• @[email protected]
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    1569 months ago

    I will never understand obtuse alternate spellings that are just homophones. Like Trinity spelled Triniteigh accomplishes nothing.

      • @[email protected]
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        49 months ago

        Meh, depending on the last name that might happen anyway. I just spell out my last name by default now.

      • beefbot
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        149 months ago

        “It’s spelled Seamus, but I go by James”

      • @[email protected]
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        9 months ago

        Reminds me of the article about black Americans visiting Africa and being devastated that they weren’t “welcomed home” but rather just treated as visiting American tourists.

        It’s cute

    • Flying SquidOPM
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      259 months ago

      I worked under someone at an old job who named his son Jaxon. And kept pictures Jaxon drew and signed on the wall of his office. So every time I needed something from him, I would have to see Jaxon’s name in his office. And I hated it.

    • @[email protected]
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      89 months ago

      It’s to add a little uniqueness, and avoid them being the 14th Erica in the classroom, but not going so far as to not give them one of the “normal” names.

      Or they just think it looks prettier. It doesn’t have to be about accomplishing something beyond “I like how that looks”.

      • @[email protected]
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        249 months ago

        I feel like “my child will be burdened by this for the rest of their life” wins over “it looks cool”

        • @[email protected]
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          69 months ago

          You’d be surprised how little it actually matters. It just means they have to spell it for people occasionally.

          My name isn’t common here, but it’s also perfectly well known and spelled in the traditional sense.
          I have to spell it for people, and often use a middle name for takeout orders. That’s about the extent of the burden of having an unusual name.
          My last name is also perfectly common, and I need to spell it as well.

          I’ve seen a lot more “burden” on people with alphabetically late names, since they often are last in line for stuff.

    • @[email protected]
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      79 months ago

      But the pronunciation of Triniteigh would have the sound like “neighbor” so wouldn’t be said like Trinity (tee)…

      • @[email protected]
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        49 months ago

        Not necessarily. Think Leigh and its relatives (e.g., Ashleigh, Kayleigh, Charleigh*)

        *made that one up but still,

        • @[email protected]
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          69 months ago

          Um, I had someone in my class named Kayleigh, and it was indeed pronounced Kay-lay. I pronounce all these like “lay”, I don’t understand the example.

          • @[email protected]
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            29 months ago

            Hm. In my experience, -eigh has always been pronounced -ee. In most cases, Leigh is a homophone of Lee, as it comes from an English word meaning “meadow”, and you’ll find many pronunciation guides that confirm this. Not that I find it all that intuitive, I would have assumed it to be pronounced -lay myself, like sleigh or eight. English is dumb like that, and if you or anyone else wants to pronounce it -lay, nothing should stop you.

  • @[email protected]
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    699 months ago

    I’m all for unique and clear identifiers for everything, including people, but jesus christ, imagine yourself in elementary school having a weird name. Why would parents choose a hard mode for their progeny?

    • @[email protected]
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      659 months ago

      I’m a big proponent of normal/semi obscure normal first name, weird middle name. John W Smith if you work in sales, J Wolfgang Smith if you’re an author. Perfect compromise.

      • Flying SquidOPM
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        9 months ago

        We gave our daughter a somewhat disused but normal and formerly not uncommon name which was the name of a plant. We just wanted a name that wasn’t religious but still normal enough that she wouldn’t get bullied for it (she got bullied anyway). We realized later that it actually made sense in terms of her ancestry because her mother has a plant name, her grandmother has a plant name and her great-grandmother had a plant name. One long lineage of plant names.

        • @[email protected]
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          179 months ago

          Dude I see you around here on the regular, so I’ll mention that this is ironic for me to read this, because we also named our daughter an old, obscure but “real” name that is also a plant (a flower, specifically).

          It’s from France, so I asked a French friend before using it if it was ok to use and not a weird name, and they said “sure it’s ok, but it’s like an old grandma’s name no one uses anymore.” And that’s when I knew it was the one!

          • Flying SquidOPM
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            129 months ago

            Yep, that was basically our reasoning. Vintage name, so it’s memorable, but not a weird one and spelled normally.

            And absolutely not religious.

