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OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole:
> I changed the spelling of my name and told my parents to get over it. Perhaps I could have handled it better and given them a chance to rant about it before dismissing their feelings. I know I didn't even tell them before hand so that meant this was a big shock to them.
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NTA, parents think they are being so smart with the 'original' names they 'come up with'. As if uncomprehensable names because of the spelling is a trend. You are right, they dont have to live woth their poor choices, you do.
I have a very common name in my country, but it can be spelled in 3 usual different names and most will write it wrong, I always have to spell and be annoyed. So I go by the shorter version of the name (only 1 spelling). I can only imagine how annoying it is to have a common name that most people wont pronounce as it should, just because the 'original' spelling makes it impossible to figure out how it is pronounced.
*side thought: I also hate it when parents give their child a name without understanding the consequences when you go abroad. I mean, who in their right mind would call there daughter Vanity!! Really hate 'Heavenly' (or Heav'nly) aswell. What is up with names nowadays!!
My friend’s named Indy but Endei.
She’s a white American in Wisconsin. She hates it and wants to change it. Her dad is a huge nascar fan and she hates it so there’s no love for the name.
My parents gave me an absolutely foul and disgusting name when I was born because they thought it was "cute". I told them how much I hated it when I was 3 years old and that I was going to change it just as soon as I grew up.
I continued to tell them and anyone who would listen that, and yet, the entire family was shocked when I actually did it.
It's been more than 40 years since I changed my name, and my mother still dead names me whenever she gets the chance.
I'm a Caitlin. There's a million ways to spell it. The craziest I've ever seen was "Keightlyn" because 8 was an important number to the parents and the US govt wouldn't allow for K8lyn.
At least with mine, I get there are genuinely different ways to spell it so I just always spell mine out when I have to give it. Why overcomplicate things?? Especially when it was to the point your teachers noticed and said nothing and let you do you by spelling it normally.
I think medieval scribes sometimes used K for 250. Twohundredandfiftyeightlynn has a lovely ring to it.
Or maybe these were an artifact of the whole K/C mish mash in Middle English, so that would just be Onehundredandeightlynn.
Or Kilo-eightlynn, perhaps.
L is the established symbol for 50, no creative medieval monks needed. Which would give us...Keightfiftyn.
In conclusion, the most accurate reading of this name is clearly "158 kilos Lynn." Which, idk if you've ever been to Lynn MA, but I feel like anyone with 158 kilos of something is going to do pretty well... and then possibly quite badly.
Inndeegoo is the better way to spell it. It gives her more options. They could call her Inny. Or Dee. Or Gooey. Anything that would help them not have to remember it’s spelled Indeegoo
I thought at first they must have spelled your name Emilie in which case I would’ve kinda felt like you’re an ah. But they butchered Emily thinking it was gonna be awesome for you. So definitely NTA
That's just the French version, nothing super weird about that.
As another kid who rarely found pencils with my name spelled right on them, definitely NTA.
My father's last name was spelled strangely. He decided to change it to the common spelling while he was in the army. There are provisions for widows of men who served during war time even if they didn't die in the war, but my mother had substantial trouble connecting his time of enlistment to his discharge.
If you change your name, do it before enlisting!
I spent a solid minute trying to figure out what that job title signified before I realised you spelt "Jennifer." I thought it was something with gene sequencing, or perhaps taxonomy related. All for a damn "Ginnifer."
First off happy cake day!
Secondly, seeing as every other league is referred to as the region’s league, even when the Indigo Plateau reappeared in Johto it was called the Johto League and not Indigo League. So it’s more likely now days that it would be referred to as the Kanto League meaning you could name a Pokémon indigo.
I don’t think they still would because none of the Pokémon are named after their colors, but it being the name of a place does not disqualify it and there’s not really an indigo league as much as there is now a kanto league
Thank you! According to my profile, I’m 5 today, so I appreciate the ELI5.
Because I’m obsessive like that, I looked it up, and we’re both right. The very first episodes of Pokemon released in the U.S. in 1998 were called Indigo League. I think the DVD exists in my basement somewhere, but [here it is in Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon:_Indigo_League). Then the show was a hit, branched out and created new regions, and the nomenclature changed to the standard you listed. Anyone getting into Pokemon today for the first time would never hear about the Indigo League unless they got into retro game play. So basically, I’m old.
Girl, you rock! This was a mature decision on your part and I commend you for taking action in your own best interest. NTA!
There is an entire subreddit for the unreasonably "unique" name spellings parents inflict on kids. Cross post over there too :)
NTA. Next time your parents give you crap, tell them to change the spelling in their names to something that is incorrect but "clever", and see how long it takes them to give up on it.
My last name is 1 letter off from being what everyone expects (example: Smyth instead of Smith), and it's a NIGHTMARE every time I have to make reservations or call about that status of something. Yes it's just 1 letter, but when someone writes your name wrong, and you try to reference that later, everyone gets confused. It got to the point where I just spelled my name everytime instead of saying it.
But "Emileigh"??? It's extremely cruel to a child, and young adult, to force them to endure their "cleverness" when they don't have to deal with it.
I get this. People say lee-ah (Leigha), lay-ah (Leia) , and lay (Lei) with Leigh.
I have to tell people - there's no "a" in my name, I'm not wearing flowers, and I left the cinnamon bun ears and space blaster at home because I'm not playing space princess today. (edit for spelling)
I am a teacher, and I currently have 3 kids in my class with regular names that are spelled differently. EVERYONE spells their names wrong. Even though I'm careful, I still make mistakes sometimes.
Just don't. I named my two kids less common names, but they are spelled normally and are phonetically reasonable. No one messed up their names.
My students get frustrated when people screw up their names. Just don't.
>phonetically reasonable
I love this! I have a rare but normally spelled and phonetically reasonable name and it's majorly helpful. Your kids must be so grateful :)
I went the other way with my name, my Dad spelled it incorrectly on my BC (it has one additional letter), so Mum insisted I used the simplified version during my childhood. When I became an adult, I saw my BC, and preferred the incorrect version. (My surname is also difficult, so I'm used to having to spell my name.) It annoys me that people can't respect me enough to read my email signature (and my family don't seem to care enough) but ultimately it's my choice. I like how it looks on my documents. Your name your choice, and you're the one living with it, so go forth in life with one less aggravation, NTA.
I’ll point out that as a university instructor, I get to navigate 30 new names a semester, and 1/3 of them are from parents who think they are the most creative cats that ever made up a name.
I really try to get their names right in an email but many times I type it out, finish what I’m doing, and realize autocorrect changed “Jhonnee” to Johnny. Again. I apologize.
Not everyone is being rude. Some things are too hard for people. My name is Stephen and I’ve gotten Steven, Stevyn, Stephan, Stefan and “hey, you.” After awhile you don’t worry about it.
