Misspelling revisited

I wonder if I sounded a bit critical of parents who make up special spellings. That was not my intent, but I couldn't help wondering if it made it more difficult for the children.

Then I thought about my own children's names, and I realized that most of us have to explain spelling and/or pronunciation some of the time, even when they are "good, old-fashioned" names with what we might think are standard spellings.

Elizabeth is sometimes spelled "Elisabeth," and I know Erin is sometimes asked if her name is spelled with an A (Aaron).
It seems obvious to me that "Aaron" spelled this way is a boy's name, but apparently not everyone finds it obvious.

Hawaiian naming rituals

From http://understandingoccults.com/category/naming-rituals-rites/:

"In Hawaii, the entire family participates in the name-giving. A child's name may be based on special events, people, or places, or created by the parents based on an incident at birth.

Traditional Hawaiian names are long and have very picturesque meanings. Some of the loveliest Hawaiian names are those that come to a relative "from heaven," in the form of a dream, omen, sign, or inner voice."

Misspelling names

As I was thinking about mispronounced names, I started to think about my "almost neice" Caleigh.
That's a fine spelling (I think this is the correct Irish spelling, actually), but have you noticed how many variations of this name there are?

Kaylee
Cayley
Kaeleigh
Kaelie
Kaili
Kaylley
Kaylea
(This is just a small sample of the spellings I found!)

New parents often want to bestow names that will be unique and that will make their children stand out, and many choose unique spellings of the "good old names."
That makes it complicated for teachers, and grandparents, and often even for the children themselves because they have to continually explain the spelling.