When spelling makes all the difference

General Name Discussion
1

Are there names that you [name]LOVE[/name] when spelled one way, but are less enthusiastic about (or even dislike) when spelled differently?

I’m not talking about “creative” or invented spellings rubbing you the wrong way, I mean established and equally “correct” but different spellings that achieve identical sounds. Of course one of the easiest examples is the [name]Kat[/name]-- family of names:

[name]Catherine[/name] vs. [name]Katherine[/name] vs. [name]Kathryn[/name], etc.
Cailtin vs. [name]Katelyn[/name], etc.
[name]Cate[/name] vs. [name]Kate[/name]

^^just an example, I’m not asking for opinions on specifically THIS name family.

I’m willing to bet that this is strongly colored by trendiness. In the above examples, I prefer the currently-popular C to the comparatively past-trend K. There are other legitimate arguments to be made as far as intuitiveness of pronunciation, or looking for a more-unique approach to a common name (ie. [name]Mali[/name] instead of [name]Molly[/name]).

Thoughts?

2

I don’t have a preference between the [name]Catherine[/name]/[name]Katherine[/name]/[name]Kathryn[/name] group. The ONLY spelling of [name]Caitlin[/name] I like is this one, which I love. [name]Cate[/name] vs [name]Kate[/name]…I don’t think I have a preference either.

With my own name, there are 3 “acceptable” variations: [name]Claire[/name] (my name), [name]Clare[/name] and [name]Clair[/name]. I like mine best, and absolutely cannot stand “[name]Clair[/name]”. It just looks SO incomplete with that hook of an “r” at the end.

[name]Cecelia[/name] is on my list…but I don’t like the way that [name]Cecilia[/name] looks.

[name]Norah[/name] is my list…I don’t like it quite so much without the “h”.

I prefer [name]Elisabeth[/name] with an “s” over the “z”.

And then there’s [name]Anne[/name]/[name]Ann[/name]. [name]Anne[/name] looks regal, queenly and beautiful. [name]Ann[/name] looks simple and dull. Such a difference a little “e” makes!

3

Because I have a daughter named [name]Caitlin[/name], I feel I can weigh in on that portion of the “[name]Kat[/name]” names. [name]Caitlin[/name] is the correct Gaelic/Celtic spelling of the name. It’s not even pronounced “[name]Kate[/name]-lynn” but “[name]Kathleen[/name]” in Irish and “[name]Katlin[/name]” in Welsh. The weirdo American versions of the name – [name]Kaitlyn[/name], [name]Caitlynne[/name], [name]Katelyn[/name], et. al. – infuriate me. Okay, rant over.

I prefer “ie” to “y”; I’m not sure why I do. So I like [name]Mollie[/name] over [name]Molly[/name], [name]Jamie[/name] over [name]Jamey[/name], [name]Freddie[/name] over [name]Freddy[/name]. Then I tend towards more ethnically-spelled names, so [name]Kai[/name] or Cei instead of [name]Kay[/name], [name]Carl[/name] (Danish) instead of [name]Karl[/name], etc.

And lastly I prefer the traditional spellings. My teeth are gritted every time I have a student show up whose name is [name]Britni[/name] instead of [name]Brittany[/name] (gag, I really dislike the name) but even worse, [name]Jhon[/name] instead of [name]John[/name] (what is wrong with people these days?) and [name]Zhane[/name] instead of [name]Jane[/name] (yuck). Another one I dislike is the so-called phonetic spelling (not in my linguistics course!) of names, such as [name]Renae[/name] for the French [name]Renee[/name], and then the really weird ones, like my student Antqwan who pronounced his name like the French [name]Antoine[/name] (the q was silent!!!).

4

I only prefer [name]Kathrine[/name]/[name]Kathryn[/name] if you plan on calling your kid [name]Katie[/name]/[name]Katy[/name] since [name]Katie[/name] does not start with a C. If you play on calling her [name]Cathy[/name] or [name]Catherine[/name], then I prefer the C spelling.

I hate the [name]Emmalee[/name] spelling and prefer [name]Emily[/name]. Not sure if it’s a creative spelling or not, but I met an [name]Emmalee[/name]…

I prefer [name]Nora[/name] without the h, since the h seems unnecessary in my opinion

I also prefer the spelling [name]Madeline[/name] other [name]Madeleine[/name]. The [name]Madeleine[/name] spelling just isn’t as appealing.

5

I like [name]Lily[/name] over [name]Lilly[/name]

[name]Katherine[/name] over [name]Catherine[/name] or [name]Kathryn[/name]

[name]Lilian[/name] over [name]Lilianne[/name] or [name]Lilyann[/name] etc.

[name]Anabel[/name] over [name]Annabelle[/name]

[name]Allison[/name] over [name]Allyson[/name]

[name]Kimberly[/name] over [name]Kimberley[/name] or Cymberley!