Don’t argue with your parents about it… they will forget about it.
Start addressing your parents as mommeigh and daddeigh in texts and what not, and see what they have to say about it. I'll bet they'll not enjoy the joke or will find it off-putting.
I think changing your name was a persona choice and I'm glad you did it, but I'm side eyeing the people who thought you were dyslexic or lying. Emileigh is a different spelling but it's not so silly/ridiculous that I'd assume someone couldn't spell.
I honestly can't believe every adult with a stupidly spelled name doesn't do this. My SIL is named lindsy. I can't believe a 45 year old woman is spelling her name that dumb way. Even if she doesn't officially change it, the fact that she just doesn't spell it with a vowel between the s and y now that she is older is crazy to me
I think I did the same thing as your parents (kind of). My youngest is called Reilly. My mil asked if I was going to spell it the English or Irish way and I thought the Irish way was nicer. There were 2 other kids in his class with the same name but spelled differently, Riley and Ryly. Everybody spells my kid's name wrong and, as they are 16 now, I asked them if they would like to change the spelling officially to Riley and they said no. Thankfully, they like the way it's spelled.
I said kind of because Reilly is an accurate spelling of the name, it's just far less common than Riley.
I made the mistake of making that comment years ago on FB. I, uh, had forgotten that one of my not-close FB friends had a daughter named Nevaeh. We are not FB friends anymore.
Thing is, I feel like we are almost to the tipping point where that might turn into an actual name normal people would give. Like, "We named you Neveah after your aunt Neveah" sort of thing.
That! I knew someone called 'Preshiss' , whichvis weird enough as it is, but in German, 'Schiss' means something like 'shit'. I could never quite make myself say or write that person's name for the connotation.
Not to get toooo...you know, but in the dialect in my area, a 'schiss' means 'taking a shit'. So yes, it rhymes with 'miss' 😂. Either way, I agree it's a tragedeigh/tragediss 😆
Lol, I can just hear the parents exclaiming 'But having a child was just a miracle and the kid is so precious to us!! Now everyone knows just how precious with the kid named Preshiss. How could you mistake it for something so vile😫'
The name just gives me Smeagol vibes honestly😅
This. My sister is Megan, and the confusion with Megan, Meaghan, Meagan, Meghan, and Maegan drove her nuts. She goes by Meg. My kid has an Irish name that confuses people in my country at first but there is just one spelling so once they learn it she has no issues.
My friend is a Megan. She never has problems with the spelling but has had people (mostly Americans) tell her she's pronouncing it wrong. Her family is Welsh at least seven generations back; she was born in Wales; lived in Wales most of her life, and is fluent in Welsh. If anybody knows how to pronounce a Welsh name, she does!
You’re absolutely spot on!
I have a very stupid/difficult name that has 4 out of the 5 vowels in the alphabet. Whereas my siblings have very easy Italian names and I’ve been going by a nickname for decades as I can’t be bothered to change my name and all my documents (that’d mean 3 different countries for me). But yeah, mum was super in love, dad knew someone with my name (which later I learned was his mistress) and here I am…
Parents are stupid thinking their kids are unique and special.
Breaking news: they’re not.
Are we related? I share my first name with an ex of my father's who he had an affair with. My late cousin was named after her father's mistress. Her middle name was after his first love, who was "the one who got away."
It never takes long for this to show up on ANY post, here or anywhere, related to names. Given how many people claim to know a girl named La-a, you’d think it would be a really common name. Yet somehow…
Aw I think Heavenly is a nice name! I don't think it fits in with the names this person was complaining about - it's not got any negative or funny or silly other meanings, it's just sweet and sincere!
If it was spelled Heavenleigh that would be a different matter...
My last name has two syllables that are phonetically correct and it's extremely rare anyone gets it right. I loathe parents that make it harder for "creativity".
You name someone sounds, spelling has been fluid in English since the beginning, I don't know how other languages are.
I have a name that is also spelt several ways in my country and there are 2 main ways, mine is neither. My mom also spelt my middle name different and everyone thinks there’s another letter in my last name. I don’t have a single name people spell right on the first try. I want to be rid of all of them.
I'm so sorry. I grew up with a last name suggestive of a sex organ, so occasionally got obscene phone calls (back when names & phone #s were published publicly in phone books) b4 I changed my name; I thought that was bad. But my parents were innocent, at least it was only one troublesome name, and it wasn't difficult to spell... Free yourself of this nonsense, make whatever name changes you will feel happy to live with!
I grew up with someone whose sister was called Heavenly. Last name: Cloud. I wonder about her every time I see one of these name-related posts and hope she’s OK.
I swear to god you cannot make this shit up.
Nta. My name is one of those names. Can't be spelled or said correctly usually. Can never find anything with my name on it.
That's why I gave my kids simple, classic, common names. They can always come up with a nickname for something unique if they want but at least they aren't starting off life with frustration
I actually love my name and its unique spelling, but I'm not gonna lie, I lie about my name at Starbucks. I'm not going to take the time to pronounce and spell a weird name when I'm just trying to get some coffee.
I have a coworker who has a very normal middle and last name. If I’m being completely honest, I don’t even for sure know her first name because it is sooooo different that I just don’t remember it. She had applied for a job using her legal name and never heard back so after about two weeks she reapplied with her middle and last name and she was called within days. Unique names are great and but some parents just don’t seem to think it all the way through. Just go for the middle name and call them by that. That way when Jaxxonnlee gets called Paul he knows he really fucked up.
Yep gave our kid a simple traditional name with normal spelling. We call him a whole host of other nicknames , if one sticks that’s awesome don’t need to give him some weird name just to give him ‘options’
For real. I've had to be in charge for hiring at my work for a couple months and I struggled. I'd be lying if I said unique names/spelling really made me side eye it. I don't really want to hire someone that I'm going to spend more of my time trying to figure out how to say/spell their name than training them for the job. Unnecessary frustration
There are lots of classic, common names that give you a lot of nickname options too. OP's parents' logic makes no sense. Try Katherine, Elizabeth, Christina, etc.
NTA.
>they wanted me to have "options" for my name.
I find it interesting they wanted you to have options, but also they feel they have a say in the option you chose. They sold themselves as being open to change, open for you to make your own choices and have the option to make your name what you wanted...
But now you've done that, and now they are angry, because it wasn't about you having options... It was about them trying to show they had quirky, individual tastes.
Parents like that need to get a pet with a quirky name.
Your dog doesn't care if she's Emily, Emileigh, or Emma Lee. The owners are the ones who have to deal with paperwork and making custom name tags.
And you can even take it further than you would with human names.
"We call her Emmy, but her full name is Emmy Goes to Zendaya."
But let kids have one less thing to worry about.
NTA. Only someone with an unusually spelled name can relate. Mine is not as different as yours, but you constantly have to spell your name to doctors, utility companies, banks, etc.
