Anonymous wrote:Op here. Pps are getting close and I'm getting close to going to bed so here goes:

Mahdulynn

WTH? I'm normally in the MYOB camp, but I could not stand by and let this child have the word "duh" in her name.

Okay, I was coming here to say you should only tell her it's a bad name if the name is Larla (and then point her here and have her do a search) buuuut....wow, that's bad.

Yeah, I don't know.

I have a name that has an uncommon spelling (like Christine with a K not unusual just uncommon) and my thing with my kids was for them to always find stuff with their name on it in a store - like a key chain or a mug. You could say that? "oh she'll never have something with her name on it?" or compare it to the Madeline books?

If she reads DCUM she will know how you feel

That is awful...find a gentle way to let her know!

Op here. Pps are getting close and I'm getting close to going to bed so here goes:

Mahdulynn

Ma-DUH-linn

Mahdalyne?

Op I know exactly how you feel. A good friend of mine told me she was naming her daughter the name she had loved since she was 15. Unfortunately she also went with the spelling she had picked out at 15 too! She said she didn't want a common spelling so she changed s to z and i to y. The names is a so-so name to begin with - the poor child. She has since had the baby and they call her all kinds of nicknames and introduce her as a nickname that sounds like a rapper name. I call her by her full name and just spell it properly in my head!

Anonymous wrote:you have to tell her. Just be real. Say please don't do that to your child. Keep it simple. Unless of course your friend has a big personality and her DH does too and then the name might just work. But my best friends would tell me. And if I asked, I'd be damn happy to hear it!

Please tell her that for 13 years minimum, a teacher is going to stare at that name and take a deep breath.

you have to tell her. Just be real. Say please don't do that to your child. Keep it simple. Unless of course your friend has a big personality and her DH does too and then the name might just work. But my best friends would tell me. And if I asked, I'd be damn happy to hear it!

I am pregnant with DC2 and was tossing around name ideas and some friends were violently opposed to some of them, which I found a bit surprising. I am going to use a "normal," traditional name with a normal spelling, but it was interesting to hear my friends' opinions and I wasn't offended because I am not wed to any of the potential names. But I know some people are really attached to a certain name so it's nice that you want to tread softly. Perhaps just say something like Madelyn is a nice name, but maybe spell it the traditional way to avoid having to correct spellings a lot?

Anonymous wrote:Are you saying her spelling is Madelyn?

Oops, you clarified earlier. If it's really bad, I'd say how gorgeous the name is so you worry that the spelling is going to confuse people and take away from how beautiful and classic it is. Then shut up unless she wants to hear more.

Are you saying her spelling is Madelyn? That version is pretty standard now (#68)--more common than Madeline (#90). (And Madeleine is further behind, at #278.)

If it's more creative than that, you could get her talking about the spelling, and how she chose it, and possibly suggest that it could be difficult to go through life with a name always being misspelled. Close by telling her that the name is plenty special (gorgeous!) with the more traditional spelling.

And there are many people being creative with this name:
#343 Madilyn
#400 Madelynn
#527 Madilynn
#536 Madalyn
#617 Madalynn

Anonymous wrote:Text her back: What a nice name for your child. But I do prefer the traditional spelling. I'm so happy for you and looking forward to meeting the baby.

Yeah, this. I mean there is nothing wrong with telling a good friend the traditional spelling is really ok and the name is beautiful. It sounds like the only reason they are looking to do something different with the spelling is they are worried the name will be to boring.

Op here. It isn't Madelyn. That is the "regular" name (truthfully I just wasn't sure how it is usually spelled so just wrote that). The way my friend is spelling it is much closer to what pps are guessing

Madelyn is really not that bad. Not something I'd choose, but it could be way worse.

I commented on someone's potential name once. The mom had been planning on Ariana but then told me "we're thinking of changing the y to an i". I said "so it would be like the word Aryan with an a on the end?" She said "you know, I've asked like 20 people and they've all said "Y" is fun use that! I'm really glad I asked you because now I'll never be able to unsee it". She actually settled on Adrianna, which I think is lovely.

But unless the name is something with a huge unintended consequence like Aryan -- a then I'd keep my mouth shut and say something like "what a lovely sound".