[name]Deena[/name] over [name]Dena[/name]

[name]Dinah[/name] over Dinnah or [name]Dina[/name]

[name]Emily[/name] over [name]Emmalee[/name]

[name]Skye[/name] over [name]Sky[/name]

[name]Jacob[/name] over [name]Jakub[/name] or [name]Jacub[/name] or Jaycub

[name]Jason[/name] over Jaysin or [name]Jacen[/name]

[name]Aiden[/name] over [name]Aidan[/name] or [name]Ayden[/name]

[name]Christian[/name] over [name]Krystian[/name]

[name]Kamryn[/name] (I know weird! I like Kammy, so shoot me!) over [name]Cameron[/name] (because that’s just so dorky!)

[name]Jaden[/name] over [name]Jadon[/name] or [name]Jaydin[/name] or Jaedan

[name]Jaxson[/name] over [name]Jackson[/name] (yea yea, [name]Jack[/name] is boring)

[name]Nickolas[/name] over [name]Nicholas[/name] or [name]Nikolas[/name]

[name]Michael[/name] over [name]Mykel[/name] or [name]Michel[/name] or any of the others, bleh

[name]Christopher[/name] over [name]Kristopher[/name] or [name]Cristopher[/name]

[name]Madison[/name] over [name]Madyson[/name] etc.

[name]Addyson[/name] over [name]Addison[/name] (just looks more feminine)

[name]Brianna[/name] over [name]Breanna[/name]

[name]Ariana[/name] over [name]Arianna[/name]

[name]Isabelle[/name] over [name]Isobel[/name] or any of the others

[name]Kyra[/name] or [name]Kiera[/name] over [name]Keera[/name] or [name]Kyrah[/name]

[name]Dorah[/name] over [name]Dora[/name]

[name]Norah[/name] over [name]Nora[/name]

[name]Susanna[/name] over [name]Susannah[/name]

[name]Hailey[/name] over [name]Haley[/name] or [name]Haleigh[/name]

[name]Jasmine[/name] over [name]Jazmin[/name] etc.

[name]Mia[/name] over [name]Myah[/name]

6

I’d think this falls under the trendiness umbrella. Y was SO overused in the late '80s through the '90s, favored to i or ie and continues to be subbed in for “E” sounds to attain “youneek” spellings.

I have the same feelings toward Y. It does pop up on my list, but only in cases where that’s the ONLY possible spelling… otherwise, given the choice, I choose whichever spelling doesn’t include it.

Interesting!

7

so Kai or Cei instead of Kay

But [name]Kay[/name] and [name]Kai[/name] are pronounced differently. They’re different, though related, names.

8

[name]Catherine[/name] is definitely preferable over the other spellings. [name]Even[/name] though I’m not the biggest fan of that name, I like it more when spelled with a C.

I love the name [name]Stefan[/name] and it actually made my “boys list”. But I don’t think I could dislike [name]Stephan[/name]/[name]Stephen[/name] more than I do now. It just looks wrong, even though both names sound the same. Me and my weird brain.

I prefer [name]Sofia[/name] over [name]Sophia[/name] (can you see the “F” trend I have going here?) even though I don’t exactly care for it much.

My cousin’s name is [name]Mikayla[/name]. Phonetic spellings bother me a bit. I like [name]Michaela[/name] much more.

[name]Schuyler[/name] over [name]Skylar[/name].

I think spelling makes a great difference. Obviously not in how the name sounds or how the person with that name is viewed, but in some way that I can’t really describe (believe me, I’ve been sitting here for 15 minutes trying to put into words [name]HOW[/name] spelling makes a difference), but it does.

9

I loathe “ie” spellings. So the complete opposite to the pp a couple of posts above me!
I prefer [name]Ciara[/name] over [name]Keira[/name] etc. The alternatives really ruin the name for me!
I can’t think of any others off the top of my head without veering into “unique” spellings,but I’m sure there are more!

10

I prefer [name]Katherine[/name]/[name]Kaitlin[/name]/[name]Kate[/name] over [name]Catherine[/name]/[name]Caitlin[/name]/[name]Cate[/name]. I just like the look of K’s compared to C’s.

[name]Annelise[/name] over [name]Anneliese[/name]
[name]Isabel[/name] over [name]Isabelle[/name]
[name]Zoey[/name] over [name]Zoe[/name]
[name]Maye[/name] over [name]May[/name]
[name]Allison[/name] over [name]Alison[/name]
[name]Sophie[/name] over [name]Sofie[/name]

11

I like [name]Anne[/name] (looks elegant) much more than [name]Ann[/name] (plain) - this is one of the names where the spelling makes a big difference to me.
I prefer [name]Annabel[/name] to [name]Annabelle[/name].
[name]Alison[/name] over [name]Allison[/name].
[name]Caitlin[/name] over any of the rest.
[name]Sara[/name] over [name]Sarah[/name] for some reason, though both are great.
[name]Michaela[/name] over any of the rest.
[name]Madeleine[/name] over [name]Madeline[/name].
[name]Vivienne[/name] over [name]Vivian[/name].

