Why Does Everybody Misspell My Daughter's Name?

by The Name Lady (Subscribe to The Name Lady's posts) Sep 21st 2009 8:00AM

My daughter's name is Caitlin, and I have the hardest time finding anything with her name spelled the correct way. This is the traditional Irish spelling, as noted in baby-naming books. So why do I constantly see her name with a "K?" And worse Katelyn....what the heck is that?

- Melissa (one "L" two "S's")

You're absolutely right that Caitlin is considered the traditional spelling of the name. Why do so many American parents spell it Katelyn? Well, let's turn the question around. Why do you pronounce it Katelyn?

Caitlin is an Irish form of Catherine. It has been an Irish-American favorite for generations, in the Anglicized spelling Kathleen.

Yes, Kathleen is just a phonetic version of Caitlin. Depending on local accents an Irishman might say KAHT-leen or koyt-HLEEN, but not KAYT-lin. That's a modern American reading of the old Irish spelling.

Confusing, eh? It just shows how hard it is to pin down authentic versions of ethnic names. Strictly speaking, the Irish Caitlin should have an accent mark (Caitlín) or even be written in Gaelic script. Things get even more confusing with names that come from a completely different writing system like Arabic. Should you write Mohammad, Mohamed, or Muhammad? There's no one correct answer.

As a parent choosing a name, you should pick the spelling that best reflects what you love about the name. If Irish heritage is important to you, Caitlin is the way to go. If you just like the bright, girlish sound -- an updating of Carolyn and Jaclyn -- then Katelyn is a reasonable choice.

Have you struggled with creative spellings? Share your experiences! And if you have your own question to Ask the Name Lady, drop her a line!

Comments (54)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

Kirstie 9-21-2009 @ 10:24AM

My name is Kirstin. The more common spelling of my name, which is Norweigan, is Kirsten (although my spelling is not unheard of). So on the very, very rare occasion we found personalized items in a store when I was a child, it was with the -en spelling if it happened it all! (It usually didn't. Starting to now, though still with an -en!).

Of course, the usual misspelling I generally get is Kristin ... guess everyone assumes I'm a typo or can't spell my own name! =]

ParamedicsGirl 9-21-2009 @ 10:44AM

I know how you feel although my name isn't uncommon by no mean I still get people that insist of calling me Amanda (my name is Mandy).
My youngest son is the same his name is Arran which is the name of a Scottish isle, I loved the name so I used it but people always when hearing it think its spelled Arron or Aaron.
I have 4 children and though 2 of my kids have pretty common names my oldest boy is named Nathan and my youngest girl is Tiffany. my other 2 are Gwendolyn and Arran.
and Kirstie I like your name alot :)

Named for the Barry Manilow song
Mandy

Melissa 9-21-2009 @ 12:45PM

See, I love the name Kirstin or Kirsten, however it is spelled.....and it IS a name, so why do people insist on thinking you're a typo or can't spell your own name lmao!

Karen 9-21-2009 @ 1:19PM

That must be really annoying, Kirstin! On the other hand, I mistype my own name fairly frequently because my right hand is faster than my left, so it's not necessarily out of the realm of possibility. The first syllable of your name is what makes it so pretty, but it's also what makes it unusual. The down side to a unique name, even ones as lovely as Kirstin and Arran, is that people will not know how to spell it from hearing it. The down side to having a name like Jennifer or Karen is that you will know about a zillion people with that name.

Linda 9-21-2009 @ 5:18PM

Imagine this: I knew a gal named Letha. Every time she introduced herself as lee-tha, people always assumed she had a lisp and that her name was actually Lisa. Bet that grew old quickly.

Sherlie Matthews 9-26-2009 @ 3:32AM

My mother and grandmother named me after my father, Sherman. Thus the traditional spelling of Shirley did not work for their creative tastes. So, S H E R L I E has been both a blessing and a nuisance. I love being different but I hate the troublesome "let me spell it for you" explanation that I've been saddled with all of my life. Even my last name...I have to spell that too, or remind everyone that it's spelled with two 'T's" with an 's' on the end.

MarMarOhio 9-21-2009 @ 7:29PM

My name is Maranie - it's supposed to be pronounced "MAR-uh-nee" but usually comes out as "Marnie" instead. My mom made it up by combining "Mara" and "Marnie." As soon as I was named, it was mispronounced, as a delivery nurse handed me to her and said "Here's your precious little Mary-Anne." That should've been her first clue it was a bad idea.

Now here I am, 34 years later, still having to correct people either on the spelling or the pronunciation of my name. I've been at my current workplace for four years and I still have co-workers who can't get my name right. I've had friends for over a decade from college who still can't spell it correctly. I have to explain it to everyone I meet - at job interviews, at doctors' offices, to new teachers, new friends, anyone. I've seriously considered changing it legally but it would just cost too much. I hate my name - it was only a way for my mom to feel clever, without any consideration as to what it would do for ME. Please, take this into account people, before you give a similar "clever" spelling to your kid.

