# Are "mispelled" names in X on purpose or due to poor education? And if the latter why no correction? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 20, 2013, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mispelled-names-in-x-on-purpose-or-due-to-poor-education-and-if-the-latter-why-no-correction/647778 "2013-01-20T04:08:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Simple\_Linctus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Simple\_Linctus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simple_Linctus)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2013, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mispelled-names-in-x-on-purpose-or-due-to-poor-education-and-if-the-latter-why-no-correction/647778/1 "2013-01-20T04:08:39Z")
Firstly, “in X” = “in black Americans”. I put it like that because (99% of reason) I can put no other characters in the titles. And (1% of reason) to attract interested people who may know stuff to my thread. So the title of this thread should be, if technical thingy ma jiggys made it possible: ‘Are “mispelled” names in black Americans on purpose or due to poor education? And if the latter why no correction?’ I’ve seen loads of examples of this from here over the pond, but the news story that made me ask this question is [this one](http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4753600/woman-who-measures-over-8ft-around-middle.html), obviously intended towards light relief, of a lady who has a very large bottom. 8 foot wide it is. That’s all you need to know about the entire story really, and if you click on that link you’re a disgusting voyeur 😛 My interest is more about two of the kids. Those two that are named “Justyce” and “Destynee”. I go back to my question - are these mispellings on purpose? If so WHY? Does the mother appreciate how silly she looks? If not - WHY HAS NO ONE CORRECTED HER or WHY HAS SHE NOT TAKEN THE CORRECTIONS ON BOARD? Again, I am not really looking for answers in this case, so much as general ones. And by the way while this OP may seem critical, it isn’t, or it isn’t as critical as it could be anyway. If black Americans want to start spelling their names weirdly that is their business as far as I am concerned. I do feel it’s a foolish choice for their kids’ future, but what do I know? My understanding is that most American babies are non white now. It would be insane for anyone to extrapolate from now just what any of these babies will be facing in a job marketin 20 years time. I just want to know what’s going on. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2013, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mispelled-names-in-x-on-purpose-or-due-to-poor-education-and-if-the-latter-why-no-correction/647778/2 "2013-01-20T04:16:42Z")
Obviously, she likes the way it looks. Does the name Sydney bother you? Or Lynda? ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2013, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mispelled-names-in-x-on-purpose-or-due-to-poor-education-and-if-the-latter-why-no-correction/647778/3 "2013-01-20T04:31:27Z")
There isn’t a factual answer to this post, but yes these ‘misspellings’ are on purpose. Either the parents who named them are trying to be cute, or set their child apart with a unique name, or something else. Adding a Y to the normal spelling seems to be fairly common. I work with young adults and 18 to 20 years ago Austin must have been very popular as a boy’s name, I have several where I work. Austyn is fairly common. I also have a Jaykub for Jacob. And it doesn’t seem to be a racial or cultural thing. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2013, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mispelled-names-in-x-on-purpose-or-due-to-poor-education-and-if-the-latter-why-no-correction/647778/4 "2013-01-20T04:36:45Z")
There also exists the possibility that she spelled them that way because that’s how she thought it was spelled. Having given the kid the name, she feels that’s the kid’s name and she’s not going to change it. People telling her she’s spelled her kids’ names wrong are not likely to receive a warm welcome. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2013, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mispelled-names-in-x-on-purpose-or-due-to-poor-education-and-if-the-latter-why-no-correction/647778/5 "2013-01-20T05:06:07Z")
Since the OP has expressed a lot of opinions on the matter, this is better suited to IMHO than GQ. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Telperion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telperion/32/509_2.png) [@Telperion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperion)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2013, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mispelled-names-in-x-on-purpose-or-due-to-poor-education-and-if-the-latter-why-no-correction/647778/6 "2013-01-20T05:15:58Z")
Some of the whitest people on Earth spell their surname Erixon to stand out from all the Ericsons of the world ([Example](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Erixon)), so I have to agree that it’s not a cultural thing. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2013, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mispelled-names-in-x-on-purpose-or-due-to-poor-education-and-if-the-latter-why-no-correction/647778/7 "2013-01-20T05:19:40Z")
> [@Simple\_Linctus](#): > > Firstly, “in X” = “in black Americans”. > So the title of this thread should be, if technical thingy ma jiggys made it possible: > > ‘Are “mispelled” names in black Americans on purpose or due to poor education? And if the latter why no correction?’… And the second version couldn’t have been your thread title for what reason, again? When someone names a child, the name is inherently spelled correctly. That’s the spelling the parent’s chose. I sure don’t understand your question. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2013, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mispelled-names-in-x-on-purpose-or-due-to-poor-education-and-if-the-latter-why-no-correction/647778/8 "2013-01-20T05:23:01Z")
White Americans do it too. I know a white woman named “Jynipher”. White American girls named with creatively spelled variants of what I guess was originally “Michaela” (McKayla/Mykayla/Mikahla, etc.) are also common enough to be something of a cliche. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2013, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mispelled-names-in-x-on-purpose-or-due-to-poor-education-and-if-the-latter-why-no-correction/647778/9 "2013-01-20T05:23:16Z")
