# Help me spell my daughter's name! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 27, 2003, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-spell-my-daughters-name/151316 "2003-01-27T19:46:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Morgainelf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Morgainelf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgainelf)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-spell-my-daughters-name/151316/21 "2003-01-27T21:21:40Z")
Elvis Costello spelled it Alison, if that holds any weight with you. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-spell-my-daughters-name/151316/22 "2003-01-27T21:22:48Z")
Always, always, always go for the SIMPLEST spelling. “Allison” or “Alison” would both suffice. Extra Ys are a terrible, terrible idea. Your daughter’s name will SOUND just as pretty no matter how it is spelled, and how it sounds is really what counts. There’s simply no reason whatsoever to complicate the spelling. You’ve chosen a very pretty girls’ name, and it’s just as pretty whether you use an I or a Y. So why would you give your daughter the headache of having to spell the name for people 1,000,000 times over? ---
**Author:** ![Hedda\_Rosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hedda_rosa/32/1204_2.png) [@Hedda\_Rosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hedda_Rosa)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-spell-my-daughters-name/151316/23 "2003-01-27T21:26:09Z")
Chiming in to agree with Alison or Allison. Go for the most straightforward spelling. Twiddle ---
**Author:** ![mske](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ccd318/32.png) [@mske](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mske)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-spell-my-daughters-name/151316/24 "2003-01-27T21:34:42Z")
Thank you all for your suggestions! I can’t believe how tough of a decision this has become! “Allison” Paige Skerrett - Coming soon… 🙂 (Watch it be a boy… we couldn’t decide on a boy’s name) ---
**Author:** ![burundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@burundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burundi)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-spell-my-daughters-name/151316/25 "2003-01-27T21:38:04Z")
I like Alison best. Ys in place of Is always seem a bit trendy to me. ---
**Author:** ![barking\_frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/96bed5/32.png) [@barking\_frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barking_frog)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-spell-my-daughters-name/151316/26 "2003-01-27T21:41:02Z")
Alison. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-spell-my-daughters-name/151316/27 "2003-01-27T21:46:11Z")
“I’m highly against spellings of names that would require my child to have to correct people for the rest of their lives.” I couldn’t possibly agree more. Well put. ---
**Author:** ![samarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@samarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samarm)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-spell-my-daughters-name/151316/28 "2003-01-27T21:49:57Z")
Nooooo… “Alison” trust me is much better. 🙂 This is the standard spelling, isn’t it? If you vary from the standard then people will forever by writing it incorrectly. ---
**Author:** ![samarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@samarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samarm)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-spell-my-daughters-name/151316/29 "2003-01-27T21:52:55Z")
**Fretful** said: > [@](#): > > Allison seems to be the standard, default spelling, so I think you should go with it You said: > [@](#): > > “Allison” Paige Skerrett - Coming soon… Nooooo…! “Alison” trust me is much better. 🙂 This is the standard spelling, isn’t it? If you vary from the standard then people will forever by writing it incorrectly. Congrats by the way. Wish you all the best. ---
**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 27, 2003, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-spell-my-daughters-name/151316/30 "2003-01-27T21:54:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mske \* > \*\*(Watch it be a boy… we couldn’t decide on a boy’s name) \*\* Well, then my original post stands: Al. ---
**Author:** ![mske](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ccd318/32.png) [@mske](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mske)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-spell-my-daughters-name/151316/31 "2003-01-27T21:56:22Z")
Now I’m torn. So much support for “Alison”… ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-spell-my-daughters-name/151316/32 "2003-01-27T22:03:02Z")
> [@](#): > > Nooooo…! “Alison” trust me is much better. > > This is the standard spelling, isn’t it? Hmm, I’ve known a lot of Allisons and very few Alisons. Perhaps there are some generational and regional shifts in the preferred spelling. Of course, if you’re looking forward to having a LOT of sons-in-law, you should certainly go with “Alisoun.” ---
**Author:** ![banks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/banks)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-spell-my-daughters-name/151316/33 "2003-01-27T22:16:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mske \* > \*\*(Watch it be a boy… we couldn’t decide on a boy’s name) \*\* Actually, my great grandfather and great uncle’s names were Allison. So you could still use it. If you wanted to subject the poor kid to having a “girl’s name.” ---
**Author:** ![Grasshopper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f19dbf/32.png) [@Grasshopper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grasshopper)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-spell-my-daughters-name/151316/34 "2003-01-27T22:22:56Z")
Coming from an Ashleigh, go for Allison (or Alison, whichever is more popular, which I thought was Allison). I never had anything personalized growing up. I get a lot of crappy comments on my name (your name is spelled HOW? That is the strangest spelling. You have such a weird name. Blah blah blah). If I ever have to wear a name tag, I print my name as Ashley so that I don’t have to deal with the comments. ---
**Author:** ![Broodha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@Broodha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broodha)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-spell-my-daughters-name/151316/35 "2003-01-27T22:45:56Z")
So she shines sweetly: Allisun ---
**Author:** ![aaaaaarrgg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@aaaaaarrgg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aaaaaarrgg)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-spell-my-daughters-name/151316/36 "2003-01-27T23:04:00Z")
i vote for alison. because that is one of my many aliases. …although if you want something a little more modern, you could try al1s0n. ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-spell-my-daughters-name/151316/37 "2003-01-27T23:14:53Z")
Alison (i’ll always pronounce Allison like AWL-i-sun in my head, sorry) ---
**Author:** ![Cosmopolitan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/94ad74/32.png) [@Cosmopolitan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cosmopolitan)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-spell-my-daughters-name/151316/38 "2003-01-27T23:23:05Z")
I’m in the “Allison”/“Alison” camp. This advice comes from a _Kristin_ - not a “Kristen”, “Kristyn”, or “Christen”. Not to mention that folks often get my name completely wrong (Kristine/Kristina/Kristian). 🙂 Here’s my $0.02: When the class roll is called, “Allyson” sounds the same as “Allison”/“Alison” if pronounced correctly (sometimes a problem with an unusual spellings). The only difference, IMHO, between “Allison” & “Allyson” is that the latter is more likely to be misspelled/possibly mispronounced. ---
**Author:** ![Serendipity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Serendipity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serendipity)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2003, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-spell-my-daughters-name/151316/39 "2003-01-28T00:37:35Z")
I’m for Allison, but definitely not Alison. The double-L gives the name more substance, I think. ---
**Author:** ![corvidae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@corvidae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corvidae)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2003, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-spell-my-daughters-name/151316/40 "2003-01-28T01:10:07Z")
Go for the traditional spelling. I wish I’d done that with my daughter’s name - I can’t tell you how much time I’ve wasted spelling it for people and the poor kid is only 19 months old. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-spell-my-daughters-name/151316.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-spell-my-daughters-name/151316.md?page=3)