Jennifer 9-21-2009 @ 12:20PM

My name is Jennifer, which is a very common name, and while going through school I ran into teachers and fellow students who would spell my name Jenifer or Jenniffer or even Jeniffer. It was very annoying but I learned to just deal with it since it wasn't a very big problem.

Nancy 9-22-2009 @ 12:21AM

I have a daughter who is named Jennie Rebecca after her great grandmother. It is an old fashioned spelling (Usually Jenny). Even her teachers in school called her Jeanny or Jennifer. Is Jennie all that hard to spell or sound out especially for teachers?

sherri feldman 9-21-2009 @ 1:29PM

I have never seen anyone misspell Jennifer! Wow!

As Sherri, I am forever correcting spelling of my name. Usually I get Sherry, sometimes Sheri, sometimes Sherrie. And people think it si short for Cheryl, which it is not.

Sigh!

Nicola 9-21-2009 @ 2:53PM

We fall into the category of going for the phonetic spelling. We chose the Welsh name, Celyn, for our son. My husband is Welsh, as in, from Wales (not of Welsh decent). We loved the name. However, after his birth, everybody kept calling him "Celine" or "Sellyn" and because we knew that we were moving to the US shortly, my husband felt that it was more important for him to have a name that people could pronounce. In the UK, you have 6 weeks to register a name, so we hadn't officially done it yet and decided to change our new son's name to Kellan. Same pronunciation, but nobody messes it up. Well, except when he's occasionally called Kevin...

Mo-ma 9-21-2009 @ 8:29PM

My daughters name is also Caitlin but I spell it Kaytlyn. I don't think that anyone has ever spelled it correct in all her 20 years.

Cindy 9-21-2009 @ 11:01PM

My daughter's middle name is KAITLYN :)

Carrie Buraker 9-21-2009 @ 11:50PM

My teenage daughter's name is Katelyn and she has a classmate named Kaytlyn! I didn't know anyone named Katelyn spelled any possible way when I decided on the name, now I see it everywhere!

Sommer 9-21-2009 @ 8:44PM

I know how everybody feels. My dad named me and decided that he was going to spell Summer with an "o". Supposedly he had a celebrity crush or something on Elkie Sommers or Suzanne Sommers. It used to upset me when I was younger when people would misspell my name, my godmother has known me for 24 years and STILL can't spell my name right. haha

Me and my fiance are talking about having kids and we are talking about baby names and I told him that since my name is spelled odd, I love the odd spellings of names. So we do have a few names that are spelled not quite like they should be.

stacy 9-21-2009 @ 8:56PM

My name is Stacy and no one ever spells it right. I get Stacey, Staci, Stasie, Stacie, Stayci, Stacee but never my way, without the "e".

I named my son Collin and was deciding how to spell it. The proper was is Colin, as in Colin Farrel or Colin Firth. But so many people pronounce it COlin, like Colin Powell. My husband and I decided to add in the extra "L"...we'd rather people ,misspell his name then mispronounce his name.

Sylversiddy 9-21-2009 @ 8:53PM

My name is Sylvia. I get Celeste, Cynthia and other names that, to me, don't even sound close. But the nails-on-chalkboard thing about it is when they spell it Slyvia! I used to hate my name, but I have grown to love it.

Heather 9-25-2009 @ 9:50AM

My sister has the Norwegian spelling of Kristine, she is constanly having to correct it from Christine. There is a women at work who is Natalia, people are constanly calling her Natalie. People don't take the time to actually read the name, that is the problem. With all the different spellings now it should be automatic to ask is that with a K or a C, or can you spell that for me.

LR 9-21-2009 @ 8:51PM

Hi,

My given name is Elyse (no not Elsie ( which is my sister in-law's mother's actual name) or something alien like Alise which comes out sounding like A-lice). I am 59 and since high school I have noticed that almost no one spells and/or pronounces my name correctly which has not only been frustrating but mentally and physically exhausting not to mention embarrassing - hence the nickname Lisa which solves the name problem. I even stopped going to an eye doctor once because the receptionist swore up and down I did not have an appointment and that they did not have a record of an Elyse there. By the way, this was to have been my second appointment and after a few upsetting moments trying to explain I did indeed have an appointment and had taken time off from work, I left the doctor's office and never returned. I am positive even to this day the problem was an incorrect spelling of my name on the chart. Something like this could have been very scary and dangerous and could have even led to incorrect treatment for me. My son's name is Steven and it has worked out wonderfully. By the way, my Granddaugther's name is Kaitlyn and I do not see anyone having problems spelling or pronouncing it.

Perhaps there should be a class in school teaching people how to figure out how to properly pronounce peoples' names. Even I know there are different ways of spelling Kaitlyn or Caitlyn which either way is very pretty.

Lisa

Lauren 9-21-2009 @ 8:52PM

I really don't understand how you people act their has been a great injustice served just because people miss-pronounce or spell your name. News flash! There are multiple ways to spell certain names and not all names are that common. It's only easy for you to remember how to prounounce/spell because it's YOUR name, and you live with it every day.

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