Honestly

AliannaMarie · October 2012

I really don't get what the big deal is about people spelling their babies names uniquely. I mean, I understand the irritation when they use a weirdly eccentric name or trying waaay too hard to come up with some super different spelling, but what's wrong with using a "y" instead of an "i" or tweaking the spelling just a bit?

Growing up, I constantly had to correct people who pronounced my name "Alaina" but I love my name and I'm glad it's unique. I honestly don't think I would like the names I have picked out for my baby if I used the usual spellings. I don't particularly care for any of those common names found in all the baby name books. I just played around with different sounds until I found something I really liked.

blush64 · October 2012

When you make up a spelling it looks like you didn't know how to spell it or you were really craving attention.

Why not find a name you like, spelling and pronounciation?

EDIT When it comes down to it it really doesn't matter as long as you love the name. Some of us just don't like it EDIT to clarify Some of us don't like made up spellings. To be fair, you would probably hate the names I would choose.

A_Schmitz · October 2012

I agree ds1 we named him jaxson. He will always have to tell ppl how to spell it. But it's unique to him and that's that.

AliannaMarie · October 2012

The reason I wanted to say something is because so many people were posting about how they hated when names were spelled differently. Unless it is some outlandish spelling of a name, I don't really think it's to get attention. I think the reason people put a twist on the way they spell their children's names is to make it special and different from everyone else.

If you are the one who created the child and the one who will be raising him/her, then why shouldn't you be able to spell their name however you want? I don't get why it makes people so mad to see a different name. Who wants to be the same as everyone else?

Blueyed228 · October 2012

For me its because people always go to the whole "I want my child to be unique or special"

A name (and a misspelled name at that) does not make your child unique. Every child is unique.

It also is a pain in the butt for them when they become adults. I know people who work in HR and do hiring for companies that will probably pass on a "Brydyn".

AliannaMarie · October 2012

I was not implying that a name is the only thing that makes your child unique. I just think that the name should be unique to the child. I don't want my child to have a name that so many other people have.

I don't consider it to be a pain in the butt to have a unique name and I think it probably depends on the area you live in as to whether or not an HR person would hire you based on your name. I work in a technology center and my boyfriend's mom used to be one of the HR people and I know that she and her colleagues would not pass on a person just because of their names. There are plenty of people working here with unique names.

Blueyed228 · October 2012

AliannaMarie:

I was not implying that a name is the only thing that makes your child unique. I just think that the name should be unique to the child. I don't want my child to have a name that so many other people have.

I don't consider it to be a pain in the butt to have a unique name and I think it probably depends on the area you live in as to whether or not an HR person would hire you based on your name. I work in a technology center and my boyfriend's mom used to be one of the HR people and I know that she and her colleagues would not pass on a person just because of their names. There are plenty of people working here with unique names.

Im not disagreeing with you but there are hundreds of thousands of names out there. You dont have to change spellings to find a unique name or a name that is not all that common.

I like names that are not popular names too, but im not going to mess with spellings. I just think its a personal thing. I dont want people to think i cant spell.

D&J2008 · October 2012

Blueyed228:
For me its because people always go to the whole "I want my child to be unique or special"

A name (and a misspelled name at that) does not make your child unique. Every child is unique.

It also is a pain in the butt for them when they become adults. I know people who work in HR and do hiring for companies that will probably pass on a "Brydyn".

I 100% agree with this. It's kind of like how EVERY bride says she wants to do things differently and have her wedding be unique. But then how many weddings have you been to that are truly THAT different? Guess what? In the end, they ARE all unique because its about you and your partner in your own way. You don't have to TRY to be different.

And in the same vein, every child is unique. I think wanting him/her to have a "one of a kind, totally different" name screams attention to me. There are plenty of unpopular, less used names if you want to make sure your child isn't one of 10 Isabellas in her class. But adding a random letter, swapping out 2 "Y" for an I, or changing the spelling is strange to me.

Pick a more unique name then--Don't make it up.

Then again, I also agree with PPs that everyone is entitled to their opinions and of course, you can name your child whatever you want! That's the beauty of it.

AliannaMarie · October 2012

I honestly don't care too much if people think I can't spell because I know they'd be wrong. I know I am intelligent and there's nothing anyone can say to make me feel any differently. I believe my children will appreciate the names that were given to them just as I did with mine. I'm glad I can't find a custom nameplate at the store with my name on it. Coming from the community that I come from, I've become open to unique names. Being from a Native American community, most names are very different anyway.

