having a less common spelling of my name myself, iāve been thinking a bit about alternate spellings lately, and itās sparked a few questions iām curious about!
1. what is your favourite alternate-only name? iām talking about names that you only like one spelling of, where the traditional may not appeal to you as much but the alternative spelling definitely does.
2. do you have any names where you prefer different spellings for different genders?
3. any other names with alternate spellings you love? iām always looking to expand my list, so give a shoutout to cool spellings you like!
feel free to only answer one or two questions if youād like, in as much or little detail as you want!
my answers
iām a sucker for -ee endings, so for me itās marlee! marley is boring, marlee is cool
this usually happens for me when a name is close to the top of my boys and girls lists, so itās darcy for boys and darcie for girls, charlie for boys and charlee or even maybe charli for girls (though usually as a nickname for charlotte).
i love lily no matter which way you spell it - some of my other favourites are lili, lilly, lillie and (the highly illogical but still pretty) lilli. i also think sofie is underrated!
I like [name_f]Kathryn[/name_f] more than Catherine/Katherine.
I prefer [name_u]Reece[/name_u] for a boy and [name_u]Reese[/name_u] for a girl, and [name_u]Sage[/name_u] for a boy and [name_u]Saige[/name_u] for a girl.
I prefer [name_f]Ysolde[/name_f] compared to [name_f]Isolde[/name_f] and I also prefer fās instead of phās. Eg, [name_f]Eufemia[/name_f], [name_f]Ofelia[/name_f].
Oh and Catiana is the only right way to spell Katiana.
I prefer [name_f]Katharine[/name_f], [name_f]Catharine[/name_f], [name_f]Kathryn[/name_f] and [name_f]Cathryn[/name_f] to the standard spellings by a long shot. I also prefer [name_f]Madelaine[/name_f] to [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] (mostly to clarify my preferred pronunciation). I donāt love [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] in any form, but the [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] spelling really bugs me - so crowded! I much prefer [name_f]Elinor[/name_f] or [name_f]Elena[/name_f].
I had to consider for a bit but I think I prefer [name_u]Riley[/name_u] on a girl and [name_u]Reilley[/name_u] on a boy.
[name_f]My[/name_f] beloved [name_u]Henri[/name_u]! Also [name_f]Violette[/name_f], [name_f]Harriette[/name_f] and [name_f]Brigette[/name_f] (Iām a sucker for adding a ā-teā)
I prefer [name_f]Jayne[/name_f] to [name_f]Jane[/name_f]. I think itās because I am [name_f]British[/name_f] and loved Torvill and [name_u]Dean[/name_u] when they were gold Olympic ice skaters, and she was [name_f]Jayne[/name_f] Torvill.
ellanore! might be controversial, but otherwise, the spellings seem a little too bland. i think ellanore adds a flare that eleanor doesnāt have, but i cant quite place my finger on it.
i much prefer willow on a boy than on a girl! again, it feels more unique as on a girl, iāve heard it multiple times.
finally, i just prefer k over c and i over y. such as katherine, mollie, etc!
I adore [name_u]Bo[/name_u] but have no interest in [name_u]Beau[/name_u]! Same for [name_f]Isobel[/name_f] over [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f], [name_f]Elinore[/name_f] or [name_f]Ellinore[/name_f] (and honestly just Lenore) over [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f], and [name_f]Johanna[/name_f] over [name_f]Joanna[/name_f]. And [name_u]Rhys[/name_u] over Reece/Reese, but I think [name_u]Rhys[/name_u] might be the traditional one, though the Ree-s are more common in the US.
Not really, no!
[name_f]My[/name_f] non-standard spelling loves tend to be on the āmake it sound more like a fantasy novelā side of things : I like [name_m]Tam[/name_m] and [name_m]Thom[/name_m] over [name_m]Tom[/name_m], Yve over [name_f]Eve[/name_f], [name_f]Silvia[/name_f] over [name_f]Sylvia[/name_f], and [name_f]Gwendolen[/name_f] over [name_f]Gwendolyn[/name_f].
Iām 90% in on [name_f]Harlowe[/name_f], [name_u]Marlowe[/name_u], and the -owe ending, but then adorable Starloe shows up and must have the -oe for me x-)
[name_u]Dawson[/name_u] for boys, [name_u]Dawsyn[/name_u] for girls
[name_u]Sage[/name_u] for boys, [name_u]Saige[/name_u] for girls
[name_u]Sonny[/name_u] for boys, [name_u]Sunny[/name_u] for girls
I think with most of my āalternate spelling preferredā names, I like the original/common spelling too, I just likeā¦ like the alternate spelling more.
I donāt tend to like the same names for boys and girls so not sure if I can think of any.