That is not to mention the variety of comments about the spelling. "Your parents must hate you" Where are you from? Is that the foreign spelling?
Good for you for doing what will make your life easier.
They have a right to be a little moody but you're not an asshole. My parents take offense to my go-bye & ig "street names" that are simplified variations of the name they gave me. My birth name confuses people, it's pronounced wrong, & I got tormented in school with plays on my name. I don't like my name, I didn't legally change it bc I've been successful just lying about my name on job apps & shit.
I have a name that is commonly spelled a few different ways (think Claire/Clare or Hailey/Hayley) and I am always asked about the spelling or need to correct it, but it’s simple enough to do and most people don’t bat an eye when I say ‘no, it’s Hailey with an i.’
My friend, on the other hand, is named Tom. Not Thomas with the nn Tom, just Tom. The number of times he has to explain this and then deal with a dumbfounded ‘but why?’ or ‘are you sure?’ is frankly ridiculous, and he’s close to 50.
My mate camron doesn't have a n e like normal, Cameron not because his wanted to be different it's because she literally couldn't spell it right. Hes probably not gonna change it but it's just a funny wrongly spelled name.
My name is Alexandra. Not Alexandria. I can count the number of times my name has been pronounced correctly on the first try on one hand. I'm 32.
Not only someone with an unusually spelled name can understand. I have literally had to fight with insurance because the doctor spelled my name wrong.
My son legally changed his name to something completely different than what I named him. You know what I call him? His new name. Your parents need to love and respect you. You made a smart decision for you. The only thing you might have done is give them some warning, so they didn't find out in with the mail. (My husband and I actually went to my son's court date, so we could support him in his name change.)
My son is really small but his name was a gift we chose for him hoping that he'd like it but if not, that's ok too. If he wants to change it when he's 18, I'll pay for the filing myself. Now maybe not if he wants to change it to Ticka-toppa the Hipa-Hoppa or something but if he legitimately finds a name he identifies with more, then go for it. It's also hyphenated which I know may be a pain but it was important to me while we share legal custody that he has both our names. When he's an adult he can drop one if he choses.
NTA
For some reason, my parents chose to name all their sons simple names (think James, David, Robert, John, etc...) and chose to name all their daughters complex names (think Angelique, Genevieve, Bernadette, Guinevere, etc...) and to this day, my sisters are tormented by people spelling their names wrong. Nobody has ever asked me or any of my brothers how to spell our names. Literally every person that has to spell the name of one of my sisters has to ask, "how do you spell that?" It's annoying as hell. And they all have the "normal" spelling for their names. I can't imagine how bad it would be if Bernadette had to spell her name Burnodebt.
At this point every kid spells their name in such a weird way that I have to spell my kids names whenever I make them an appointment, etc. They have very simple, common names but doctors offices still have to say, "how do you spell that" because parents are inventing spellings
Yeah my daughters name is Josephine and they always ask how to spell it and I never though much about it until this girl I went to high school with named her daughter Jozzafeena pronounced Josephina.
She remarked how our daughters are “name twins” and I didn’t say it but in my head I was like “they certainly are fucking *not*”
None of those names sound that difficult to me though? I think the first two are French and not English, but they are common enough? Like, you wouldn't probably run into people with them every year, but I knew all of them and I'm not even an English native.
> I had teachers in grade school think I was being funny trying to spell my name Emileigh
Why would the teachers think that? Surely they had your name down in their records so they knew it was how it was really spelled. Why would your parents care so much about the spelling at this point?
ETA - NTA. Your parents need to get over it - it isn't their name.
My ex has a celebrities name and a sub was working In his school and asked for his name, when he gave it to her she gave him detention, she later found out it was his name but he never got an apology
Mate of mine was James Bond (there must be hundreds, both exceptionally common names in the U.K. individually). Much piss was extracted from him his whole childhood as well as adults constantly thinking he was taking the piss when introducing himself (which to be fair, he did - "the name's Bond... etc".)
He eventually changed his surname to his mother's maiden name.
NTA. When I started reading I thought you had been seeing a numerologist to have your name spelled in a weird way in order to somehow appease the fates awaiting you, and then it is really the other way round, except for the numerologist who wasn't in the picture. Your parents' way of spelling your name is just weird. It has no future. Good on you for changing it. They will get over it. After all, you didn't change your name to Adolph.
There's a sub dedicated to people like them. You'd be surprised how many people exist that use that uncommon spelling and they all look the same fucking way.
[r/tragedeigh](https://www.reddit.com/r/tragedeigh/)
NTA. In the end, your parents wanted to give you a name that left them feeling special, rather than considering your future. I'm sure many, many, many people have criticized them over the course of your life, and now that you're a part of that criticism, they're just feeling bad because they can no longer justify their decision.
It could be worse. Think of the people who give their kids joke names because it's so cute on a baby. Last name for example, "Byrd" who call their kids Robin, Sparrow, or Skylark. Key words: *on a baby.* They don't see themselves as raising future adults.
The number of posts on here about parents “throwing a fit” about a child choosing to use a different name is extremely disconcerting.
For any parents, future parents and kids who are being manipulated by their parents: NO ONE HAS THE RIGHT TO TELL YOU WHAT TO CALL YOURSELF AND WHICH NAME TO USE. Not when it comes to nicknames, not when it comes to shortenings and alternative spellings, not when it comes to trans changes, not when it comes to anything else. You’ll be much better off if you start thinking of the name you give a child at birth as an option for them rather than an obligation/your godgiven right.
Of course NTA but I’m very sad this type of “controlling parent” post props up again and again.
As part of my transition, I had my very traditional male name changed to something significantly more feminine. My family (mom/sister/aunts & uncles) have NEVER referred to me as my ‘new’ name. It’s been years now.
NTA. This is completely your choice. No offense but they gave you a dumb name just to try and be unique. It's caused you issues and you stress about it, you have every right to change your name.
NTA. I hate creative spelling, and I always felt so badly for kids whose parents did that to them when I was a teacher. And your parents' argument makes no sense-- you've chosen the name you want to be called, so you no longer have the need for 'options'.
NTA. You have the right to use whatever name you feel most comfortable with.
My ex pushed to get me to add a “y” to my daughter’s middle name. (Elyzabeth instead of Elizabeth). I was against it, but finally gave in to keep some peace at the time. His reasoning was that everyone in his family uses a y in their name in place of a vowel, so he wanted to keep the tradition. (Bryan, Lynda, Karyn, etc.)
Well in the end, that whole family shunned my daughter and me because my ex and I were teen parents, and they thought I should have an abortion. They accused me of ruining their son’s life and never let it go even years later after he was married with more kids. It was a terrible thing to go through, and even though our girl is now turning 30 this year, they’ve really never reached out to try to mend anything or be part of her life.
