clevercupcakes
In today’s world many parents place a value on “uniqueness” when choosing a name. For some parents that means that if other parents are choosing a name they like, they cross that name off their lists. For other parents, they keep the name like, but make it “unique” by spelling it differently.
Don’t believe me? I have proof! Here’s a list of names from the Social Security Top 1000 most popular names that show up more than once with different spellings.
The varied spellings are listed in order of popularity.
AALIYAH
AALIYAH, ALIYAH, ALEAH, ALIYA, ALIA
ABIGAIL
ABIGAIL, ABBIGAIL, ABAGAIL, ABIGAYLE
ADDISON
ADDISON, ADDYSON, ADDISYN, ADYSON, ADISON
AIDAN
AIDAN, ADAN, AYDAN, AEDAN
ALLISON
ALLISON, ALLYSON, ALISON, ALLISSON, ALYSON, ALISSON
AUBREY
AUBREY, AUBREE, AUBRIE
BAILEY
BAILEY, BAYLEE, BAILEE
BRIANNA
BRIANNA, BRIANA, BREANNA, BRYANNA
BRAYDEN
BRAYDEN, BRADEN, BRAYDON, BRAEDEN, BRAIDEN, BRADYN, BRAEDON
CADEN
CADEN, KADEN, KAYDEN, CAYDEN, KAIDEN, CAIDEN, KAEDEN
CAMERON
CAMERON, KAMERON, CAMRON, CAMREN, KAMRON, CAMRYN, KAMREN
CARLY
CARLY, KARLEE, CARLEY, CARLIE, CARLEE, KARLIE, KARLY, KARLEY, CARLEIGH
CARSON
CARSON, KARSON, CARSEN
CHEYENNE
CHEYENNE, CHEYANNE, SHYANNE, SHYANN
COLTON
COLTON, COLTEN, KOLTON, KOLTEN
CONNOR
CONNOR, CONNER, CONOR, KONNER, KONNOR
EMILY
EMILY, EMELY, EMILEE, EMILIE
HAILEY
HAILEY, HALEY, HAYLEE, HAILEE, HAYLIE, HALEIGH, HAILIE
JASMINE
JASMINE, JAZMIN, JASMIN, JAZMINE, JAZMYN
JAYDEN
JAYDEN, JADEN, JAIDEN, JAYDON, JAEDEN, JAYDIN, JAIDYN, JAYDAN
JAYLEN
JAYLEN, JALEN, JAYLIN, JAYLON, JAYLAN
JASLENE
JASLENE, JAZLYN, JAZLYNN, JAZLENE, JASLYN
JORDAN
JORDAN, JORDYN, JORDIN
JORDAN
JORDAN, JORDEN, JORDYN, JORDON
KAITLYN
KAITLYN, KATELYN, CAITLIN, CAITLYN, KATELYNN, KAITLYNN
KAYLEE
KAYLEE, KAYLEIGH, KAILEY, KAYLIE, CAYLEE, KALEIGH, KAILEE, KALLIE, KAYLEY, KALEY
LANDON
LANDON, LANDEN, LANDYN, LANDIN
LAYLA
LAYLA, LAILA, LEILA, LEYLA, LAILAH, LAYLAH
MADELINE
MADELINE, MADELYN, MADELEINE, MADILYN, MADALYN, MADELYNN, MADALYNN, MADILYNN
MADISON
MADISON, MADDISON, MADISYN, MADYSON
MACKENZIE
MACKENZIE, MCKENZIE, MAKENZIE
MAKAYLA
MAKAYLA, MIKAYLA, MICHAELA, MCKAYLA, MIKAELA, MICAELA, MAKAILA
MCKENNA
MCKENNA, MAKENNA, MAKENA
MILEY
MILEY, MYLEE, MYLIE
OLIVIA
OLIVIA, ALIVIA, ALYVIA
PEYTON
PEYTON, PAYTON, PAITYN, PAYTEN
REAGAN
REAGAN, RAEGAN, REGAN
TRISTAN
TRISTAN, TRISTEN, TRISTON, TRISTIN, TRISTIAN, TRYSTAN
What do you think about creatively spelled names? Some love them and some hate them…I’d love to hear what you think!
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♥ Amanda
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For more information on baby names and their meanings check out
BABY NAMES MADE EASY: THE COMPLETE REVERSE-DICTIONARY OF BABY NAMES
Some of them aren’t bad.
I prefer Aliyah over Aaliyah because I am Jewish, and aliyah is a Jewish term. There are some creative spellings which make sense: Briana in place of Brianna, to get the “ahna” sound. Conor in place of Connor, to honor an ancestor’s original spelling. Emilie in place of Emily to indicate French heritage.
My least favorite is the “y” and the “ee” trend. This can turn a good name into a “tryndee” mess. Parents seem to think that by butchering the spelling of a name, they’ve created something “unique.” Yeah, well, Bjork’s swan dress was also unique. Unique isn’t always good.
I don’t particularly like Addison for a girl; I tend to gravitate toward more feminine names. But it’s fine, I suppose. However, I teach middle school, and I have a sixth grader whose name is spelled Addysynne. It’s a mess. Last year, I had an Ema’Lee (Emily.) To me, these names just look down-market and/or like the parent doesn’t have any spelling skills.
It’s interesting to hear a teacher’s perspective. I’m sure you see lots of interesting and unusual names. Have any favorites?
Always interested in hearing about her. Aaliyah was so talented. A celebrity I both admire and will never forget. It’s a shame what happened to her. The pop art painting I own of her is stunning and will be cherished forever!