          • Flying SquidOPM
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            209 months ago

            She was bullied for other reasons. Most significantly being as eccentric as her parents.

            • @[email protected]
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              119 months ago

              Honestly being bullied for a weird name just feels like victim blaming. It’s just someone else’s shitty behaviour we’re expected to dance around? That was the one problem with the name.

              • Flying SquidOPM
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                109 months ago

                I don’t disagree, but it’s also a parental responsibility, in my opinion, to help your child avoid bullying. It’s not possible to avoid entirely, but there are definitely ways to make it worse. And a weird name is one of them.

                • @[email protected]
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                  79 months ago

                  Give a kid a weird name and the bully will pick on them but set a bully on fire… no… wait, I think I got that wrong.

              • @[email protected]
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                59 months ago

                It may be someone else’s problem, but as a parent , you should consider your child’s well being when naming them, and try to avoid obvious pitfalls

                • @[email protected]
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                  39 months ago

                  I mean yes obviously, but still. Just angering me we have to fight human shittiness with something like this

        • @[email protected]
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          99 months ago

          a somewhat disused but normal and formerly not uncommon name which was the name of a plant

          Describing it like that makes it really tempting to try and guess the name. Out of respect for your and her privacy, I won’t, though.

      • @[email protected]
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        9 months ago

        Ngl having “Wolfgang” as an example for a weird name was really strange to read for me… but I’m German.

      • @[email protected]
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        59 months ago

        It’s a pretty common practice where I live for a kid to be named after someone for their first name, but go by their middle name. So I think it’s perfectly fine to have one normal name and one weird name in any order.

        A. John Smith is an accountant. Atreyu J. Smith is a musician who wears leather pants and some sort of studded headband.

      • @[email protected]
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        69 months ago

        That one I actually like. It’s easy to short it to Levi in public, but still be able to flex among friends.

    • Flying SquidOPM
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      89 months ago

      I guess if everyone has a weird name, that doesn’t matter. Maybe kids don’t make fun of weird names anymore. Who knows, maybe it’s the Johns and Marys who get made fun of for having uninteresting names.

    • @[email protected]
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      69 months ago

      My name is a standard name, but super uncommon here. It’s not that bad, since I got picked on about as much as anyone else. It’s not like they won’t just because your name is unremarkable.

    • @[email protected]
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      29 months ago

      If you don’t get bullied for your name, you’ll just get bullied for something else. At least with the name you can blame it on your parents, maybe. Kids are assholes.

  • @[email protected]
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    549 months ago

    I heard so much racism/making fun about black names growing up, but like, white people names are some of the absolute goofiest shit I’ve ever heard.

  • @[email protected]
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    529 months ago

    i’m so fucking happy sweden has laws preventing this stuff, names here have to be approved as not causing undue harm to the child

    • @morhp
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      429 months ago

      *creigh

  • @[email protected]
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    9 months ago

    Do these parents not realise that they are naming real humans that will also be adults one day? Like, just imagine a grown-ass woman named “Brexleigh”.

    • @[email protected]
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      269 months ago

      If I was a primary school kid with a classmate named brexliegh you can bet your ass I’d be calling them brexit

      • @[email protected]
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        19 months ago

        If I had a friend right now with that name, I’d be calling them Brexit. Would fit right in with Charles Barkley, Dick Towers, Mr. Toast, and Lexicon.

    • JJROKCZ
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      49 months ago

      My friends daughter is Braxleigh, I laugh when I imagine being 60 and filling out AARP paperwork with the name Braxleigh

  • MagnyusG
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    9 months ago

    What irks me the most is the effort these idiot parents will go to give their baby as basic a name as “Allison” or “Ashley”

    • Ashlie
    • Ashlee
    • Ashly
    • Ashleigh
    • Ashlea
    • Ashli
    • Ashely
    • Ashlei
    • Ashleah
    • Asheleigh
    • Ashelie
    • Ahshlee
    • the list goes on and on and on

    No amount of vowels is going to make your kid’s name stand out when at the end of the day it’s the same pronunciation as the most common, basic form of it.

    Mötley might be weird but it’s at least unique.