Words are weird. I’m not sure who originally decided how a word should be spelled, but sometimes I just shake my head. Seems like very few words are actually spelled like they should be. I’ve always been a pretty good speller and my grammar is probably better than average, but there are still those stupid words that jam me up every time. I stumble over words that end in le or el. Angel is not the same thing as angle. And you can’t rely on spell check to catch those mistakes.
Silent letters are the worst. Words like benign, gnome, psychology. You know those spellings that don’t make any sense. I also have trouble remembering which words are “a” and which are “e.” For instance acquaintance (I often use ence). And relevant (I almost always write relevent). Those kinds of words are tricky for me.
While I try really had to spell correctly, I will never get names right. Never. Especially foreign names. Or uncommon names. Sometimes I think parents just sit around and start smashing letters together until they come up with something that sounds like it might be a person’s name. The more unique the better. Stop it already. It’s not a game. Nobody wins. Just give your kid a name they can be proud of and most importantly, a name people can spell. Don’t tweak the spelling either.
I get it, be original, be unique, be a one-of-a-kind. It’s just really hard for some folks. Teachers for example. What a delight that first day of roll call must be. And anyone who has to go into a medical office waiting room and call a patient’s name. Or, someone like me. Someone in the hospitality industry trying to greet people when they arrive. I’m not even going to attempt some of the surnames I see. At least, in most instances, we inherit those. But the Christian names, the names we are assigned at birth, should be kept a little bit easier, in my humble opinion. Don’t give a kid a name with 15 letters. Just don’t do it. It’s not cute.
Of course, that still won’t help with spelling. I mean even common names have multiple spellings. And, in almost every instance, I will pick the wrong one. Here’s what I’m talking about, when folks arrive here at the inn, I usually know only one of the parties’ first names, because it’s on the reservation. Because I like to address people by their first name — I think it’s much more personable — I will ask what the traveling companion’s name is. If that person says, “Lori,” that’s what I’ll write down. Sure enough I’ll have chosen the wrong spelling for that particular Laurie. You see what happens?
Every. Time. No matter how simple the name. If the name is Anne, I’ll write Ann. If it’s Cheryl, I’ll write Sheryl. Eileen, Ilene. Alicia, Alisha. And so it goes.
The list is never-ending, and I rarely chose the right spelling. Here are just some examples of names that should be easy, but are not:
Rachel / Rachael
Emily / Emili
Michaela / Mikayla
Debra / Deborah
Mary / Mari / Merry / Merrie
Victoria / Viktoria and yes, even Victorya
Sherie / Sheri / Sherry / Cheri / Cherie / Shari
Debbie / Debbi / Debby / Debi
Tammy / Tami / Tammie / Tammi
Catherine / Cathryn / Katherine / Kathryn (and a hundred variations of Cathy)
Cindy / Cindi / Cyndi / Syndi / Cyndee
Christy / Christi / Christie / Kristy / Kristi / Krysti / Chrystee
Kasey / Casey / Kaci / Kaycee
Terri / Teri / Terry
And then there are some uncommon names and even those, I have discovered, have multiple spellings: Sage / Saejh. Or: Peyton / Paighton. Molly / Molleigh. Crystal / Krystal
This is just a small sample of craziness. I’ve done you a favor by not listing the names with apostrophes that are so popular now. I’ll give you a quick example: D’Arcy or D’Lilah or A’mirrah or D’Nyce. Stop it people. It’s absurd.
And I’ve limited this post to just the female names. There are just as many male name variations. Although, that I am aware of, there are no variations of Bill, Jim, David, Robert, and other classics. At least not yet. Now that I’ve planted that seed I don’t want one of you guys to give birth and name your child Davyd or Roburt. Sheesh.
What’s an innkeeper to do? I’ve learned to just start saying the letters out loud as I’m writing and wait for the guest to correct me. It’s only a small thing, but I believe it’s important. People are unique individuals and I believe it is important to get their name right, even if nobody else sees that name written down but me. On occasion, I have simply written down the phonetic (it should be noted that I spelled that word wrong when I was drafting this post) version otherwise I’ll never say it right when I see them. For instance Siobhan. I’ll just write down Chi-von because otherwise, every time I look at it, I’ll say it wrong. If I see the phonetic spelling, I’ll say it correctly. This is what I do with our foreign guests.
Don’t get me wrong. I like uncommon or unusual names. My problem is with the insane spelling. Destiny is a pretty name and it’s not common. And . . . it’s easy to pronounce. Eden is a pretty name. Again, not common, easy to spell. Be creative without being ridiculous. Give me some more examples in the comments below.