Go watch the movie _L.A. Story_, the subject of weird spellings is addressed in that, and there seems to be no particular racial bias. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2013, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mispelled-names-in-x-on-purpose-or-due-to-poor-education-and-if-the-latter-why-no-correction/647778/10 "2013-01-20T06:10:51Z")
“Justyce” and “Destynee” and not misspelled, they are creative or variant spellings. They are meant to be pretty or interesting, as mentioned, but as more people (of all races) do it, it loses its uniqueness. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2013, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mispelled-names-in-x-on-purpose-or-due-to-poor-education-and-if-the-latter-why-no-correction/647778/11 "2013-01-20T06:25:06Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > White Americans do it too. I know a white woman named “Jynipher”. White American girls named with creatively spelled variants of what I guess was originally “Michaela” (McKayla/Mykayla/Mikahla, etc.) are also common enough to be something of a cliche. Both the Austyn and Jaykub I mentioned in my post #3 are young white dudes. ---
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2013, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mispelled-names-in-x-on-purpose-or-due-to-poor-education-and-if-the-latter-why-no-correction/647778/12 "2013-01-20T06:28:45Z")
I won’t pretend that there aren’t a few people who give their kids names with nonstandard spellings because they don’t know the standard spelling (Isiah instead of Isaiah always strikes me as this type because how does that even say Isaiah? but I’m sure it’s on purpose sometimes), but usually they do it because they like it that way. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2013, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mispelled-names-in-x-on-purpose-or-due-to-poor-education-and-if-the-latter-why-no-correction/647778/13 "2013-01-20T06:39:33Z")
I see it far more in white families than in black or other minorities. And yes, Alyxzandra and Alysinn (both girls my son’s age) were spelled that way on purpose to be “unique”. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2013, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mispelled-names-in-x-on-purpose-or-due-to-poor-education-and-if-the-latter-why-no-correction/647778/14 "2013-01-20T06:42:38Z")
“Non-Standard” spelling isn’t what the op mentioned. He asked about misspelled names. And he was real afraid to come out and say that it was the Black folks misspelling all those names. At least in the thread title he was, in the thread itself, he had no such fear. This ain’t the pit, so I’ll leave it. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2013, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mispelled-names-in-x-on-purpose-or-due-to-poor-education-and-if-the-latter-why-no-correction/647778/15 "2013-01-20T06:44:58Z")
> [@Simple\_Linctus](#): > > 'Are “mispelled” names … Nitpick: That’s spelled “misspelled.” Well, someone had to do it. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2013, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mispelled-names-in-x-on-purpose-or-due-to-poor-education-and-if-the-latter-why-no-correction/647778/16 "2013-01-20T06:55:42Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > White Americans do it too. I know a white woman named “Jynipher”. White American girls named with creatively spelled variants of what I guess was originally “Michaela” (McKayla/Mykayla/Mikahla, etc.) are also common enough to be something of a cliche. My cousin was originally going to spell her daughter’s name Michaela, but was afraid people would pronounce it “Michael-Ah”. So she ended up going with Makayla. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2013, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mispelled-names-in-x-on-purpose-or-due-to-poor-education-and-if-the-latter-why-no-correction/647778/17 "2013-01-20T06:58:04Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > My cousin was originally going to spell her daughter’s name Michaela, but was afraid people would pronounce it “Michael-Ah”. So she ended up going with Makayla. That was a good choice. I’m not sure I would have guessed that Michaela was supposed to be pronounced Makayla. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2013, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mispelled-names-in-x-on-purpose-or-due-to-poor-education-and-if-the-latter-why-no-correction/647778/18 "2013-01-20T07:24:47Z")
This isn’t limited to blacks or the poorly educated either. One of my fellow church members is named Emilee for example and her parents are fairly well educated and well off. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2013, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mispelled-names-in-x-on-purpose-or-due-to-poor-education-and-if-the-latter-why-no-correction/647778/19 "2013-01-20T08:17:59Z")
Also, sometimes what looks like a “weird” spelling turns out to be in a different language. To wit, Spaniard [Letizia Ortiz](http://www.casareal.es/EN/FamiliaReal/Princesa/Paginas/subhome_princesa.aspx), whose firstname uses the Italian spelling (link mixes English and Spanish, apparently the translators’ budget is insufficient). ---
**Author:** ![Freakenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b782af/32.png) [@Freakenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freakenstein)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2013, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mispelled-names-in-x-on-purpose-or-due-to-poor-education-and-if-the-latter-why-no-correction/647778/20 "2013-01-20T11:54:51Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > Adding a Y to the normal spelling seems to be fairly common It goes a long way too. For example I’ve seen paintings with a written name Queen Mari, now she’s known as ( The Bloody ) Mary. It happens everywhere and both ways. I’ve seen a Spanish painting where the text was ‘Reyna Ysabella’ I think it’s a generational thing. Last fifteen or so years I have seen disturbingly many ‘youthful’ variants of Brittany. Wait 30 years and Britney ( &c ) is a name of old women and somebody is complaining ‘why does that baby have such a stupid misspelled name like Bretagne?’ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mispelled-names-in-x-on-purpose-or-due-to-poor-education-and-if-the-latter-why-no-correction/647778.md?page=2)