Would you give your child a alt. spel...

Avatar for prifti
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Would you give your child a alt. spel...
7
Sat, 03-31-2007 - 11:03pm

Would you give your child a alt. spelling if it was a family name?



  • Yes 100%
  • No 100%
  • only if it didn't seem trendy


You will be able to change your vote.


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Avatar for prifti
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Sat, 03-31-2007 - 11:24pm

The reason I ask is there are a few family names we like that have different spellings. DH's g. aunt was Phoibe(a real spelling ancient but real she was born and raised in Greece) or my grandma's maiden name was Taylour. I am not saying I even want to use these but I wonder if I did how I would spell them.

Also would you use a weird name? My FIL is Polo I think it may be the same as Paolo since they are pronounced the same and his is not pronounced like the sport(his dad died before he was born and his mom died when he was two so the correct spelling may have been lost he lived in Albainia which had no record keeping or anything he is not even possitive of he age he knows the month/day but not the year he was raised by his brother who was probably not very well educated at the time it was very third world). Anyway I would be afraid people would think I was really into Ralph Lauren or something. Or my other Grandma's maiden name was Luna (she was an Apache Indian) is that any stranger than Smith as a middle name in theory? No but does the actual name make it too weird?

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Registered: 08-26-2006
Sat, 03-31-2007 - 11:32pm

well, I guess it just depends. For me, I have several made-up names/spellings in my family due to a lack of education, etc when naming. So, for me if I was to the use the name I would probably correct the spelling.

For you it different since these are legit spellings. With Phoibe I would probably change it to Phoebe if I used it as the fn so that that there wouldn't be too much confusion. I might leave it Phoibe if I used it in the mn spot. Same with Taylour.

In regards to Polo and Luna, I think these are great names for the mn spot.

Good luck,
Brooke

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-29-2005
Sat, 03-31-2007 - 11:38pm

I voted no, but it would sort of depend on the spelling.

Elisabeth, for example, isn't the most common spelling of Elizabeth, but it IS a valid, recognized form. Alysabeth, on the other hand, is most definitely not. So even if your great-grandmother thought this a wise spelling choice for your beloved Gramma, I think it would be perfectly acceptable to use a more palatable version, like Elisabeth, for your dd. It will sound the same, after all, and is obviously in her honor, but I don't see the need to repeat someone else's spelling mistakes, KWIM?

The only exception I can think of would perhaps be in the case of using a family surname, which often have many varied forms. McCormick (to use my own), for example, might just as easily be McCormack, McCormac or MacCormick, but it would seem a bit odd for my dd to choose one of those other spellings in honor of her maiden name, if that makes sense.

So it all depends. :)


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Registered: 09-29-2005
Sat, 03-31-2007 - 11:47pm

I didn't see your follow-up before posting, but I suppose I've already addressed the Phoibe/Polo/Taylour situations.

I think it'd be perfectly fine to use the more recognized spellings here, unless you really want to use the same exact forms (especially with Phoibe, which is a valid form and is kind of a nice link). Since the spelling of Polo/Paolo may have been lost anyway, I don't see the need to embrace that if it would be pronounced Paolo (Polo honestly doesn't make the same sound, so that just seems a hassle). I'd just spell it Paolo ... it's only adding one (very necessary) letter anyway. ;) If Taylour would be in the mn spot, I'd keep that spelling, but if you were considering it as a fn I might use Taylor. Only because it's such a common name to begin with and the -our ending seems to imply a different pronunciation/stress (I'd be apt to say tay-LOR rather than TAY-lur, KWIM?).

I think Luna would be a wonderful mn, btw. ;)

HTH


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Registered: 03-20-2003
Sun, 04-01-2007 - 2:56am

Taylour I would use because I think most people would still pronounce it correctly.

Avatar for prifti
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Registered: 03-27-2003
Sun, 04-01-2007 - 2:30pm

When I said it was pronunced the same I meant he pronounces it the Paolo way (pow-lo) :) But that is with a heavy accent. I don't think he relized that Polo isn't a name so I would feel really weird changing his spelling if he is still alive KWIM? Though in all honesty I doubt I will use it. Because DS1 has his(polo's) fathers name and I wouldn't rather get MIL's famiy in there somewhere.

Do you think Polo is possible a real name an Albanian form of Paul/Poalo? They lived on the Greek border is it possible a common form of Apollo? Since Apollo and Paolo are pronounced the same with the exception of the begining a? There are a lot of names in his family that I can't find anywhere it is such a tiny country that was undeveloped for so long is it possible that it is actually a real name and I am just assuming the spelling was lost?
TIA




Edited 4/1/2007 2:31 pm ET by prifti
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Registered: 09-29-2005
Sun, 04-01-2007 - 9:03pm

<<>>

I know. ;) I just meant that if you *thought* it was a misspelling of Paolo and he actually pronounces it the same as Paolo it seems perfectly acceptable that you use the Paolo spelling if you did decide to use it as a fn. As a mn, not as big a deal, and you might simply keep the Polo form (it does make an interesting story, after all). But if you were to use it as a fn it just seems to invite unnecessary confusion since Paolo is a pretty recognizable name (but not with that spelling) and Polo is even more familiar (but not with that pronunciation). LOL

FWIW, I don't pronounce Paolo (POW-lo) and the end of Apollo (a-PAH-lo or a-PAW-lo) quite the same, but that's always a possibility. ;)


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