how would you spell Devin for a girl?

quinnjimenez

Yes we have settled on this name if our baby is a girl, but are torn with how to spell it. Does Devyn look too wierd? Is Devin or Devan too "masculine"? Devon reminds me of 'DeVaughn'....thoughts?

finchfeeder80

I'm personally in the camp that a name should be spelled how it's always correctly spelled. Misspelling it doesn't convert it to the opposite gender, it just means that you've put a misspelled boy's name on a girl or vice versa. 

karaelaine1991

It seems like Devin is the way that comes naturally to you, since that's the way you spelled it in the title of the thread. I don't think it looks too masculine, and, if I'm correct in my assumption that it's most natural to you, then I'd suggest going with that spelling. I also think Devyn looks fine. To me, Devan looks like it could be mispronounced easily. I've never seen it spelled that way and I think it could be mistakenly pronounced as "DeVaughan," as you're worried Devon might be.

katyertl

Were naming our daughter Addison and we kept toying around with different spelling but like PP said we just wanted to spell it how it's usually spelt. My name is Katy and people are always spelling it wrong even though it's an easy ass name to spell lol
I do like Devyn though too. I'd go with your gut! Try writing it out with your last name and her possible middle name to see how it looks

raptorteaparty

I have a girlfriend named Devon.

HoosOnFirst

I think Devin and Devyn are both spellings used regularly enough that either would be ok, so go with whichever you like...

I'm struggling with Elise versus Elyse for same reason! I like it with a "y".

laurendutch

I went to school with a girl named Devan.

delujm0

I would not use Devin for a girl personally, but if you're committed to it at least spell it correctly as Devin. Despite what apparently a lot of people believe these days, in reality the letter Y has its own sound. It doesn't just work as a stand-in for whatever vowel you choose to replace it with.

In actual English, "Devyn" would be pronounced "dev - yin."

ksimo6

My friend is Devyn. I like the y in the spelling.

karaelaine1991

delujm0 said:

I would not use Devin for a girl personally, but if you're committed to it at least spell it correctly as Devin. Despite what apparently a lot of people believe these days, in reality the letter Y has its own sound. It doesn't just work as a stand-in for whatever vowel you choose to replace it with.

In actual English, "Devyn" would be pronounced "dev - yin."

While I agree that Y is overused in names these days, I don't really see the difference between using as OP has suggested and using it for names ending in -lyn. Would you say that Brooklyn should then be pronounced "Brook-l-yin"? Not trying to be sarcastic, genuinely trying to understand what you think the difference is in this case. To me, there's a difference between spelling names like "Devyn" or "Brooklyn" with a y rather than an i, and spelling names like "Olivia" as "Olyvia."

delujm0

I would not use Devin for a girl personally, but if you're committed to it at least spell it correctly as Devin. Despite what apparently a lot of people believe these days, in reality the letter Y has its own sound. It doesn't just work as a stand-in for whatever vowel you choose to replace it with. In actual English, "Devyn" would be pronounced "dev - yin."

While I agree that Y is overused in names these days, I don't really see the difference between using as OP has suggested and using it for names ending in -lyn. Would you say that Brooklyn should then be pronounced "Brook-l-yin"? Not trying to be sarcastic, genuinely trying to understand what you think the difference is in this case. To me, there's a difference between spelling names like "Devyn" or "Brooklyn" with a y rather than an i, and spelling names like "Olivia" as "Olyvia."

Think of the ways these combinations are used in other words.  For example, "lyn" appears in "lynch" and "lynx."  In both cases, it is pronounced in the same way as "lin."  Which is why it could appropriately be used as a stand-in for the i in that instance.  When you think about words that include "dyn" you have things like "dynamic" and "dynasty."  Neither of these have "din" sounds.  They're actually more like "dine."  Not every consonant causes the same sound before the letter Y when it is being used as a vowel.  There are no words that include the combination "vyn" because it's not a combination of letters that yields a simple sound...but in nearly every word that contains the combination "vy" it is pronounced "vee" (think curvy, savvy, navy, ivy) or "vye" (think vying).

 

In no case do i ever see a "vy" pronounced as "vi" with a short i sound before another consonent.  At best, Devyn would be pronounced "Dev-yeen" or "Dev-yin" under English phonetics. 

 

I get that people like to spell names in a unique way.  i would never do it myself, but i understand that people like to do it.  it just seems like it's going the extra mile to spell it in such a way that basically ignores all rules of English pronounciation.  Will people see "Devyn" and assume it's just a unique spelling of "Devin?"  Probably, because there's no other name that Devyn could possibly stand in for.  But that doesn't make it phonetically correct.