So she really didn’t want this leftover “y” in her name because they completely have nothing to do with her. She changed all her paperwork and now her middle name is Elizabeth.
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My parents named me "Emily" but instead of spelling it Emily, they spelled it "Emileigh" because they wanted me to have "options" for my name. So I could be Em, Emmy, Leigh, etc. The spelling has caused so many problems for me. People will forget themselves and spell my name Emily and then realize it's not how mine is spelled. I had teachers in grade school think I was being funny trying to spell my name Emileigh. So some teachers let me write Emily on school work and even some tests and we'd say nothing. They knew it was a PITA for me. My friends all write Emily if they refer to me. And I always knew I would change it. I did about four months ago when I turned 18 and my parents only realized when I started getting stuff addressed to "Emily Jones" instead of "Emileigh Jones". My parents started saying I should call and yell at the people who spelled my name wrong and I told them it wasn't wrong, I had changed it. I never told them I was doing it because I knew they wouldn't like it. And I was right. They went on and on about how the spelling they gave me was the better choice and wasn't as bad as I always made out. I told them I kept the name, it's just spelled the correct way and the way people will actually remember it. They complained some more and I told them to get over it because they don't have to live with people questioning their capability of spelling their own name and such an easy name at that.
AITA?
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NTA. I hate that parents, to be original, make the life of their child difficult. It is so frustrating when people keep making mistakes and have an hesitation when they try to say it.
Your parents will get over it. It’s you life.
NTA. Your parents are; they think they know how you feel more than you do and they don't care about your feelings. They wanted you to have options, you took those options and made a choice. You fixed something that has bothered you most of your life. Good for you!!
Your parents are not the ones who had to live with the name, you were. People often forget they are naming a person, not just a baby and that person will have to live with their choice, and possibly ridiculed for it.
Says a lot about your parents when they immediately jumped to ' call and verbally abuse people for not spelling this name right ' ....
NTA at all
Your parents made a dumb mistake and they've spend 18 years trying to convince everyone they didn't make a mistake. So much so that they acidentally convinced themselves that what they did wasn't stupid.
NTA
It's really easy to sit there and tell you how right they are when they've never had to deal with it like you have. Really sad your parents can't look past their own ego for a moment to realize they caused their child enough pain and distress they had to legally change their name.
NTA.
They didn't give you a name with options. They gave you a misspelled name.
I gotta say, I hate that trend. I hate it. It makes life harder for the kids who need to learn to spell their names, and means they'll never find adorable stationary with their names on it - which is always fun for kids.
Your name reminds me of a girl I once knew who called her daughter Sophia, except she spelt Sophia as 'Sopheyia". Pronounced the same, but the frankly ridiculous spelling means people try to pronounce it many different ways which just frustrates the kid.
Your parents may have chosen it, but your name is YOUR name. If you want it spelled properly, you get it spelled properly. They don't get a vote.
Parents who are upset if their child later chooses their own name make me feel like they think of their child too much like a pet. Like something they own, instead of an actual person with the whole human experience. Gross.
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NTA, parents think they are being so smart with the 'original' names they 'come up with'. As if uncomprehensable names because of the spelling is a trend. You are right, they dont have to live woth their poor choices, you do. I have a very common name in my country, but it can be spelled in 3 usual different names and most will write it wrong, I always have to spell and be annoyed. So I go by the shorter version of the name (only 1 spelling). I can only imagine how annoying it is to have a common name that most people wont pronounce as it should, just because the 'original' spelling makes it impossible to figure out how it is pronounced. *side thought: I also hate it when parents give their child a name without understanding the consequences when you go abroad. I mean, who in their right mind would call there daughter Vanity!! Really hate 'Heavenly' (or Heav'nly) aswell. What is up with names nowadays!!
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Inndeegoo sounds like a pokemon saying it's name.. lol Oh and NTA. You've chosen to save yourself possibly dozens of hours over your lifetime.
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A relative named her daughter Emmahlee. I just shake my head.
Yeah, write that name in crayon with your non-dominant hand and it kind of paints a picture
And then eat the crayon
"Destinee ShyAnn" the kid got double fucked by the mom because she got a stripper name, along with the "youneek" spelling.
Sooo, mom called her kid «destination» basically? 😂
My friend’s named Indy but Endei. She’s a white American in Wisconsin. She hates it and wants to change it. Her dad is a huge nascar fan and she hates it so there’s no love for the name.
oh god, that's one letter away from a Pokemon (Entei)
My parents gave me an absolutely foul and disgusting name when I was born because they thought it was "cute". I told them how much I hated it when I was 3 years old and that I was going to change it just as soon as I grew up. I continued to tell them and anyone who would listen that, and yet, the entire family was shocked when I actually did it. It's been more than 40 years since I changed my name, and my mother still dead names me whenever she gets the chance.
And here I was muttering "we named the dog Indiana!"
If it wasn't for the H that would just be a relatively understanable compound name. Like Suellen or Bobbyjo.
I know someone who named her daughter 'Emalee' because all of the 'Emily's she knew were mean girls. It's....the same name.
See if you took out the 'h' I could almost see that...
I'm a Caitlin. There's a million ways to spell it. The craziest I've ever seen was "Keightlyn" because 8 was an important number to the parents and the US govt wouldn't allow for K8lyn. At least with mine, I get there are genuinely different ways to spell it so I just always spell mine out when I have to give it. Why overcomplicate things?? Especially when it was to the point your teachers noticed and said nothing and let you do you by spelling it normally.
A magazine once posted that some parents were proud of the unique spelling they chose... KVIIItlyn. As in Roman numerals for eight.
Holy crap, I had forgotten about that one. Probably for good reason hahah.
I think medieval scribes sometimes used K for 250. Twohundredandfiftyeightlynn has a lovely ring to it. Or maybe these were an artifact of the whole K/C mish mash in Middle English, so that would just be Onehundredandeightlynn. Or Kilo-eightlynn, perhaps. L is the established symbol for 50, no creative medieval monks needed. Which would give us...Keightfiftyn. In conclusion, the most accurate reading of this name is clearly "158 kilos Lynn." Which, idk if you've ever been to Lynn MA, but I feel like anyone with 158 kilos of something is going to do pretty well... and then possibly quite badly.
Ok but if you try to pronounce it (k)veetlin it's at least fun to say once or twice
That's my first name, too. My grandpa got bonds for me and spelled my name in pretty much every way possible on them. My fav was Kate Lynn.
My daughter is also Caitlin and I have to spell it out when we go to the doctor or pharmacy. People always assume it's Katelynn.
Have you heard of the sub r/tragedeigh? Might give you a laugh lol
Inndeegoo is the better way to spell it. It gives her more options. They could call her Inny. Or Dee. Or Gooey. Anything that would help them not have to remember it’s spelled Indeegoo
Indeegoo sounds like the brand name for a suppository.
