Having trouble understanding...

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-31-2003
Having trouble understanding...
4
Mon, 03-27-2006 - 11:49am

modern naming conventions.

My friend's son (7) was in a youth theater production, and I went to see it this weekend. During the intermission, I was looking through the program, and here is a sampling of the girl's names...

Kylee
Kylie
Kyleigh
Kaleigh
Caylee
Kayla
Kaelah
Kaylin
Kalyn
Karlee
Carly
Carlie
Carrie
Karee
Kacey
Cassie
Kaitlyn
Katelynn
Caitlyn

and 5 Savannahs

When I was a kid there were lots of Jennifers, but they were all spelled the same. These girls have names that sound the same, or very similar, on the playground, and there are so many spellings, some of which don't even make phonetic sense. I have even seen other variations on the spelling of these names that weren't in the program (ie Kiley, Caitlin). Do the parents spell the names all these ways because they don't know how they are spelled, or because they want their children to be different or stand out from the crowd? Do they realize that their kids are only standing out from the crowd by having to spell their name over and over for the rest of their life? The names are all so similar.

Just wondering.

And I have to say I feel sorry for the teachers trying to keep all these girls straight!

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-26-2006
Mon, 03-27-2006 - 12:48pm
That is exactly why I like the name Ireland for a girl. At least she wouldn't be one of a million. The names listed are so boring to me because every other girl has the same name. At my daughter's dance recital every class had at LEAST one Emma, Emily, Hannah, Hailey, Kailey etc. Most classes had two or three of the same name. I just couldn't "follow the crowd" when naming my kids. Just my opinion!
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-26-1999
Mon, 03-27-2006 - 4:46pm
LOL! That's quite funny. I think the reason that there are so many names that are simalar but spelled differently, is because people think they're being different theat way. People seem to think that Kiley is a nice alternative to the Kellys they all knew when they were kids, but little did they know that everyone else had the same idea. Then maybe a few people learned that everyone had the same idea, & decided to be 'creative' by changing it to Kylie, Kaylee, Kealie, etc. You get the point. I wish people would be more original.
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-29-2003
Mon, 03-27-2006 - 4:54pm
AGREED! I used to teach Kindergarten and yes, it is a nightmare to keep all the Caitlins, Kaitlins, Ashlyn, Ashton, Katelyns, Kylies, Kileighs, Kylees, Kaylahs, Kalyns, Kaceys, Caseys, etc straight! Its the same thing with all the J boys names: Joshua, Jacob, Jonathon, Jake, Jack, Jasper, Julian, Jules, Jude etc. I heard the term "meganame" recently with regard to these terrible trends...It's referenced on p. 82 of my Beyond Jennifer, Jason, Madison and Montana book by Linda Rosenkrantz and Pamela Satran. They explain that these names are linked by sound and structure and we should think of them as one big overused name, rather than a hundred names. Because there are so many of them, it skews the popularity charts..and the result is an axis of names that are given to more than 4 times as many little girls as the most popular name in America. YUCK!
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Mon, 03-27-2006 - 5:12pm

There is something that I didn't truly understand until I went to my oldest DD's open house in kindergarten. On the bulletin board were posters that each child had made of their names. There was a "Christina T." and a "Krystina L." There was a "Nicky S" (Nicholas) and a "Nikki T" (Nicole). There was also a "Madison B" and a "Maddisyn J". What I realized is that spelling is completely irrelevant in school. The kids hear their names being called throughout the day, whether it is from teachers or other students. You can't differentiate between a teacher calling on "Christina" or "Krystina." Spelling a name differently doesn't make a child stand out in a classroom. It only serves to make them have to spell their name for the rest of their lives. JMHO

BTW - I am not saying that it is bad to have an iniital tacked onto a name. I grew up being Michelle F. and never had any problem with it. I was actually glad I didn't have an odd name and appreciated being able to find personalized things with my name on it.