I do really feel drawn to a lot of less-common-but-not-unheard-of spellings for names. Off the top of my head, I like [name_u]Lindsay[/name_u], [name_f]Lissette[/name_f], lots of -ey or -ley names (Amberley, [name_u]Kimberley[/name_u], Keeley), lots of K-names (Kassia, Kassandra), [name_f]Lissette[/name_f], [name_f]Aimee[/name_f], [name_f]Gisele[/name_f], Hollieā¦ and for guys I tend to like multiple spellings of the same name about equally (Marco/Marko, Layne/Lane, Clark/Clarke, Wolf/Wolfe).
I much prefer [name_u]Eliot[/name_u] to [name_u]Elliot[/name_u], [name_u]Elliott[/name_u], etc.
[name_u]Reese[/name_u] for a boy, [name_u]Reece[/name_u] for a girl
[name_u]Charlie[/name_u] for a boy, [name_f]Charlee[/name_f] for a girl
[name_u]Avery[/name_u] for a boy, [name_f]Averie[/name_f] for a girl
I have a few - [name_f]Roxana[/name_f] > [name_f]Roxanna[/name_f], [name_u]Anne[/name_u] > [name_f]Ann[/name_f], [name_f]Isabel[/name_f] > [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f], [name_f]Margo[/name_f] > [name_f]Margot[/name_f].
I prefer [name_u]Carroll[/name_u] for men and [name_u]Carol[/name_u] for women.
[name_f]Katharine[/name_f] is my favourite spelling of the name. [name_f]Elinor[/name_f], although not my fav, has grown on me. [name_f]Heloise[/name_f] evokes a medieval flair that its H-less cousin lacks imo.
I definitely donāt ONLY like the alternate version, but I like [name_f]Emmalynn[/name_f] and [name_f]Adelyn[/name_f] better than [name_f]Emmeline[/name_f] or [name_f]Adeline[/name_f], in part because I think it makes my preferred pronunciation a lot more clear. Also [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] over [name_f]Katherine[/name_f], but again I donāt dislike the other spellings, itās just my personal preference.
I donāt think I have any where my spelling preference is gendered other than the obvious Francis/Frances.
everleigh for sure. itās just so feminine and dainty this way. everly looks more boyish and surname-y to me.
on my list, the only alternate spellings i have for both a boy and a girl is the name rhettlan. i love rhettlan for a boy and rhettlyn for a girl- i suppose waylon and waelyn would work too!
iāve been obsessed with wylder lately as an alternative to wilder. otherwise, oakes and oaks are fun!
1. what is your favourite alternate-only name?
The first that comes to mind is [name_f]Hailee[/name_f]! I think itās a bit bizarre, perhaps a little much for a spelling, but I enjoy it anyways. Itās summery!
2. do you have any names where you prefer different spellings for different genders?
None that I can think of. Any neutral names I like, I suppose I pick a single spelling.
3. any other names with alternate spellings you love?
I like [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f], Ellanore, [name_f]Elanor[/name_f], [name_f]Elinor[/name_f] ā¦any which way. I also love any K spelling of [name_f]Katherine[/name_f]! Katharyne, [name_f]Kathryn[/name_f], [name_f]Katharine[/name_f], [name_f]Katheryn[/name_f], anything without the C- beginning by which is not my personal fave.
[name_u]Marlowe[/name_u]! Not nearly as big on [name_u]Marlow[/name_u] or [name_u]Marlo[/name_u]. Also [name_f]Lily[/name_f] as opposed to any other version, [name_f]Jane[/name_f] to [name_f]Jayne[/name_f], [name_f]Sophie[/name_f] to [name_f]Sofie[/name_f], [name_f]Everleigh[/name_f], [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] and [name_u]Esme[/name_u] to another other versions, and [name_f]Juliet[/name_f] to [name_f]Juliette[/name_f], though that one used to be the other way around!
[name_u]Rowan[/name_u] (g) versus [name_u]Roan[/name_u] (b). This is a recent development! While I like [name_u]Rowan[/name_u] for either, I definitely prefer it without the w for boys. Also, [name_u]Reese[/name_u] (g) versus [name_u]Rhys[/name_u] (b)
I like a lot of [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] spellings, but not all of them. [name_f]Elinor[/name_f] and [name_f]Elanor[/name_f] to name a couple I do enjoy! I also like all the different spellings of [name_f]Giselle[/name_f], [name_f]Roxanne[/name_f] / [name_f]Roxana[/name_f], [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f], [name_f]Adaline[/name_f] / [name_f]Adalyn[/name_f], [name_f]Cora[/name_f]ā¦ I canāt think of any others right now but Iām sure there are many!
Oh, and [name_f]Nour[/name_f] over [name_u]Noor[/name_u]!
: I like [name_m]Tam[/name_m] and [name_m]Thom[/name_m] over [name_m]Tom[/name_m], Yve over [name_f]Eve[/name_f], [name_f]Silvia[/name_f] over [name_f]Sylvia[/name_f], and [name_f]Gwendolen[/name_f] over [name_f]Gwendolyn[/name_f].