What say you guys? Do you have trouble with names as well? Have you seen any oddly spelled names? I know the foreign versions of some of common American names are slightly different (i.e., Elizabeth / Elisabeth) but I’m talking about people from America. I’d love to know your thoughts on crazy names and spellings.
Word of the Day: wappenschawing
Fun fact about me: I do like inventing clever names for my characters, but I always try to make them pronounceable. (I spelled that word wrong too. Thank goodness for spell check this time.)
Original post by Jansen Schmidt, February 2020. Images by Pexels and Google Images.
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jansenschmidt 
Like you, I used to be a crack speller. But I seemed to have lost that talent a bit over the years. I have to think about (or correct) many a word now that use to just roll correctly right off the brain. Same with sense of direction. I was always good with that. Not so much anymore.
As for the silent letters, you’ll note in my blog list of things that keep me awake at night, that one of those sleep devils is “scent.” Which letter is silent, the “s” or the “c”?
Must admit we messed up a bit when we named our daughter. First name, Lisa. Good job, right? Then we chose Joy for a middle name and spelled it Joi. When she married she dumped it and uses our surname as her middle name now.
There’s one other category that I’d add. Those people who have one name but go by another. Ex: I know someone whose name is Patricia, but she goes by Jansen. Frustrating! (He, he, he)
Aywnay, rebmremer, as lnog as you hvae the fsrit and lsat ltettr of a wrod slpleed rghit, poplee wlil usnredsntad it.
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You’re always such a silly. That’s why I love you. We have similar senses of humor. Perhaps you wanted to pass some of that along to your daughter and that’s why you named her Joi. At least I’d have said that one correctly. I have a female friend named Jai. I had never before known a female with that name. I was only familiar with the male version Jay. Although nowadays, you can’t even be sure of sex by someone’s name. Morgan, Shawn, Kendal, and lots of other names are non gender specific. I’ve even seen Erin for a boy and Aaron for a girl. People are just crazy.
Thanks for visiting today and sharing your thoughts. Language is indeed weird.
Patricia
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You’ve hit one of my pet peeves, Patricia. Common nouns in the English language are bad enough. (BTW, in Spanish, there is no such problem. Words are spelled as they are pronounced.) Names, though, as enough to drive anyone up the wall?
Why would anyone name a son “Shaquille?” Why not John or Bill? My wife used to be vice principal of a predominantly black school with Hispanics also outnumbering WASPS. The Hispanic names were usually pretty normal and could be spelled as they sounded, but the black kids – forget it. I’m pretty sure a lot of the parents just threw a bunch of letters down and closed their eyes as they put them together.
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You are correct with the African American names. Sometimes at the grocery store I’ll try to read the name tag of the check out clerk and I just roll my eyes. Some of these people need much larger name tags.
Some of the names are really pretty too. They’re just so oddly spelled.
Of course it’s true with Gaelic names too. Colin is not how I would pronounce Coln. But, in Ireland, that’s a very common name and very common spelling. It’s just a matter or what you’re used to.
Anyway, to each his own.
Have a great day.
Patricia
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My first name gets misspelled all the time. People are always trying to put an A in it. It was even like that on a credit card for years! And they wouldn’t change it until I got married and changed my last name. Props to you for always getting it right!
My married name gets mangled all the time too, which is the main reason I write under my maiden name. My daughter’s first name has an unusual spelling, but that’s because it’s shorter and easier than the traditional spelling – and I wanted my husband to be able to spell it correctly, LOL!
I can’t see that I’ll ever have a use for a wappenschawing, though…
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Yeah, Jennette, I’ve seen your name spelled multiple ways too. And Colleen or Coleen. I never know if it’s 2 LL’s or 1. But, at least I can pronounce both of those names.
And, don’t get me wrong, I like unusual names. It’s just so hard when you’re trying to greet someone using their name and you’ve never heard it before. I hate to mangle it. I usually just ask our guests how they pronounce their name and then write it phonetically so I’ll remember. Most people are cool with that.
I hope you never have need of a wappenschawing either. That would be weird.
Have a wonderful week.
Patricia
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I don’t even bother pretending to know how to spell names correctly anymore because any name can be tweaked and twisted…perhaps with the exception of Bob. Oh, wait. Bahb. Bawb. Baub. Sorry about that, Bob.
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Stop. Just stop. I’m laughing right now because I can hear someone from Boston yelling Bahb! I have friends from England. His name is Bob. He says it so it sounds like Beaub. It makes me giggle every time.
But, you see my point. Some people just get ridiculous with names.
Have a nice week my weirdo friend. Always nice to see your smiling face and to hear your take on things.
Patricia
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