I like any of the [name]Katherine[/name]/[name]Catherine[/name]/[name]Kathryn[/name] spellings, [name]Sophia[/name] or [name]Sofia[/name], [name]Isabelle[/name]/[name]Isabel[/name]/[name]Isobel[/name].

12

I tend to like C’s better than K’s. The only exception is that I prefer [name]Katherine[/name] over [name]Catherine[/name]. It used to be the other way around.

Prefer [name]Sophia[/name] over [name]Sofia[/name]
Prefer [name]Cora[/name] over [name]Kora[/name]
Prefer [name]Grey[/name] over [name]Gray[/name]

[name]Connor[/name] spelled only this way. [name]Forrest[/name] spelled only this way. [name]Micah[/name] spelled only this way.

13

Oh yeah, definitely! I always have a preferred spelling… I hate [name]Annabelle[/name], but I love [name]Annabel[/name]. And the only spelling of [name]Caitlin[/name] I like is that one. It goes on, so I won’t even start…

14

Some of mine…

[name]Catherine[/name], [name]Cate[/name], and [name]Catie[/name] over K versions
[name]Annabel[/name] over [name]Annabelle[/name]
[name]Isobel[/name] over [name]Isabelle[/name]
[name]Micajah[/name] over [name]Micaiah[/name] and [name]Michaiah[/name]
[name]Hiram[/name] over [name]Hyrum[/name]
[name]Anne[/name] over [name]Ann[/name] (although I prefer [name]Annie[/name] over both)
[name]Stephen[/name] over [name]Steven[/name]
[name]Maude[/name] over [name]Maud[/name]

15

Interestingly, the spelling of some of these names changes my pronunciation of them.
For example, [name]Stefan[/name] sounds different to me than [name]Stephen[/name]/[name]Steven[/name].
[name]Liliane[/name] also sounds different to [name]Lilian[/name], and [name]Vivienne[/name] sounds different to [name]Vivian[/name]…

I like [name]Catherine[/name] better than [name]Katherine[/name]/[name]Kathryn[/name] only if you’re going to use the nn Cath. If you were going to use the nns [name]Kat[/name], [name]Kate[/name], [name]Kitty[/name] or [name]Kay[/name], then I prefer it with a K by miles.
[name]Caitlin[/name]. All other versions look made up to me.
I don’t like [name]Isobel[/name] spelt any other way but this way either.
Also, [name]Alisdair[/name] looks super handsome compared to any other spelling

16

Well…my daughter is [name]Ryley[/name] over [name]Riley[/name]. Mainly because I like the way her name as a whole looks written better spelled with the double Y.

I hate it when names end in -leigh…ex. [name]Emaleigh[/name]. Mainly because it just adds a bunch of excess letters to a name making it more difficult for a child to learn to spell.

I also hate boy nn’s that end in -ie…[name]Robbie[/name], [name]Jimmie[/name], [name]Billie[/name], [name]Johnnie[/name]…bleh (the exceptions to this are [name]Charlie[/name] and [name]Frankie[/name])

[name]Michaela[/name] over…every other spelling ([name]Makayla[/name] is NOT THE SAME NAME)
[name]Lia[/name] over [name]Leah[/name]
[name]Mya[/name] over [name]Maia[/name] (same with [name]Kya[/name]…over [name]Kaia[/name])
[name]Lilly[/name] over [name]Lily[/name]
[name]Nora[/name] over [name]Norah[/name]
[name]Margo[/name] over [name]Margot[/name]
[name]Dylan[/name] over [name]Dillon[/name]
[name]Shaun[/name] over [name]Sean[/name] or [name]Shawn[/name]

I’m sure there are more, but I’m tired and can’t think of them

17

[name]Just[/name] a note: [name]Stephen[/name] and [name]Stefan[/name] are different names. [name]Stephen[/name] is pronounced the same as [name]Steven[/name] and has been an established choice in the English-speaking world for hundreds of years. [name]Stefan[/name] is a variant of [name]Stephen[/name] and pronounced with the “f” sound.

18

This is so. [name]Stefan[/name] is common in other languages, [name]German[/name], for example. I occasionally come across [name]Stephan[/name] and wonder if it’s supposed to be pronounced like [name]Stephen[/name]/[name]Steven[/name] or [name]Stefan[/name] - usually the former, I guess.

19

I love [name]Briony[/name], but not [name]Bryony[/name].

20

I love [name]Susannah[/name], I like [name]Susanna[/name] but its not enough for me.