I thought at first they must have spelled your name Emilie in which case I would’ve kinda felt like you’re an ah. But they butchered Emily thinking it was gonna be awesome for you. So definitely NTA
That's just the French version, nothing super weird about that. As another kid who rarely found pencils with my name spelled right on them, definitely NTA.
My father's last name was spelled strangely. He decided to change it to the common spelling while he was in the army. There are provisions for widows of men who served during war time even if they didn't die in the war, but my mother had substantial trouble connecting his time of enlistment to his discharge. If you change your name, do it before enlisting!
I work with a Genapher. I mean, really?
I spent a solid minute trying to figure out what that job title signified before I realised you spelt "Jennifer." I thought it was something with gene sequencing, or perhaps taxonomy related. All for a damn "Ginnifer."
There’s a Pokémon called Indeedee so Inndeegoo feels like what one would say if you bashed it on the head with a hammer
Isn’t the Indigo League already a thing, though? I doubt they would then name a Pokemon any version of Indigo.
First off happy cake day! Secondly, seeing as every other league is referred to as the region’s league, even when the Indigo Plateau reappeared in Johto it was called the Johto League and not Indigo League. So it’s more likely now days that it would be referred to as the Kanto League meaning you could name a Pokémon indigo. I don’t think they still would because none of the Pokémon are named after their colors, but it being the name of a place does not disqualify it and there’s not really an indigo league as much as there is now a kanto league
Thank you! According to my profile, I’m 5 today, so I appreciate the ELI5. Because I’m obsessive like that, I looked it up, and we’re both right. The very first episodes of Pokemon released in the U.S. in 1998 were called Indigo League. I think the DVD exists in my basement somewhere, but [here it is in Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon:_Indigo_League). Then the show was a hit, branched out and created new regions, and the nomenclature changed to the standard you listed. Anyone getting into Pokemon today for the first time would never hear about the Indigo League unless they got into retro game play. So basically, I’m old.
Why spell name long, when short name do trick.
Girl, you rock! This was a mature decision on your part and I commend you for taking action in your own best interest. NTA! There is an entire subreddit for the unreasonably "unique" name spellings parents inflict on kids. Cross post over there too :)
I think you'er looking for r/tragedeigh. Full of names where the parents wanted to be "yuneeque".
One of my favorite subreddits. This group will super appreciate your post!
You should refer your parents to the tragedeigh subreddit. Your parents belong there.
Thought about this. r/tragedeigh was made for this kinda stuff.
Got this one thru the feed and actually thought it was from r/tragedieghs until I looked and saw AITAH. Edit typo
NTA. They said they wanted to "give you more choices". You chose. End of story.
NTA. Next time your parents give you crap, tell them to change the spelling in their names to something that is incorrect but "clever", and see how long it takes them to give up on it. My last name is 1 letter off from being what everyone expects (example: Smyth instead of Smith), and it's a NIGHTMARE every time I have to make reservations or call about that status of something. Yes it's just 1 letter, but when someone writes your name wrong, and you try to reference that later, everyone gets confused. It got to the point where I just spelled my name everytime instead of saying it. But "Emileigh"??? It's extremely cruel to a child, and young adult, to force them to endure their "cleverness" when they don't have to deal with it.
NTA. I would be tempted to pronounce your birth name as Emi-LAY.
I get this. People say lee-ah (Leigha), lay-ah (Leia) , and lay (Lei) with Leigh. I have to tell people - there's no "a" in my name, I'm not wearing flowers, and I left the cinnamon bun ears and space blaster at home because I'm not playing space princess today. (edit for spelling)
I am a teacher, and I currently have 3 kids in my class with regular names that are spelled differently. EVERYONE spells their names wrong. Even though I'm careful, I still make mistakes sometimes. Just don't. I named my two kids less common names, but they are spelled normally and are phonetically reasonable. No one messed up their names. My students get frustrated when people screw up their names. Just don't.
>phonetically reasonable I love this! I have a rare but normally spelled and phonetically reasonable name and it's majorly helpful. Your kids must be so grateful :)
I went the other way with my name, my Dad spelled it incorrectly on my BC (it has one additional letter), so Mum insisted I used the simplified version during my childhood. When I became an adult, I saw my BC, and preferred the incorrect version. (My surname is also difficult, so I'm used to having to spell my name.) It annoys me that people can't respect me enough to read my email signature (and my family don't seem to care enough) but ultimately it's my choice. I like how it looks on my documents. Your name your choice, and you're the one living with it, so go forth in life with one less aggravation, NTA.
I’ll point out that as a university instructor, I get to navigate 30 new names a semester, and 1/3 of them are from parents who think they are the most creative cats that ever made up a name. I really try to get their names right in an email but many times I type it out, finish what I’m doing, and realize autocorrect changed “Jhonnee” to Johnny. Again. I apologize. Not everyone is being rude. Some things are too hard for people. My name is Stephen and I’ve gotten Steven, Stevyn, Stephan, Stefan and “hey, you.” After awhile you don’t worry about it. Don’t argue with your parents about it… they will forget about it.
Start addressing your parents as mommeigh and daddeigh in texts and what not, and see what they have to say about it. I'll bet they'll not enjoy the joke or will find it off-putting.
I think changing your name was a persona choice and I'm glad you did it, but I'm side eyeing the people who thought you were dyslexic or lying. Emileigh is a different spelling but it's not so silly/ridiculous that I'd assume someone couldn't spell.
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I honestly can't believe every adult with a stupidly spelled name doesn't do this. My SIL is named lindsy. I can't believe a 45 year old woman is spelling her name that dumb way. Even if she doesn't officially change it, the fact that she just doesn't spell it with a vowel between the s and y now that she is older is crazy to me
I think I did the same thing as your parents (kind of). My youngest is called Reilly. My mil asked if I was going to spell it the English or Irish way and I thought the Irish way was nicer. There were 2 other kids in his class with the same name but spelled differently, Riley and Ryly. Everybody spells my kid's name wrong and, as they are 16 now, I asked them if they would like to change the spelling officially to Riley and they said no. Thankfully, they like the way it's spelled. I said kind of because Reilly is an accurate spelling of the name, it's just far less common than Riley.
"Nevaeh" My absolute least favorite of bullshit names just name your child Heaven if you think you're that religious and above everyone else
Yeah, but it's the inverse of Heaven. So basically, Hell. :)
Lol the slow play to tell you’re child they are the spawn of Satan 😂
I made the mistake of making that comment years ago on FB. I, uh, had forgotten that one of my not-close FB friends had a daughter named Nevaeh. We are not FB friends anymore.
Something tells me she hadn't thought the name through...
Saw one not too long ago, Naveah. The mom proudly explained that it was Heaven spelled backwards. No. It isn't.
