I handwrote 5400 postcards to encourage people to vote in the last election. Most of my work was rote — writing out the same message repeatedly — but I was struck by the number of names that had varied spellings. These weren’t unique names, but rather the parents had chosen a less-common way of spelling a widely used name.
For example: Zackarie, Kacye, Nycholas, Kalvin, Chiyenne, Shyann, Shiann, Aric, Rebeka, Rebeca, Savana, Sofiya, Brytni, Kymberlee, Sandee, Emmily, Karmen, Johnathon, Omarr, Bethanie, Rochell, Virgenia, Kathaleen, Ebone, Jakob, Rylee, Nikole, Cieaira, Blayre, Cidney, Kaili, Krysta, Genifer, Kenadee, Kevan, Jaymes, Alixandria, etc.
It turns out that personal spelling is becoming more of a norm instead of an aberration. In the United Kingdom, a movement I am not a Typo is urging tech companies to acknowledge this trend and add the list of each year’s top baby names to their electronic dictionary. Currently, over 41% of names on that list are flagged as errors and subject to the whims of autocorrect.
Getting someone’s name right is important. Don’t let your computer think it is wiser than you are. Before you address someone, ensure that you honor how they spell it.
