A curious question about naming babies! :)

[flashpoint]

This is just something that I've wondered about for a while...

When your new moms and dads are naming their babies, do you ever point out to them that they have spelled their new little one's name in an unusual way? We recently had a mom and dad who named their son "Daniel"...they spelled it Danil. Eight weeks later, when the birth certificate came back from the state, they figured out that it is generally spelled Daniel and are going through the state to have the spelling corrected. They complained to the hospital that we should have pointed out to them that they spelled their baby's name wrong. With all of the different names out there now and all the parents who are coming up with new spellings, how were we to know?

Do you ever suggest to parents that their choice of name spelling might appear to be an error?

[PennyLane, RN]

My goodness. Blaming the hospital for their own ignorance?!?

[eak16]

this brings to mind a post from a while back recalling how a patient stole scripts and turned them into the pharmacy with "one pound mofine" written on it and then wondered why it wasn't filled. I cant remember who posted that, but it just goes to show you, people are going to be dumb no matter what, it is not our responsibility to regulate stupiduty

it is funny though (probably not to you, but I sure is to me :chuckle )

Seriously, though, i would be very reticent to point out "errors" in something so personal, especially with all the cultural and ethnic diversity to take into account. I once dated a guy who was half Ghanaian and was named the Ghanaian word for "born on thursday" which his parents proudly told everyone. He was actually born on TUESDAY, but his parents didn't like that word. You just never know.

Back to studying- NCLEX in 42 hours and counting

[Amylcd]

A lot of people go for unique spellings now. I named my daugher Emilie and can't tell you how many times they tried to correct the spelling and put a y at the end. :angryfire

I don't think I would ever comment on the spelling of a name :chuckle

[gwenith, BSN, RN]

The response from the hospital that you would LOVE to see.

Dear New Parents

We are pleased to hear that our staff have lived up to our expectations and treated you with respect. This is evident in your complaint about not correcting the spelling of your child's name. You see our staff in NOT pointing out your error showed you respect in your choice and in your level of intelligence and ability. Unfortunately as you have rightly pointed out that this degree of respect has led them to overestimate your capabilities. We will endevour to correct this oversight in the future. To this end we have attached a more "low key" translation of this letter.

Translation: Do u all relise how dum u all sound now?

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

Naming babies (and the ridiculous things some parents come up with :angryfire ) puts me in mind of an old story I heard back when I was pregnant with my first:

There was a Native American tribe in which it was traditional for the eldest member to name all the babies born in that tribe. One day a young brave, whose wife was expecting their first child, asked the elder, "How do you name all these children, oh great warrior? How do you think of the names?"

The old man looked at the brave and replied, "When a new child is born, I go to the tipi and close my eyes for a while to pray. When I open my eyes and look up, the first thing I see is what I name that child."

Brave: "How do you mean, Great Warrior?"

Elder: "When a child is born, and I look up and see a hawk flying over, I say, 'You shall be named Hawk Flying Over'. And when another child is born, and I see a deer running swiftly through the forest, I say, 'You shall be called Deer Running Swiftly'.

"But tell me, Two Dogs F***ing, why do you ask?" :rotfl:

[palesarah]

I always ask parents to spell the name for me, before I write in on the crib card or anywhere else, because you just never know what parents are going to come up with. Even when it's a traditional name with not too much to play with- sometimes they surprise you! If they are choosing a tradional spelling, I usually respond with something like "oh, the traditional way! That's so nice!"

It's they are choosing some off-the-wall spelling, I usually say "that's so unique, is it a family name?" or something else.

Only once did I have a parent ask "why, how is it usually spelled?"

[bam_bam]

I seen a few, ahem, unique:rolleyes:, spellings. A few that I can remember, Sagee (Sage), Isac, and the best one ever Jakeup! I don't say anything about the unusual spellings.

[KeniRN]

My grandmother's name was Emelie. and my sister is expecting a girl in October and will name her Emma Leigh.

There was a thread a long while back about baby names.

https://allnurses.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31488&highlight=baby+names

The two that stick out in my mind the most are: Aquanette and Sh*thead

(pronounced Shi-theed). THAT one someone should have intercepted!!!

These are only 2 of the "unique" names I encountered over my 10 years working at a children's hospital.

[Havin' A Party!, ASN, RN]

... Dear New Parents...

Hi, Gwen!

Would've liked the letter to include a polite mention of the form they were asked to, and indeed, they filled out... which document contained several sentences stressing: the importance of double-checking the correct spelling of their child's name exactly how they wished it to be; and the consequences of having to later correct its misspelling.

Of course, in other exceptional circumstances (the parents are foreigners, unable to read, etc.), then additional reasonable precautions need to be taken.

My idea is to eliminate as many excuses as possible beforehand. :)

[gwenith, BSN, RN]

Larry - it was a joke.

[Havin' A Party!, ASN, RN]

Larry - it was a joke.

I'm hip. :)