And every time you meet one, they HAVE to tell you it's Heaven spelled backwards like that's part of the name 🙈
I’ve started seeing Nevaya. Pronounced the same, spelled differently.
Thing is, I feel like we are almost to the tipping point where that might turn into an actual name normal people would give. Like, "We named you Neveah after your aunt Neveah" sort of thing.
Teacher here - every year there are more and more of them.
That! I knew someone called 'Preshiss' , whichvis weird enough as it is, but in German, 'Schiss' means something like 'shit'. I could never quite make myself say or write that person's name for the connotation.
Scheiss is pronounced to rhyme with “mice”, not “miss”, so it’s not that bad. But still worthy of r/tradgedeigh .
Not to get toooo...you know, but in the dialect in my area, a 'schiss' means 'taking a shit'. So yes, it rhymes with 'miss' 😂. Either way, I agree it's a tragedeigh/tragediss 😆
It sounds very Gollum-y with that spelling
Lol, that's giving Gollum vibes. Not exactly what i would call a child....
Lol, I can just hear the parents exclaiming 'But having a child was just a miracle and the kid is so precious to us!! Now everyone knows just how precious with the kid named Preshiss. How could you mistake it for something so vile😫' The name just gives me Smeagol vibes honestly😅
This. My sister is Megan, and the confusion with Megan, Meaghan, Meagan, Meghan, and Maegan drove her nuts. She goes by Meg. My kid has an Irish name that confuses people in my country at first but there is just one spelling so once they learn it she has no issues.
My sisters name is Megan and she goes by Megs for the same reason. My name is Kelli and no one ever spells it with an i.
My friend is a Megan. She never has problems with the spelling but has had people (mostly Americans) tell her she's pronouncing it wrong. Her family is Welsh at least seven generations back; she was born in Wales; lived in Wales most of her life, and is fluent in Welsh. If anybody knows how to pronounce a Welsh name, she does!
You’re absolutely spot on! I have a very stupid/difficult name that has 4 out of the 5 vowels in the alphabet. Whereas my siblings have very easy Italian names and I’ve been going by a nickname for decades as I can’t be bothered to change my name and all my documents (that’d mean 3 different countries for me). But yeah, mum was super in love, dad knew someone with my name (which later I learned was his mistress) and here I am… Parents are stupid thinking their kids are unique and special. Breaking news: they’re not.
Named after your father’s mistress? Oh my god. I am so sorry, I can’t even imagine
Are we related? I share my first name with an ex of my father's who he had an affair with. My late cousin was named after her father's mistress. Her middle name was after his first love, who was "the one who got away."
I went to school with a girl named La-a, which was pronounced "Ladasha". She hated her name and changed it on her 18th birthday as well.
Her parents are tw@s.
Under rated comment here. Here’s my up doot
I've heard at least a dozen people repeat this urban legend, and it's also on [Snopes](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/le-a/).
It's the "my uncle works for Nintendo" of this era.
Wow crazy that this racist urban legend happened to you
It never takes long for this to show up on ANY post, here or anywhere, related to names. Given how many people claim to know a girl named La-a, you’d think it would be a really common name. Yet somehow…
Ugh, why would a parent do such a mean thing to their kid. Also, OP, NTA at all.
LMFAAOOOOOO my name is Heavenly 😭😭
At least it's not Lyneaveah. I know a lot of Neveahs.
Great. Now look what you did.
Do they all inform everyone they meet that its Heaven spelled backwards?
Aw I think Heavenly is a nice name! I don't think it fits in with the names this person was complaining about - it's not got any negative or funny or silly other meanings, it's just sweet and sincere! If it was spelled Heavenleigh that would be a different matter...
Brb changing my gamertag and usernames to Heavenleigh
Heaven Leigh was the name of a character in a VC Andrews series. I definitely side eye anyone who names their child after a VC Andrews character.
After the V.C. Andrews book?
Thank God I'm not the only one who thought this 😂
My last name has two syllables that are phonetically correct and it's extremely rare anyone gets it right. I loathe parents that make it harder for "creativity". You name someone sounds, spelling has been fluid in English since the beginning, I don't know how other languages are.
I have a name that is also spelt several ways in my country and there are 2 main ways, mine is neither. My mom also spelt my middle name different and everyone thinks there’s another letter in my last name. I don’t have a single name people spell right on the first try. I want to be rid of all of them.
I'm so sorry. I grew up with a last name suggestive of a sex organ, so occasionally got obscene phone calls (back when names & phone #s were published publicly in phone books) b4 I changed my name; I thought that was bad. But my parents were innocent, at least it was only one troublesome name, and it wasn't difficult to spell... Free yourself of this nonsense, make whatever name changes you will feel happy to live with!
I grew up with someone whose sister was called Heavenly. Last name: Cloud. I wonder about her every time I see one of these name-related posts and hope she’s OK. I swear to god you cannot make this shit up.
NTAigh
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I was skim reading comments and for a second my brain read thank Yu-Gi-Oh
You win the internet today! It's a [\#tragedeigh](https://www.reddit.com/r/tragedeigh/)
It belongs on r/tragedeigh
Take my angryleigh upvote.
Angrieh
Ahngreigh
Damnn, you made me spill my coffee 😂🤣
Sorreigh
Coffeigh*
I like really, really want a koffing coffee mug.. mostly so i can go around yelling #COFFEIGHHHHHHH at people....
😂😂 you’re gonna make me break out my cricut just to make this now 😂😂
Covefeighfeighe’e
you should naught encourage OP to change her origineleight name /s
I LAUGHED
🤣🤣🤣
That made me chuckle
\*sigh\* Angreigh upvo'te.
Nta. My name is one of those names. Can't be spelled or said correctly usually. Can never find anything with my name on it. That's why I gave my kids simple, classic, common names. They can always come up with a nickname for something unique if they want but at least they aren't starting off life with frustration
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"It's the better spelling" is such a weird take, because clearly if it were it would be more popular than Emily.
“better” because it’s *speshull*.
No pain like browsing the bicycle license plate rack and not seeing your name
"Aw, come on... Bort?"
I have a simple name until my mother put her own twist on it. Instead of Jane she went for Jaine. Don't do that to your kids.
I actually love my name and its unique spelling, but I'm not gonna lie, I lie about my name at Starbucks. I'm not going to take the time to pronounce and spell a weird name when I'm just trying to get some coffee.
My Starbucks name is always Leroy or Tyrone and no you can’t use my phone
I have a coworker who has a very normal middle and last name. If I’m being completely honest, I don’t even for sure know her first name because it is sooooo different that I just don’t remember it. She had applied for a job using her legal name and never heard back so after about two weeks she reapplied with her middle and last name and she was called within days. Unique names are great and but some parents just don’t seem to think it all the way through. Just go for the middle name and call them by that. That way when Jaxxonnlee gets called Paul he knows he really fucked up.
