Allyson or Alexa?
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Allyson or Alexa?
| Sat, 05-06-2006 - 1:17pm |
Allyson or Alexa?
- Allyson Ashtyn Grace
- Alexa Ashtyn Grace
- Allyson Ashlyn Grace
- Alexa Ashlyn Grace
You will be able to change your vote.

I couldn't vote because there was no combination I really liked. But I thought I'd comment on the individual names and maybe that would be of some help to you.
Allyson -- I love Allison, but I really dislike the 'y' in place of the 'i'. That is SO trendy and will wind up looking very dated when she's an adult. (Just like all the girls who were "Tiffani with an i" and "Brandi with an i" and "Cindi with an i" in the 70s, 30 years from now, we will look back and shake our heads at all the little girls born at the turn on the millenium and named "Allyson with a y" and "Carsyn with a y" and "Lyndsey with a y".)
Ashtyn -- I really dislike this name. I strongly dislike Ashton, and this spelling (again with the uber-trendy 'y' replacement) makes me like it even less.
Grace -- A lovely classic. Beautiful.
Alexa -- Not a huge
I prefer Allison to Allyson. I used to love the name Alexa but then the trojan companied named a brand of female hygine products Elexa, spelt diff. but said the same and I just could not name a child that.
Dawn
Yes, the Y is what irks me. I wrote that response hurriedly, and I should have thought of a more illustrative synonym. Allison is actually a favorite name of mine...one of those names that I love to hear other people use, even though I probably won't ever use it myself. It's a old, strong, feminine name (there is an Alison in Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales). Adding the Y annoys me, especially when I hear people say things like, "We want to call her Ally, so we just used the Y so the nn would be IN the name." If that's not the lousiest reason for changing the spelling of a name, then I don't know what is. First of all, Ally isn't Allie. It's ally, as in an ally in a war. Second of all, she won't be called by her nickname by professors and employers, and she won't put Ally at the top of a resume (I realize that you didn't mention this was the reason for your spelling...I'm just sharing my experience with the name). I just think that Allison (or Alison) Smith, or whatever, looks infinitely more intelligent at the top of a resume or the bottom of a business letter than Allyson.
As for the Ashlyn, Ashtyn situation: Until recently, Ashton was considered a girl's name. Most of the Ashtons born in America were girls. Ashton Kutcher changed that, and now, when parents want to name their daughters Ashton, they feel the need to change the spelling in order to distinguish her as a female Ashton. I think this is unnecessary. In addition to that, I don't really like the name much at all.
Ashlyn: This name flows well off the tongue, but remember that it's really the Americanized spelling of the Irish name Aisling. (I haven't read the other posts yet, so maybe someone else has pointed this out?). Aisling is a real name, but Ashlyn looks like you squashed Ashley and Lynn together and created a mutant, juvenile name. Aisling is gorgeous. In fact, Allison Aisling Grace is gorgeous, too. This would be my pick for you...if I got to pick, which of course I don't. :-)
Thank you so much everyone for your honest input. I really do appreciate it. I also appreciate the fact that you seriously made me look at Allyson to see how bad the spelling really is. You are absolutely right! This spelling was my DH's choice and after seeing so many of your comments I pointed it out to him that it does look a bit illiterate. He finally agreed. Although in the poll most of you voted for Alexa (maybe because I screwed up the spelling of Allyson?) We are now sure we are going with Allison. As for middle names, we're still not sure. I think Ashtyn is out, though. Thanks again for all of your help! I really appreciate it!
Kris