Blueyed228 · October 2012

AliannaMarie:
I honestly don't care too much if people think I can't spell because I know they'd be wrong. I know I am intelligent and there's nothing anyone can say to make me feel any differently. I believe my children will appreciate the names that were given to them just as I did with mine. I'm glad I can't find a custom nameplate at the store with my name on it. Coming from the community that I come from, I've become open to unique names. Being from a Native American community, most names are very different anyway.

I think what most people are trying to say is that unique is different than made up or misspelled.

jesselayne8 · October 2012

Blueyed228:
For me its because people always go to the whole "I want my child to be unique or special"
A name and a misspelled name at that does not make your child unique.nbsp; Every child is unique.
It also is a pain in the butt for them when they become adults.nbsp; I know people who work in HR and do hiring for companies that will probably pass on a "Brydyn".

I agree. Names like Klair instead of Claire turn my stomach. You are making it harder on the child in the end.

bananers · October 2012

Personally? I just think weirdly spelled names look trashy and low class. If I didn't know the person, I would assume the parents were uneducated. Call me judgmental, but that's usually my gut reaction, and I'm not the only one who feels this way.

KLJ3 · October 2012

C'mon, guys. It's Friday. Supposedly flame-free Friday. Does it really matter to you how someone decides to name her kid? We don't gripe when people of other ethnicities have names we can neither spell nor pronounce. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and at the end of the day, whether someone else's kid can find his/her name on a magnet/keychain/pencil shouldn't affect you being able to raise your own child to be happy and healthy.

I saw a girl with a name tag that read "Shaquilla" the other day. Phonetically, I'd say that's sha-KILL-ah or sha-KWILL-ah. But I bet if I'd asked her, she would have said sha-KEE-lah. Maybe it would have prompted a nice human moment where we talked about how her parents chose her name. Probably not, but I bet I wouldn't have been the first person she corrected. And as much as people may groan about a name like that, I have to correct people EVERY DAY on my name's pronunciation or spelling, and it's pretty run-of-the-mill: Kristin.

Long story short: who cares?

alohamora · October 2012

bananers:
Personally? I just think weirdly spelled names look trashy and low class. If I didn't know the person, I would assume the parents were uneducated. Call me judgmental, but that's usually my gut reaction, and I'm not the only one who feels this way.

Same here.

Plus, the name is only going to look uniquely spelled when it's in writing. So when you pick a popular name and misspell it - let's say Aydyn - when you're yelling out his name on the playground, you're not going to say, "Aydyn with 2 y's! Get over here!" He's going to blend in with every other Aiden (and Hayden and Jayden and Caden....). I just don't get the point.

Kzhowell · October 2012

I'm not going to lie some of these posts sting a little. My name is Keza. My parents picked it from the book of Job. I was their miracle baby and the name held special meaning for them. The original spelling is Keziah, but the took out the silent letters. Its sad that people out there possibly think my name is trashy or low class and would judge me or my parents for it.

P.S. I personally will be naming my child a more mainstream name.

D&J2008 · October 2012

Kzhowell:
I'm not going to lie some of these posts sting a little. My name is Keza. My parents picked it from the book of Job. I was their miracle baby and the name held special meaning for them. The original spelling is Keziah, but the took out the silent letters. Its sad that people out there possibly think my name is trashy or low class and would judge me or my parents for it.
P.S. I personally will be naming my child a more mainstream name.

FWIW, I think this is a pretty name. Plus since it is a very "unique" name, I would never even noticed that it was spelled differently. To me this is very different than Breeyanna or Tifani.

I also think its great that it has significant meaning to your parents.

Again, I think one of the coolest things about this whole journey to becoming a parent is that we all get to be grown ups and make the choices that we feel are the best for us, our families and our children. Luckily, our naming choices aren't voted on by an online forum so we all get to pick what we like and want!

....Ok...back to trying to find a meaningful, unique, fun, easy to spell, not too trendy, not too old fashioned, perfectly fitting baby name .....

Kzhowell · October 2012

D&J2008:

FWIW, I think this is a pretty name. Plus since it is a very "unique" name, I would never even noticed that it was spelled differently. To me this is very different than Breeyanna or Tifani.
I also think its great that it has significant meaning to your parents.
Again, I think one of the coolest things about this whole journey to becoming a parent is that we all get to be grown ups and make the choices that we feel are the best for us, our families and our children. Luckily, our naming choices aren't voted on by an online forum so we all get to pick what we like and want!
....Ok...back to trying to find a meaningful, unique, fun, easy to spell, not too trendy, not too old fashioned, perfectly fitting baby name .....