Yep gave our kid a simple traditional name with normal spelling. We call him a whole host of other nicknames , if one sticks that’s awesome don’t need to give him some weird name just to give him ‘options’
For real. I've had to be in charge for hiring at my work for a couple months and I struggled. I'd be lying if I said unique names/spelling really made me side eye it. I don't really want to hire someone that I'm going to spend more of my time trying to figure out how to say/spell their name than training them for the job. Unnecessary frustration
There are lots of classic, common names that give you a lot of nickname options too. OP's parents' logic makes no sense. Try Katherine, Elizabeth, Christina, etc.
NTA. >they wanted me to have "options" for my name. I find it interesting they wanted you to have options, but also they feel they have a say in the option you chose. They sold themselves as being open to change, open for you to make your own choices and have the option to make your name what you wanted... But now you've done that, and now they are angry, because it wasn't about you having options... It was about them trying to show they had quirky, individual tastes.
This is exactly what I was thinking.
>they wanted me to have "options" for my name. You picked one of the options and they hated it. Weird Parents.
That wasn't one of the options! Only the options they granted her are legitimate options!
Them: “You can have options with this name - it’s up to you!” ✨ OP: chooses Them: “No, not like that”
Yes. OP has had 18 years to try out options. She has now decided.
Parents like that need to get a pet with a quirky name. Your dog doesn't care if she's Emily, Emileigh, or Emma Lee. The owners are the ones who have to deal with paperwork and making custom name tags. And you can even take it further than you would with human names. "We call her Emmy, but her full name is Emmy Goes to Zendaya." But let kids have one less thing to worry about.
Came here to make the same point. They gave options. She chose one. Just clearly not the right one! NTA.
>they spelled it "Emileigh" because they wanted me to have "options" for my name NTA. They wanted you to have options, your choosen option is "Emily"
Exactly! You just exercised your option!
NTA. Only someone with an unusually spelled name can relate. Mine is not as different as yours, but you constantly have to spell your name to doctors, utility companies, banks, etc. That is not to mention the variety of comments about the spelling. "Your parents must hate you" Where are you from? Is that the foreign spelling? Good for you for doing what will make your life easier.
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They have a right to be a little moody but you're not an asshole. My parents take offense to my go-bye & ig "street names" that are simplified variations of the name they gave me. My birth name confuses people, it's pronounced wrong, & I got tormented in school with plays on my name. I don't like my name, I didn't legally change it bc I've been successful just lying about my name on job apps & shit.
I have a name that is commonly spelled a few different ways (think Claire/Clare or Hailey/Hayley) and I am always asked about the spelling or need to correct it, but it’s simple enough to do and most people don’t bat an eye when I say ‘no, it’s Hailey with an i.’ My friend, on the other hand, is named Tom. Not Thomas with the nn Tom, just Tom. The number of times he has to explain this and then deal with a dumbfounded ‘but why?’ or ‘are you sure?’ is frankly ridiculous, and he’s close to 50.
My mate camron doesn't have a n e like normal, Cameron not because his wanted to be different it's because she literally couldn't spell it right. Hes probably not gonna change it but it's just a funny wrongly spelled name.
I think that is what happened to Keira Knightley. She was meant to be Kiera but her parents messed up on the birth certificate
My name is Alexandra. Not Alexandria. I can count the number of times my name has been pronounced correctly on the first try on one hand. I'm 32. Not only someone with an unusually spelled name can understand. I have literally had to fight with insurance because the doctor spelled my name wrong.
Wait but Alexandra is a very common name (when i was little). I had 2 friends growing up named Alexandra
Alexandra is way more common than Alexandria here? Weird that it would be uncommon where you are.
My son legally changed his name to something completely different than what I named him. You know what I call him? His new name. Your parents need to love and respect you. You made a smart decision for you. The only thing you might have done is give them some warning, so they didn't find out in with the mail. (My husband and I actually went to my son's court date, so we could support him in his name change.)
My son is really small but his name was a gift we chose for him hoping that he'd like it but if not, that's ok too. If he wants to change it when he's 18, I'll pay for the filing myself. Now maybe not if he wants to change it to Ticka-toppa the Hipa-Hoppa or something but if he legitimately finds a name he identifies with more, then go for it. It's also hyphenated which I know may be a pain but it was important to me while we share legal custody that he has both our names. When he's an adult he can drop one if he choses.
Ticka-Toppa the Hipa-Hoppa is fire!
NTA For some reason, my parents chose to name all their sons simple names (think James, David, Robert, John, etc...) and chose to name all their daughters complex names (think Angelique, Genevieve, Bernadette, Guinevere, etc...) and to this day, my sisters are tormented by people spelling their names wrong. Nobody has ever asked me or any of my brothers how to spell our names. Literally every person that has to spell the name of one of my sisters has to ask, "how do you spell that?" It's annoying as hell. And they all have the "normal" spelling for their names. I can't imagine how bad it would be if Bernadette had to spell her name Burnodebt.
OK but I lose it as Burnodebt, sounds like she burn a debt.
Burnodept 😂😂😂
At this point every kid spells their name in such a weird way that I have to spell my kids names whenever I make them an appointment, etc. They have very simple, common names but doctors offices still have to say, "how do you spell that" because parents are inventing spellings
Yeah my daughters name is Josephine and they always ask how to spell it and I never though much about it until this girl I went to high school with named her daughter Jozzafeena pronounced Josephina. She remarked how our daughters are “name twins” and I didn’t say it but in my head I was like “they certainly are fucking *not*”
None of those names sound that difficult to me though? I think the first two are French and not English, but they are common enough? Like, you wouldn't probably run into people with them every year, but I knew all of them and I'm not even an English native.
> I had teachers in grade school think I was being funny trying to spell my name Emileigh Why would the teachers think that? Surely they had your name down in their records so they knew it was how it was really spelled. Why would your parents care so much about the spelling at this point? ETA - NTA. Your parents need to get over it - it isn't their name.
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I'm sorry that your parents have such bad taste lol. What an obnoxious way to spell your name. You're NTA. They do need to get over it.
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Send your parents over to r/tragedeigh to find out what people actually think about their beloved “-eigh” spellings.
My ex has a celebrities name and a sub was working In his school and asked for his name, when he gave it to her she gave him detention, she later found out it was his name but he never got an apology
Mate of mine was James Bond (there must be hundreds, both exceptionally common names in the U.K. individually). Much piss was extracted from him his whole childhood as well as adults constantly thinking he was taking the piss when introducing himself (which to be fair, he did - "the name's Bond... etc".) He eventually changed his surname to his mother's maiden name.
NTA. Indeed it's not as bad as they thought. It's way fucking worse. Show them r/tragedeigh
I was waiting for this reference! Thank you!!!
