A MUM-TO-BE has been slammed after “simplifying” the spelling of a Scottish baby name – with people saying it’s insulting and looks made up.
Picking a moniker for your little one can be an incredibly difficult task as you want to make sure you choose something special, but not so unique that your child gets bullied over it.
A mum-to-be’s ‘unique’ spelling of a Scottish name has divided opinion[/caption]
Some people opt to name their child after their favourite book or film character, or even celebrities.
Others find inspiration from relatives and their family roots.
One woman, however, has revealed that her plans to give her little girl a Scottish name could “curse her to a lifetime of mispronunciation”.
Posting on Reddit, the American mum-to-be said: “My husband loves the Scottish name Eilidh (as do I, but I have a few others ahead of it in my list).
“But to even consider it as a first name, I feel like we’d have to make it easier for an American to pronounce as that is where we live.
“My husband disagrees, he thinks we should just keep the traditional spelling, but I feel like that would be borderline cruel.”
As a solution, she’s suggested an alternative spelling that people in the USA may find easier to say.
She added: “The correct pronunciation is ay-lee. Would spelling it ‘Aylee’ be simple enough?
“Another question, does spelling it different for easier pronunciation ruin the name? I typically hate when people take liberties with the spelling of names, but this seems different as it’s more to help instead of just trying to be ‘unique’.”
Eilidh is a Scottish Gaelic name for girls that means torch or shining one.
In Scotland, it was the baby name of choice for 122 parents in 2023. But, unsurprisingly, no babies were named Aylee in that same time period.
And the pregnant woman’s ‘simplified’ spelling of the name has sparked debate on social media.
Some Reddit users have agreed that it would be easier for the child growing up in America as many people would struggle with the traditional version.
One said: “I would have had NO IDEA how to pronounce that name. Aylee is beautiful and much more digestible way to spell it for us In the old US of A.”
A second wrote: “You do not live in a place with Gaelic speakers. Your child will have to pronounce her name every single time she meets a new person.
“Like, her teachers won’t even know how to begin saying her name without her assistance. Every doctor visit, she’ll have to correct 3-5 people. That’s a lot to saddle a kid with in America.”
“Aylee is also a name, and much easier to pronounce so I’d go with that”, chimed in a third.
A fourth echoed: “I think you’re right in trying to choose a spelling that is easier for Americans to pronounce (sad that it comes to that but it’s worth it to prevent your child from having to explain it repeatedly). I think that Aylee is a very pretty name.”
“When I look at that name [Eilidh] and want to pronounce it it makes me think of eyelid”, joked a fifth.
Meanwhile, a sixth added: “Do you live in Scotland? If not then my god, sorry but thats an awful, awful name.”
Others, however, have urged the mum-to-be to stick to the Scottish spelling so it’s not “butchered”.
One person fumed: “This is just me, I can’t speak for other Scots, but honestly I think it’s a little…insulting?
“To take a cultural name and change the spelling of it to fit where you live. I know that’s how new names are created but idk, there’s just something about it that doesn’t sit right with me.”
A second sighed: “Why is it such a big problem that people wouldn’t be able to pronounce it?
“In Scotland I’ve met plenty of people from other countries with names that I wouldn’t know how to pronounce, but asking only takes a second.”
A third agreed: “Don’t take a name from another culture and butcher it. Especially if you’re ever going to visit Scotland. It’s insulting and smacks of anglo-elitism.”
Banned baby names in the UK
The UK has no law restricting names, but names that contain obscenities, numerals, misleading titles, or are impossible to pronounce are likely to be rejected when registering a child.
- Hitler
- Monkey
- Cyanide
- Martian
- Akuma
- Chow Tow
- Rogue
“I’m not a fan of how Aylee looks. It kind of ruins the name for me. It looks like you’re trying too hard”, said a fourth.
Somebody else confessed: “Aylee would work but I don’t personally love the spelling… very ‘millennial made up name’ to me.”
And a sixth wrote: “As a Scottish person I love the name Eilidh but I absolutely hate the spelling you’ve suggested.”
Taking all of the comments on board, the expectant mum later revealed: “I’m leaning towards maybe using it as a middle name.”
It’s not the first time Scotland has helped to influence a new mum’s baby name choices.
One woman revealed she turns to the map of the country for inspiration for her kids’ monikers.
Sammi lives in England but chooses to name her children after Scottish places.
But another mum-to-be was forced to scrap her baby name choices after moving north of the border.
She told social media users she was disappointed after realising that people pronouncing the monikers in a Scottish accent would completely ‘change’ the names.
