way to rock out one’s boring suburban name, like [name]Susie[/name] or [name]Janet[/name], into such like [name]Siouxsie[/name] or Ja’nette. Well, there is not really that much spice in Suburbia, so stick to what you’re good at. If your child becomes a rock star, let them wield the pen when they get to it and market themselves in their own freaky way. Your child’s strange name does not make you a rock star either.
Good reasons to vary the spelling (with caution):
A. To incorporate someone else’s name into a longer name - if your mother’s name is [name]Mary[/name] and your mother-in-law is [name]Lynn[/name], you can name your daughter [name]Marilyn[/name], or you can spell it [name]Marylynn[/name]. That doesn’t bother me if you feel like it makes it more of an honor to be specific and true to the spelling of the names. [name]Mary[/name]-[name]Lynn[/name] is also cute, and people will get it. If you and your partner want to use parts of your names to create a new name, make sure it’s not a total disaster. It’s easy to fall in love with a creation such as one name made of parts of each, I think sometimes this is successful, but you have to be objective and throw the idea out if it’s not coming together. People might think it’s “weird,” you have to get past that. Sometimes people who love you are really more objective than you and aren’t trying to hurt your feelings, and are trying to point out what an awkward name you’ve produced. Nicely.
B. An authentic foreign variation of a popular name - a lot of people in the world are totally unaware that some variations of a name are from somewhere else. They think you’re just being difficult, they don’t recognize the name. Made-up faux foreign variants kind of mess it up for this category.
C. To anglicize a foreign name with no established English variant. This is how names come to have different variations in different languages and cultures. We have certain rules in English (which sometimes get broken), but I don’t think there is a crime if you want to take out extraneous letters and syllables or change a C to a K or a G to a J if the English result calls for it. Very commonly in English, a C followed by an I or E will sound like an S, followed by an A, O, or U will sound like a K, and G has the same hard/soft “rules”. IN sounds like INN to us, so if it’s supposed to be -een, go ahead and try it with an -een. Take off the silent E if you don’t want the inner vowel to be pronounced long. It’s not always necessary, but if you are coming in with a name like C”EMGEIN, there is a reason we spell that [name]KEVIN[/name]. You will not win any points for a Gaelic variant of a name that’s just not cool anymore. Another popular example is [name]Cillian[/name]/[name]Killian[/name]. I would just spell it with a K, and I think that’s why a lot of people do. Authenticity can sometimes be confusing in English, and the English-language variant is evolved and established as also correct. You can do this too. Go ahead, anglicize the name!
D. Literary license - a few months ago, someone was asking how to best spell [name]Layla[/name]. This is an Arabic name from a completely different alphabet, so it is phonetic the way it is spelled. [name]Even[/name] some people consider ‘[name]Leila[/name]’ to be the proper way, the spelling ‘[name]Layla[/name]’ “looks too trendy” and must obviously be someone’s idea of simplifying or modernizing the established ‘[name]Leila[/name]’. According to Behind the Names, [name]Lord[/name] [name]Byron[/name] introduced the spelling of [name]Leila[/name] in 1813, hence it seems “established” but not for very long. If something like “creative spellings” seems like a modern idea, it’s obviously not.
19th century - Meaning, origin and history of the name Leila - Behind the Name
7th century - Meaning, origin and history of the name Layla - Behind the Name
That’s 1200 years, people.
Some people can handle the task, like an author or linguist, but obviously the masses can sometimes really foul it up. I don’t think there’s a lot wrong with a mild tweaking in some way to make a name look prettier and fancier and more poetic if you desire to do so.
