A woman is desperate to change the spelling of her name after years of “getting made fun of” and incorrect pronunciations.
Deciding on a name for a child is no small task; parents have to consider options not only suitable to a sweet, innocent baby but also something appropriate for them once they reach adulthood.
Some people are keen to honour a friend or relative by naming their child after them, and others scour baby books and online forums looking for inspiration.
Some turn to their favourite television shows and films on their quest for the perfect name, and others simply fall for a name they’ve heard out and about.
There are lots of avenues expecting parents explore while weighing up options for their child, and it’s certainly not a decision to rush into. For some, though, a name’s apparent “uniqueness” is the most important factor.
In recent years, there’s been a rising trend in people altering the spelling of an already established or traditional name in a bid to make it seem different, despite the warped spelling not changing the pronunciation of the name.
Often, this leads to the children growing up and living with the name to have to constantly sound their name out for people, as well as explaining how to spell it.
One woman is feeling the ramifications of her parents’ unusual spelling choice for her name, so much so that she’s actively seeking alternative spellings so she can change it.
On Reddit, in a post titled “My name is Bayleigh, any suggestions for a non tragedeigh spelling or alias?”, she penned: “I hate it.
“I get made fun of and it gets pronounced as bay LEIGH (rhyme with sleigh) and I hate to say it but that seems like the more accurate pronunciation in English.
“I also have trouble pronouncing it due to an accent so I always have to pause in between syllables and say ‘Bay… Lee’.”
She added: “My husband calls me Bay and as do a lot of my childhood friends but I was wondering if I should go by that or alter my spelling to ‘Bayley’ or ‘Bailey’.”
Fellow Reddit users were keen to share their thoughts. One person suggested: “I think Bailey would be a nice alternative”.
Another agreed: “It’s the traditional spelling from before the days of making up ‘unique’ spellings”.
A third shared: “That’s the way my last name was spelled, no one ever mispronounced or misspelled it, I would definitely go that route.”
Another said: “You poor thing, I don’t blame you, I would definitely try changing it to Bailey instead, you could do the other, but you could go with the traditional Bailey.”
Someone else quipped: “That is the normal, unhinged spelling”. Another commented: “Just do Bailey. No need to overthink it. They can still call you Bay but I wouldn’t want Bay to be my formal, full name.”
At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, at any time clicking the “Do Not Sell or Share my Data” button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Cookie Notice.
