# WKRP question **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [January 31, 2012, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-question/611260 "2012-01-31T02:43:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-question/611260/62 "2021-06-22T20:21:20Z")
I just saw the image. It looks like it worked fine. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-question/611260/63 "2021-06-22T20:21:25Z")
And of course it worked this time. Never has before. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-question/611260/64 "2021-06-22T20:22:13Z")
Clearly I fixed something. Now if I only knew what? ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-question/611260/65 "2021-06-22T20:22:13Z")
> [@Greer54](#): > > Hers is spelled incorrectly as “Kelly” & that is the masculine spelling. Kelli or Kellie are the correct feminine spellings. There is absolutely no firm convention on this to the point where you can say it is “incorrect”, at least in the United States. In certainly started historically as a masculine name, but the co-opting of male names as female has been happening for a very long time. One year in college I hung out regularly with four different people named Kelly in three different classes. Three were female, one was male. Which seems to align with wikipedia and my age - During the peak of the name’s popularity in the United States during the 1960s to 1970s, feminine usage was about four to five times as frequent as masculine usage. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-question/611260/66 "2021-06-22T20:27:51Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > One year in college I hung out regularly with four different people named Kelly in three different classes. Three were female, one was male. There was a female Kelly a couple of years behind me in high school. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-question/611260/67 "2021-06-22T20:30:06Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > During the peak of the name’s popularity in the United States during the 1960s to 1970s, feminine usage was about four to five times as frequent as masculine usage. That fits my experience. (born early 60s). I knew a ton of Kellys in school, and all were girls. I think at the time that I thought Kelly as a boy’s name was weird, wrong, whatever. Can someone explain the Robyn/Robin usage? I’ve heard recently that Robyn was the girl’s spelling and Robin was the boy’s, but the people I knew in school were just the opposite. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-question/611260/68 "2021-06-22T20:45:02Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Can someone explain the Robyn/Robin usage? I’ve heard recently that Robyn was the girl’s spelling and Robin was the boy’s, but the people I knew in school were just the opposite. Much the same – no consistent usage. I wouldn’t be surprised if most “Robyns” were females, but there are certainly examples of men with that name (such as English singer [Robyn Hitchcock](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robyn_Hitchcock)), and, I’ve known plenty of both men and women named “Robin.” Ultimately, I think both versions wind up being gender-neutral. ---
**Author:** ![Greer54](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/77aa72/32.png) [@Greer54](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greer54)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2021, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-question/611260/69 "2021-06-23T12:20:07Z")
I find it hilarious that someone NOT named Kelly is trying to tell me what is the truth about my own name…hilarious. FACT 1 - Kelly is the masculine spelling of the name FACT 2 - Kelli and Kellie are the feminine spellings of the name. FACT 3 - There are lots of ignorant people, a.k.a., parents, in the world who are ignorant of fact 1 and fact 2. Just as Danny is the masculine spelling and Dani or Danni are the feminine spellings. I could cite numerous other examples but I’ll let you get back to proving your own ignorance. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2021, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-question/611260/71 "2021-06-23T12:23:15Z")
**Modnote** : No personal insults of other posters are allowed outside the BBQ Pit. The above post [is not within our rules](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/registration-agreement-rules-and-faq/823562). Please do not do this again. _This is just a guidance, not a warning._ ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2021, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-question/611260/73 "2021-06-23T12:35:35Z")
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2021, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-question/611260/74 "2021-06-23T12:42:19Z")
> [@Greer54](#): > > FACT 1 - Kelly is the masculine spelling of the name FACT 2 - Kelli and Kellie are the feminine spellings of the name. What, beyond your personal assertations, makes these “facts”? Kelly Clarkson, Kelly Preston, Kelly Osborne, Kelly Dodd etc. beg to differ with your “facts”. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2021, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-question/611260/75 "2021-06-23T12:51:59Z")
First hit from Googling: The **name Kelly** is primarily a gender-neutral **name** of Irish origin that means Bright-headed. From Wiki: > **Kelly** [/ˈkɛli/](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/English) is an English-language given name, derived from the [Irish surname Kelly](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelly_(surname)). Kelly is historically a male-only name, but has predominantly been used as a female given name since the 1960s, though with a significant minority usage as a masculine name, especially within Celtic families.[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelly_(given_name)#cite_note-1) During the peak of the name’s popularity in the United States during the 1960s to 1970s, feminine usage was about four to five times as frequent as masculine usage. It’s notable in England most likely from the Kelly’s being much engaged in the region defending against petty invaders. So over the years Kelly went from being a Surname to a Male’s name to a Genderless name to mainly a Woman’s name. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2021, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-question/611260/76 "2021-06-23T13:00:30Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > There is absolutely no firm convention on this to the point where you can say it is “incorrect”, at least in the United States. Female Kellys from all over the world: [Kelly (given name) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelly_(given_name)#Feminine_name) ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_McQwark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@Steve\_McQwark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_McQwark)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2021, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-question/611260/77 "2021-06-23T13:47:06Z")
I know the comment was from nine years ago, but when I saw TBG’s question about Kate or Juliet, I assumed it was a Shakespeare reference added as a smart-ass comment. Imagine my surprise to see they were actually characters in a tv show. Oh well, for the record, I’m on Team Beatrice. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2021, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-question/611260/78 "2021-06-23T17:08:13Z")
Anything other than “Kelly” is incorrectly spelled. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2021, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-question/611260/79 "2021-06-23T17:14:34Z")
We are not France! We do not have a spelling police. 🙂 If someone wants to be Kelli, or Kelley, or Keleighy, or Kaellough, and pronounciate it “kell lee”, well, that’s fine. And we can laugh at them. But it is still spelled correctly. Anyone that, in English (Queen’s to American) that can get “Shivon” out of Siobhan has no right to complain about name pronounciations. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2021, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-question/611260/80 "2021-06-23T18:15:36Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Anyone that, in English (Queen’s to American) that can get “Shivon” out of Siobhan has no right to complain about name pronounciations. Well, that’s an Irish name, so that’s a whole different issue. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2021, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-question/611260/81 "2021-06-23T20:26:02Z")
I said correctly, not legally. Just like opinions, everyone is entitled to their own spelling, even if it’s wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2021, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-question/611260/82 "2021-06-23T20:43:12Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > I said correctly, not legally. But you haven’t backed that up with anything but assertion. In most cases, when names go from male to female/unisex the spelling doesn’t change. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2021, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-question/611260/83 "2021-06-23T23:45:11Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > Anything other than “Kelly” is incorrectly spelled According to who…besides yourself? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-question/611260.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wkrp-question/611260.md?page=5)