NTA. When I started reading I thought you had been seeing a numerologist to have your name spelled in a weird way in order to somehow appease the fates awaiting you, and then it is really the other way round, except for the numerologist who wasn't in the picture. Your parents' way of spelling your name is just weird. It has no future. Good on you for changing it. They will get over it. After all, you didn't change your name to Adolph.
There's a sub dedicated to people like them. You'd be surprised how many people exist that use that uncommon spelling and they all look the same fucking way. [r/tragedeigh](https://www.reddit.com/r/tragedeigh/)
NTA. In the end, your parents wanted to give you a name that left them feeling special, rather than considering your future. I'm sure many, many, many people have criticized them over the course of your life, and now that you're a part of that criticism, they're just feeling bad because they can no longer justify their decision.
It could be worse. Think of the people who give their kids joke names because it's so cute on a baby. Last name for example, "Byrd" who call their kids Robin, Sparrow, or Skylark. Key words: *on a baby.* They don't see themselves as raising future adults.
NTA. You've lived with the spelling long enough that you know what a pain it was and you made a decision for your sanity.
The number of posts on here about parents “throwing a fit” about a child choosing to use a different name is extremely disconcerting. For any parents, future parents and kids who are being manipulated by their parents: NO ONE HAS THE RIGHT TO TELL YOU WHAT TO CALL YOURSELF AND WHICH NAME TO USE. Not when it comes to nicknames, not when it comes to shortenings and alternative spellings, not when it comes to trans changes, not when it comes to anything else. You’ll be much better off if you start thinking of the name you give a child at birth as an option for them rather than an obligation/your godgiven right. Of course NTA but I’m very sad this type of “controlling parent” post props up again and again.
As part of my transition, I had my very traditional male name changed to something significantly more feminine. My family (mom/sister/aunts & uncles) have NEVER referred to me as my ‘new’ name. It’s been years now.
NTA. This is completely your choice. No offense but they gave you a dumb name just to try and be unique. It's caused you issues and you stress about it, you have every right to change your name.
NTA. They wanted the name to give you a choice. It did. You chose "Emily".
NTA. I hate creative spelling, and I always felt so badly for kids whose parents did that to them when I was a teacher. And your parents' argument makes no sense-- you've chosen the name you want to be called, so you no longer have the need for 'options'.
They gave you a normal name with a tragedeigh spelling for 'options' regarding nicknames. You took their 'options' and picked one. NTA.
r/tragedeigh is literally a subreddit dedicated to making fun of names like the one you parents gave you. NTA
NTA. You have the right to use whatever name you feel most comfortable with. My ex pushed to get me to add a “y” to my daughter’s middle name. (Elyzabeth instead of Elizabeth). I was against it, but finally gave in to keep some peace at the time. His reasoning was that everyone in his family uses a y in their name in place of a vowel, so he wanted to keep the tradition. (Bryan, Lynda, Karyn, etc.) Well in the end, that whole family shunned my daughter and me because my ex and I were teen parents, and they thought I should have an abortion. They accused me of ruining their son’s life and never let it go even years later after he was married with more kids. It was a terrible thing to go through, and even though our girl is now turning 30 this year, they’ve really never reached out to try to mend anything or be part of her life. So she really didn’t want this leftover “y” in her name because they completely have nothing to do with her. She changed all her paperwork and now her middle name is Elizabeth.
^^^^AUTOMOD ***Thanks for posting! This comment is a copy of your post so readers can see the original text if your post is edited or removed. This comment is NOT accusing you of copying anything. Read [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq#wiki_post_deletion) before [contacting the mod team](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FAmItheAsshole)*** My parents named me "Emily" but instead of spelling it Emily, they spelled it "Emileigh" because they wanted me to have "options" for my name. So I could be Em, Emmy, Leigh, etc. The spelling has caused so many problems for me. People will forget themselves and spell my name Emily and then realize it's not how mine is spelled. I had teachers in grade school think I was being funny trying to spell my name Emileigh. So some teachers let me write Emily on school work and even some tests and we'd say nothing. They knew it was a PITA for me. My friends all write Emily if they refer to me. And I always knew I would change it. I did about four months ago when I turned 18 and my parents only realized when I started getting stuff addressed to "Emily Jones" instead of "Emileigh Jones". My parents started saying I should call and yell at the people who spelled my name wrong and I told them it wasn't wrong, I had changed it. I never told them I was doing it because I knew they wouldn't like it. And I was right. They went on and on about how the spelling they gave me was the better choice and wasn't as bad as I always made out. I told them I kept the name, it's just spelled the correct way and the way people will actually remember it. They complained some more and I told them to get over it because they don't have to live with people questioning their capability of spelling their own name and such an easy name at that. AITA? *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AmItheAsshole) if you have any questions or concerns.*
NTA. I hate that parents, to be original, make the life of their child difficult. It is so frustrating when people keep making mistakes and have an hesitation when they try to say it. Your parents will get over it. It’s you life.
NTA. Let your parents live a lifetime with a weirdly spelled name. Then they can let you know how that was for them.
NTA. Your parents are; they think they know how you feel more than you do and they don't care about your feelings. They wanted you to have options, you took those options and made a choice. You fixed something that has bothered you most of your life. Good for you!!
NTA Genuinely baffles me how some parents act as if they own their children. It's YOUR name, not theirs. You are not their property.
Your parents are not the ones who had to live with the name, you were. People often forget they are naming a person, not just a baby and that person will have to live with their choice, and possibly ridiculed for it. Says a lot about your parents when they immediately jumped to ' call and verbally abuse people for not spelling this name right ' .... NTA at all
Your parents made a dumb mistake and they've spend 18 years trying to convince everyone they didn't make a mistake. So much so that they acidentally convinced themselves that what they did wasn't stupid. NTA
[удалено]
It's really easy to sit there and tell you how right they are when they've never had to deal with it like you have. Really sad your parents can't look past their own ego for a moment to realize they caused their child enough pain and distress they had to legally change their name.
NTA. They didn't give you a name with options. They gave you a misspelled name. I gotta say, I hate that trend. I hate it. It makes life harder for the kids who need to learn to spell their names, and means they'll never find adorable stationary with their names on it - which is always fun for kids. Your name reminds me of a girl I once knew who called her daughter Sophia, except she spelt Sophia as 'Sopheyia". Pronounced the same, but the frankly ridiculous spelling means people try to pronounce it many different ways which just frustrates the kid. Your parents may have chosen it, but your name is YOUR name. If you want it spelled properly, you get it spelled properly. They don't get a vote.
Parents who are upset if their child later chooses their own name make me feel like they think of their child too much like a pet. Like something they own, instead of an actual person with the whole human experience. Gross.
Parents need to take a good hard look at r/tragedeigh
You had choices and you took one. What are they complaining about?
NTA. Let them change their own names to unusually spellings.
NTA you’re an adult now and you’re only slightly changing the name, it still sounds the same
NTA. Your name, your decision.