I might say something like "Wow I love the name. Are you concerned that people might have a hard time spelling it though?" It brings the main issue to the forefront without being accusatory, and also puts the criticism on the fictional "other people" rather than yourself.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friend is 8 months pregnant and tested me all excited because they picked out a baby name for their little girl. It is a commonish, standard name so she said she wanted ti spice it up a bit. So basically she redid the spelling so a name like Kristin is now chrystyn (not the name but the same idea) it is awful. I should keep my mouth shut though right?

I wish my friends told me! I was not right with all the hormones and chose a terrible spelling for my ds. Now I have to focus to spell his name properly.
Tell her, you are her friend.

Fix his name. He will thank you.

Anonymous wrote:

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

Mahdulynn

Are you sure she wasn't messing with you?? That's terrible!

This. I think she is pulling your leg. I know some people like creative spellings but this is hideous. And for such a beautiful (albeit common) name. Sad.

Anonymous wrote:My friend is 8 months pregnant and tested me all excited because they picked out a baby name for their little girl. It is a commonish, standard name so she said she wanted ti spice it up a bit. So basically she redid the spelling so a name like Kristin is now chrystyn (not the name but the same idea) it is awful. I should keep my mouth shut though right?

I wish my friends told me! I was not right with all the hormones and chose a terrible spelling for my ds. Now I have to focus to spell his name properly.
Tell her, you are her friend.

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

Mahdulynn

Are you sure she wasn't messing with you?? That's terrible!

How close a friend is she? If she's a good friend, open to input, and she knows you have her best interests at heart and you aren't routinely critical/undermining, then maybe mention it when it comes up. Be careful though!

Is it actually pronounced identically to Madeline/Madelyn? If so, then I think the best argument is, the "Mah" part definitely looks like it's supposed to be different from the standard pronunciation. Actually the whole thing does. The name would get mispronounced and/or misspelled 100% of the time.

OMG! "Mahdulynn" Wow. Just wow. As someone with an alternative spelling for a first name, though not that bad, I have to say please stop your friend. This kid will thank you later. Originally my mom wanted to name me Ursala. Her sisters nixed that and they came up with a better name with a couple of spelling changes. I'm grateful to them every day I don't have to write Ursala. Find a gentle way to pull your friend away from the bad name cliff.

May D'line

Geez people. OP's friend isn't stupid or committing child abuse.....the name is definitely spelled unusually though. I'm very much a 'don't judge names' type but maybe you could gently suggest a spelling for the name that's better?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

+ 1. She'll be teased forever about it.

There is no "duh" in this name. It looks like there is, but there isn't.

Anonymous wrote:

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.

+ 1. She'll be teased forever about it.

Anonymous wrote:PPs! There is no "DUH" in the middle of this name!!! Maybe it's just an illusion. OP says it's spelled MAHDULYNN. Look closely!

Terrible spelling nonetheless.

A distinction that everyone who sees her name is going to make, I'm sure.

realistically, if it's a day or two already after OP heard the name, how can she broach it at this point? Has she been radio silent up til now? I think responding instantly with "why the kre8tiv spelling? I love the sound of Madeliene/Madalyn, is there a reason you picked the spelling you did?" (or whatever) would have worked, but responding that way now could be weird.

PPs! There is no "DUH" in the middle of this name!!! Maybe it's just an illusion. OP says it's spelled MAHDULYNN. Look closely!

Terrible spelling nonetheless.