 

For anyone interested, there is a great blog at the top of the Baby Names board that explains why spelling and pronounciation are important for names.  You can feel free to ignore the points that are made there, it's none of my business unless you ask my opinion about it, but it's a valid arguement and interesting read nonetheless.

karaelaine1991

delujm0 said:

karaelaine1991 said:

delujm0 said:

I would not use Devin for a girl personally, but if you're committed to it at least spell it correctly as Devin. Despite what apparently a lot of people believe these days, in reality the letter Y has its own sound. It doesn't just work as a stand-in for whatever vowel you choose to replace it with. In actual English, "Devyn" would be pronounced "dev - yin."

While I agree that Y is overused in names these days, I don't really see the difference between using as OP has suggested and using it for names ending in -lyn. Would you say that Brooklyn should then be pronounced "Brook-l-yin"? Not trying to be sarcastic, genuinely trying to understand what you think the difference is in this case. To me, there's a difference between spelling names like "Devyn" or "Brooklyn" with a y rather than an i, and spelling names like "Olivia" as "Olyvia."

Think of the ways these combinations are used in other words.  For example, "lyn" appears in "lynch" and "lynx."  In both cases, it is pronounced in the same way as "lin."  Which is why it could appropriately be used as a stand-in for the i in that instance.  When you think about words that include "dyn" you have things like "dynamic" and "dynasty."  Neither of these have "din" sounds.  They're actually more like "dine."  Not every consonant causes the same sound before the letter Y when it is being used as a vowel.  There are no words that include the combination "vyn" because it's not a combination of letters that yields a simple sound...but in nearly every word that contains the combination "vy" it is pronounced "vee" (think curvy, savvy, navy, ivy) or "vye" (think vying).

 

In no case do i ever see a "vy" pronounced as "vi" with a short i sound before another consonent.  At best, Devyn would be pronounced "Dev-yeen" or "Dev-yin" under English phonetics. 

 

I get that people like to spell names in a unique way.  i would never do it myself, but i understand that people like to do it.  it just seems like it's going the extra mile to spell it in such a way that basically ignores all rules of English pronounciation.  Will people see "Devyn" and assume it's just a unique spelling of "Devin?"  Probably, because there's no other name that Devyn could possibly stand in for.  But that doesn't make it phonetically correct.

 

For anyone interested, there is a great blog at the top of the Baby Names board that explains why spelling and pronounciation are important for names.  You can feel free to ignore the points that are made there, it's none of my business unless you ask my opinion about it, but it's a valid arguement and interesting read nonetheless.

Thanks for explaining! Makes sense  

casey06022015

I like Devyn... Or Devin. Devon definitely sounds like de-Vaughn like you were saying!!! Good luck!

Raymer2

I went to school with a Devyn. Personally for a girl I like the spelling rather than Devin. Go with what makes sense to you. GL!

HoosOnFirst

@delujm0 I mostly agree with you, but what about Evelyn? That appears to be an exception, right? (It's on our current final list)...

I am NOT a fan of yoooneek spellings of normal names, for the record but once enough people spell a name a certain way it feels like fair game. I have a name that is very equally spelled two different ways, which does get kinda annoying. It might be why we go with Evelyn over Elyse, since there's not really an option to misspell... Our third option is Tabitha right now, which I think is only ever spelled one way?

amabarne

I love the way it looks with a Y. Devyn is cute!

dgomperts

My name is Devon with an "O" no one ever pronounces it right and if it's their first time meeting me they always look for a man... It's quite the bummer...

quinnjimenez

Thanks for all the feedback! My name is Quinn so I'm used to ppl thinking I'm a boy too, but then when hear I'm a girl, they think it's very unique and pretty! Best wishes to all of you!

JennEpp1016

One of my best friends is a female Devin. I've only ever seen Devon as an alternative spelling; never Devyn or Devan. I'd personally go with Devin but that's just me!

kbbtah

Devin

devyns2nd

quinnjimenez said:

Yes we have settled on this name if our baby is a girl, but are torn with how to spell it. Does Devyn look too wierd? Is Devin or Devan too "masculine"? Devon reminds me of 'DeVaughn'....thoughts?

Best name ever...just sayin! And I like the y in my name but Devin is more common. I feel like the y makes my name "girly" since boys use an I too. It's constantly misspelled but I get to say devyn with a y and that makes me feel fancy

Fun fact though my mom heard my name on a Billy idol video!

taty1019

Definitely with a y like Devyn