Thank you~

AliannaMarie · October 2012

I can see that some of you are choosing particularly outlandishly spelled names as examples to prove your point but that was not what I was getting at. I am not choosing just some normal name and changing all the letters to something with similar sounds but if someone were to do that then it's their choice. Just because someone has a normal "correctly" spelled name does not mean that they're probably not trashy or uneducated. Your name does not completely define the type of person that you are. I know there are plenty of uneducated people with common names.

I am set on the names chosen for my baby. Not having the same name as anyone I knew growing up made me feel special and different. My boyfriend and I both prefer to choose something uncommon and where we come from it's not such a big deal to have a differently spelled names.

Blueyed228 · October 2012

AliannaMarie:

I can see that some of you are choosing particularly outlandishly spelled names as examples to prove your point but that was not what I was getting at. I am not choosing just some normal name and changing all the letters to something with similar sounds but if someone were to do that then it's their choice. Just because someone has a normal "correctly" spelled name does not mean that they're probably not trashy or uneducated. Your name does not completely define the type of person that you are. I know there are plenty of uneducated people with common names.

I am set on the names chosen for my baby. Not having the same name as anyone I knew growing up made me feel special and different. My boyfriend and I both prefer to choose something uncommon and where we come from it's not such a big deal to have a differently spelled names.

Good for you?

You made a post asking a question and people answered it. If you just wanted a soapbox for name validation, you could have just said that and been done with it.

aanchor · October 2012

Honestly, when it comes down to it who really cares what people think? If you like a name or a certain spelling of a name it is your child and you can do whatever you please. My take on this is that even if you chose a regular name there will be people out there that don't like it. You can't please everyone.

One word of advice, if you are going to go with a "unique" name don't ask for suggestions on the name board... it won't go over so well.

AliannaMarie · October 2012

In all honesty, any questions in my original post were meant to be rhetorical. I don't see why I shouldn't be allowed to express my opinions just like everyone else. I apologize for the confusion. I'm totally fine with people posting their opinions in response but I just don't think it's fair to make judgements on names that people choose. You wouldn't want someone second guessing your parenting decisions would you? I do admit that there are some pretty stupid names out there and there are some people out there that aren't fit to be parents but I just don't think it's that big of a deal if someone wants to alter the spelling a bit. My post was not just referring to myself but to anyone else with a different name. That is all I have to say.

Blueyed228 · October 2012

AliannaMarie:
In all honesty, any questions in my original post were meant to be rhetorical. I don't see why I shouldn't be allowed to express my opinions just like everyone else. I apologize for the confusion. I'm totally fine with people posting their opinions in response but I just don't think it's fair to make judgements on names that people choose. You wouldn't want someone second guessing your parenting decisions would you? I do admit that there are some pretty stupid names out there and there are some people out there that aren't fit to be parents but I just don't think it's that big of a deal if someone wants to alter the spelling a bit. My post was not just referring to myself but to anyone else with a different name. That is all I have to say.

I dont think you saying "i dont care for common names" in your OP is any different than others saying they dont care for misspelled names.

But whatever. What you name your kid has no effect on me and what I name mine has no effect on you. To each their own. But people are always going to have opinions on this kind of thing.

sourpatchkids · October 2012

I'm in the name your child a name how it is supposed to be spelled camp.

Uniquely spelling a name does not make the name unique in my opinion, just misspelled.

KLJ3 · October 2012

PetraStonegirl:
KLJ3:
C'mon, guys.  It's Friday.  Supposedly flame-free Friday.  Does it really matter to you how someone decides to name her kid?  We don't gripe when people of other ethnicities have names we can neither spell nor pronounce.  Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and at the end of the day, whether someone else's kid can find his/her name on a magnet/keychain/pencil shouldn't affect you being able to raise your own child to be happy and healthy.
I saw a girl with a name tag that read "Shaquilla" the other day.  Phonetically, I'd say that's sha-KILL-ah or sha-KWILL-ah.  But I bet if I'd asked her, she would have said sha-KEE-lah.  Maybe it would have prompted a nice human moment where we talked about how her parents chose her name.  Probably not, but I bet I wouldn't have been the first person she corrected.  And as much as people may groan about a name like that, I have to correct people EVERY DAY on my name's pronunciation or spelling, and it's pretty run-of-the-mill:  Kristin.
 Long story short:  who cares?
Just for clarity, FFFC is a single thread started on Fridays. It certainly does not mean total amnesty for all posts on Fridays. 
Further more, Flame Free Friday Confessions is a colloquial term common to the Bump boards. In fact, these are public message boards, and there for nothing is ever truly safe from a good flaming. However, in this case, no one flamed anyone. The OP posted an opinion, PP disagreed with that opinion.
 
