View Message

Alternate spelling?
Normally I am not one to like alternate spellings, as they often get on my nerves (Kymbirlee anyone?)However, I told my sister our top choice for a boy is Dashiell right now. She just assumed it was spelled Dashal or Dashel. It got me wondering whether either of those spellings would be realistic. What do you think?
BQ: Are there any names that you PREFER the alernate spelling? Be it legit or creative.
______________________________________________
"How wonderful it is that no one need wait a single moment before starting to improve upon the world." -Ann Frank Mama to my "bright star" Clarisse Bituin and Wife to a seksi bulaklak, Julius. Mahal na mahal from our little family to yours!

This message was edited 9/9/2014, 11:00 AM

Archived Thread - replies disabled
vote up1

Replies

I think Dashel could work.I prefer Isobel to Isabelle, Ashlea (girl) to Ashley, Kara to Cara, Shaun to Sean, Reece to Rhys, Rylie (girl) to Riley, Connor to Conor and Myles to Miles. Wow, that's a lot more than I thought. I'm suddenly ashamed!
vote up1
I think I've seen Dashel, actually, but I can't remember where. I prefer Dashiell. The other two could definitely work, mind you; they certainly aren't ridiculous like Kymbirlee or anything like that. I just think Dashiell looks nicer, and because I'd probably pronounce the names differently so I'd be confused about what prn. you're going for.No alt. spelling immediately come to mind except one: Robyn. I prefer Robin on a boy and Robyn for a girl, which is very weird for me since I'll be the first to say that I don't think a "y" makes a name any more feminine than if it were spelt with an "i." Very odd.
vote up1
Just thought of a few more...I prefer Sera to Sarah, Marjory to Margery, Nikolaas to Nicholas, and I think I might prefer Konrad to Conrad, but I'll have to put more thought into that one.
vote up1
If you're saying it without pronouncing the I, I'd totally support spelling it Dashal. Looks vaguely surnamey and more urbane than Dashiell (which I usually pronounce Dash-yul, but Dash-ul is cool too). Dashel doesn't appeal to me so much though since it looks like a pure simplification.Madlen, Elanor, Skylar for a girl (Schuyler for a boy and I hate Skyler), Vivien, Miriel (for Muriel - sl. different prn), Mellisant or Melicent, Meyrick, Eila (prn like Isla), Wray, Cathrin, Sara, Marc, Cristina, Savanna, Emilia (over Amelia since they sound almost alike when I say them), Oona, Marion (f), Gillian, Laurence, Maree

This message was edited 9/9/2014, 2:22 PM

vote up1
Miriel is on our short list - though we also have the Mirielle spelling. I can't actually say Dash-yul, been trying since the first person posted that pronunciation. Maybe it is my accent? I don't know, but I just can't get that sounds out. I say it Dash-ul as in Ulrich.
vote up1
"Dash-yul" is basically "Dash-ee-ul" but with the ee sort of blending with the ul, not as a separately enunciated syllable. The difference in vowels between Dashiell and Dashel to me is a little bit like the difference between aerial (not *quite* 3 syllables, like Dashiell) and mongrel. Or, a little like shear / shirr.

This message was edited 9/10/2014, 3:16 PM

vote up1
Just thought I'd point out that Mirielle may get confused for Mireille, which has a completely different pronunciation. I don't know if you're in an area where people will even be familiar with Mireille but I think it's worth mentioning. Especially as actress Mireille Enos starts becoming more mainstream
vote up1
People mention that to me on name boards all the time. It's a legit comment - however I live in a town that thought Clarisse was some exotic newfangled name. No one here will have heard of Mireille (which I like, btw). It's more likely to bring Lord of the Rings to mind than France, which I don't mind.
I will have to look up Mireille Enos, as I have never heard of her. But, it seems that any name I like becomes popular soon after I decide to use it (though this name has been on my list since the 6th grade).
vote up1
Well if it works for you!I will say also though that Miriel I would pronounce "MEER-ee-ehl" and Mirielle I'd pronounce "meer-ee-ELL" - not sure which you're going for really
vote up1
I think the standard Dashiell is best by far, but Dashel isn't horrible. There are quite a few alternate spellings that I like a lot: Elinor, Briony, Elyse, Edythe, Winnifred, Clare & Clair, Meghan & Meggan, Gladis, Jessamyn, Eliot ...I bet there are more I'm forgetting.
vote up1
I think Dashal would be likely to be mispronounced as Da-SHAHL, and Dashel just looks like a mistake and I bet would be prone to being mistaken for Dasher.In general I don't go in for alternate spellings, but I do much prefer Makayla or Mikayla over Michaela, and Kaitlyn over Caitlin.
vote up1
It seems to me that no matter how you spell it, you will have to tell people how to spell it. It's not very familiar to people, I'll bet. I used the name Edmund for my son and I used that spelling because I figured that's how most people would assume it was spelled. About half of our friends and relatives have spelled it Edmond, sometimes even after we have corrected them ;). When you use a rare name, that's what happens. Nobody knows how to spell it anyway! I would stick to the traditional spelling. In 2012 in America there were 97 Dashiell
44 Dashel
21 DashielI think the "I"s have it!
vote up1
Is it true that Dashiell is pronounced DASH-ul? (as opposed to DASH-yul or DASH-ee-ul).
Sometimes I prefer a misspelling if it makes more sense to pronounce. Especially if it's a name that people wouldn't necessarily know how to pronounce.So I don't mind something like Dashel for Dashiell if it makes pronunciation clearer. But I don't like Mikel for Michael, even if it technically makes pronunciation clearer. That said, I wish Dashiell was pronounced DASH-yul and we weren't having this conversation. :)
vote up1
Lol Kymbirlee xDMaybe changing the spelling in this case might make the name easier to pronounce? If I saw Dashiell I'd guess it was DASH-ee-el or maybe da-SHY-el.Dashal or Dashel I'd say DASH-al or DASH-el. BQ: I'd always use Anglicized spellings of Irish names (cos I'm not Irish) but other than that I think I mostly like the original spelling of a name. Or a variant so common that I'm not sure which is the original!!I'm not counting names that are pronounced differently though. I love French Emilie way more than Emily but they're said different.
vote up1
I prefer the traditional spelling of Dashiell. However, Dashal or Dashel, although they don't look nearly as nice and almost look incomplete somehow, aren't the worst alternative spellings I've seen. The only alternative spellings I like that I can I think of are Elinor (also Elanor, if that counts as an alternative spelling), Alastor and Alys.
vote up1
Hmm, the only one I can think of is Aerin. I don't know why but I prefer it aesthetically. I don't really think of it in relation to Erin - it is from a book.
vote up1