Oh, and my opinion is that I wish people would use common sense. For example, Kaza is the sweetest name and comes from love. Tiffphany is anything but cute and comes from parents who are needy for attention. Just my opinion, of course. Feel free to disagree, I won't even think you are flaming me.

Touche, and thanks for the info. I wasn't necessarily implying that all things on Friday are exempt from flaming...and since this is usually the only board I'm on, I suppose I've never really even SEEN a good flaming. It's more of just an inthespiritofbeingsoclosetotheweekend thing. Full disclosure: my coworkers spent the day dogpiling on whoever expressed an unpopular opinion, so I just felt a little bad for the OP.

Everyone have a good weekend, and enjoy naming your child in whatever manner you choose! [And insert a smiley face here, bc I can't do it on my mobile.]

BossMamma83 · October 2012

I can see both sides of this argument but truley it boils down to what you want for your child. Unique spelling and all will not make your child unique. He could be named Brian and be the life of the party, or he could be named Tripod and be boring as all get out. A name doesn't make the personality. My birth name is Letitia. It is old fashioned and spelled the original old fashioned way. I've spent years correcting teachers and people to the point where I just started going by Tia because it was short and simple. Guess what? I'm not old fashioned infact I've been told I come from another planet:-) I have two boys who have very simple names that are easy to spell and will look great on a resume. But their nicknames are another story. My oldest is called Toots. Can you guess why? LOL My youngest is called Bear. Because that's what he look liked at birth a little fuzzy teddy bear. What it boils down to is what you want to say danr near a thousand times a day for the rest of your life!LOL I will call them Toots and Bear and the world will call them what I put on their birth certificates:-)

MinnesotanMom · October 2012

I can speak to the unique baby name thing from personal experience. My parents had me young and gave me a unique name that they hadn't researched (i.e. didn't know the origins of) and that doesn't fit me at all. They also mispronounced it for how it should be pronounced, given the spelling of the word, which bothers me b/c I don't want to make it seem like I come from an uneducated family.

I think it's really important that parents consider that their child might want to be a businessperson, politician, etc. You can never predict your child's future. Giving the child a strong, powerful name, I think, is a huge blessing. How will this name look on a resume? It's hard to have people take you less seriously because of your name.

Sydney0130 · October 2012

BossMamma83:
I can see both sides of this argument but truley it boils down to what you want for your child. Unique spelling and all will not make your child unique. He could be named Brian and be the life of the party, or he could be named Tripod and be boring as all get out. A name doesn't make the personality. My birth name is Letitia. It is old fashioned and spelled the original old fashioned way. I've spent years correcting teachers and people to the point where I just started going by Tia because it was short and simple. Guess what? I'm not old fashioned infact I've been told I come from another planet:-) I have two boys who have very simple names that are easy to spell and will look great on a resume. But their nicknames are another story. My oldest is called Toots. Can you guess why? LOL My youngest is called Bear. Because that's what he look liked at birth a little fuzzy teddy bear. What it boils down to is what you want to say danr near a thousand times a day for the rest of your life!LOL I will call them Toots and Bear and the world will call them what I put on their birth certificates:-)

Yes to all of this! Tripod is a GREAT name for the well endowed...

MommaG123 · October 2012

AliannaMarie:
Growing up, I constantly had to correct people who pronounced my name "Alaina" but I love my name and I'm glad it's unique. I honestly don't think I would like the names I have picked out for my baby if I used the usual spellings. I don't particularly care for any of those common names found in all the baby name books. I just played around with different sounds until I found something I really liked.

I don't consider Alaina for Elena to be a "yooneek" spelling. Maybe that is where the discord within this thread is coming from?

I agree with others though that giving a different spelling just to be unique doesn't really make sense to me. The name will still be pronounced the same so it won't make a difference whether you have a Bailey, Baylee, Baighleigh etc.

Also there is a difference to me in a unique spelling and an uncommon name.

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