This is kind of fun :)

[ladyofmoonlight.livejournal.com]

Okay, so if these are boring and y'all want me to stop, feel free to let me know. Personally, I like seeing what people prefer when it comes to the spelling of common names. It's quite informative. Oh, and if you're wondering, so far people prefer Ashley, Michaela, and Caitlin, with Ashlee, Makayla, and Kaitlyn/Other following.

Anyway, this pole is about my name, Megan. My parents were going to name me Meaghan, but they decided to give me the simpler spelling, just so I could learn it without difficulty. Unfortunately, everyone spells it Meghan. I've only met one Meghan and about 10 Megans, and each of the Megans also had their name misspelled to Meghan. So I'm wondering, is Meghan the preferred spelling? And if so, why is the spelling Megan so high up in popularity?

Onto the poll!


[Poll #672166]

Comments

[colin-chaotic.livejournal.com]

I've never met ANYONE who's spelled it Meghan - either someone named it, or people assuming that's how it's spelled. Where do you live? It might be a regional assumption.

My name's spelled Meagan, and I hated it back when I used it (I started going by Lee, part of my middle name, when I started middle school) because I could never find any novelty item with my spelling - it's always Megan on all the keychains and crap.

Of course, my mother loves it because when I was two or three, it seems I decided she spelled my name Meagan because it was like "Me Again", so I was just like her, again.

I also called Miami "Your-ami" (entirely thinking that's what it was supposed to be) until I was six. No one ever said it was a good thing.

[ladyofmoonlight.livejournal.com]

I'm in Raleigh, NC, which is one of those "growing cities," meaning there are thousands of people pouring in every year and I'm not sure anything here is regional anymore.

You know, I used to love seeing "Megan" on keychains and magnets until I hit puberty. Then I realized it was a wonderful cop out gift. No one ever had to think of what to get for me if they went on vacation or if a holiday or birthday came around, because there was so much stuff with my name on it: stationary, notebooks, pencils, clothes, etc. By now I tend to avoid that stuff like the plague. My husband's name is Nik, and he said he always got frustrated not being able to find anything with his name on it (unless you could scratch off the c), but I seriously think that's for the better.

[colin-chaotic.livejournal.com]

I'm still betting it's either coincidence or a regional thing; no one in Virginia Beach or the Denver area seems to assume that it will be spelled with an 'h'.

Oh, I never got the novelty things for presents. But my mom and I used to travel a lot, and I always hated that I could never get the novelty "license plates" to put on my bike. At least, not one with the right name on it. I actually cried over it more than once - especially in third grade, when everyone started getting backpacks with their names on them and I couldn't. I mean, I'm still a little jealous over my little cousins' backpacks with Rachel and Rebecca written on them, because I never got one with Meagan.

[ewaeva.livejournal.com]

Interesting. I know two people with that name, and they both spell in Meghan. One's from Toronto and one's from upstate New York.

[alocin.livejournal.com]

Megan :)
I like May-gan better tho' but I have no idea how I'd spell that :p

[last-summer.livejournal.com]

Maegan? I knew somebody named that.

[alocin.livejournal.com]

looks wrong tho', doesn't it? or is it just to me?

[amberatcmu.livejournal.com]

thats the irish spelling...my cousin spells it that way because my aunt wanted to have some heritage in her name

[babyhoyt.livejournal.com]

that's the way I pronounce Megan. I lived in Louisiana till I was 5, and still have southern bits in my accent... I wonder if that's why I do it?

[krazyhippie.livejournal.com]

Hmm, I'm from the south and no one ever pronounced it May-gan unless the child told them it was supposed to be that way.

[babyhoyt.livejournal.com]

ok, then I am just weird :) I thought that might be it, but wanted to be cooler than weird!

[knightanika.livejournal.com]

I love the name spelt Meghan. It's my almost 8 year old cousin's name and it's the only way i can stand seeing it spelt. all others are just too weird for me.

[trissyd.livejournal.com]

I personally HATE the 'h'... I think you got the best way ;)!

[imyourrapunzel.livejournal.com]

The first Megan I knew spelled it with an h, so "Meghan" \
looks right to me.

[cleddy.livejournal.com]

I know a girl who spells hers Magan...i think it's simple and cute

[dionysia.livejournal.com]

See, I'd pronounced that "May-gan" instead of "Meh-gan."

[dionysia.livejournal.com]

or worse, "Mah-gan."

[the-theorist.livejournal.com]

ick!

[hitzpink.livejournal.com]

I definitely prefer Megan. The h adds nothing to the name. It doesn't change the pronunciation and it definitely doesn't make it look better. I always thought Megan was the 'normal' spelling, so I think it's odd that people always spell yours with an h.

[neroli.livejournal.com]

I prefer the original Welsh spelling, Megan.

My guess about why people spell it with an 'h' is that most people first encountered it as the name of the romantic heroine in *The Thorn Birds*. The character (usually called Meggie) was meant to be of Irish extraction, and her formal name was spelled with an h.

(I looked it up the dates for you. The book was a huge best seller at the end of the 1970s and the mini-series came out in 1983. Sounds about right for when the name was rising, no?)

[ladyofmoonlight.livejournal.com]

Yay, someone else knows that it's Welsh! I mean, I'm sure other people on here no that too, but the general consensus is that it's Irish so it's nice to hear that other people know that it actually originated from Wales. As a side note, for anyone reading this, Megan is the Welsh petform of Margaret, and thus has Margaret's meaning of "Pearl." That's my birthstone.

[xfadedstarletx.livejournal.com]

My name is Megan too, and I've never had anyone misspell my name or anything.
I've known one "meghan" and she used to complain about people spelling hers wrong.

[arbus.livejournal.com]

depends on how you are pronouncing it. mee-gan? or meg-in?

[krazyhippie.livejournal.com]

I knew someone in college named Meagan, pronounced Mee-gan. I hated it.

[scintillated.livejournal.com]

I prefer Megan. I don't like the "h," either.

I've known a ton of Megans, a Meggan, and two Maegans.

[rockstargrrrlie.livejournal.com]

I like these polls- it's interesting to see who uses alternate spellings and why. :D

I like Megan, plain and simple. I think Meghan just looks unnecessary, and the "h" is kind of ugly- not sure why I think that. *shrugs*

For some reason, I don't mind the extra "a" as much, and so Meagan seems better and even Meaghan doesn't seem as bad although I think it must be a horrible burden on a little girl to be like "Meaghan- with an extra a and an h."

[latinlover1130.livejournal.com]

I prefer 'Megan', but i'm a little biased considering it's my name and that's the way it's spelled :)

I don't think it looks right any other way. people pronounce my name different though...depending on where they're from, lol. It's suppose to be 'meg-in', but sometimes i get 'may-gin'. I don't really care...

[the-theorist.livejournal.com]

My name is Meagan and I pronounce it MAYgen (or May-gan, or whatever). I really, really like my spelling, but I'm extreamly biased :)

I ton of my friends say "Meg-an" and I can't stand it, so to help I say, "you don't say Reg-in, you say RAY-gan" and then everyone can say it.

[ouronlylight.livejournal.com]

I liked it as Megan until one of my good friends, whose name happens to be Meghan, and her mother pointed out that, in accordance with English pronunciation rules, Megan should be pronounced MEE-gan. I thought they were just being silly Canadians until I realized that the name Regan is pronounced REE-gan. So, now, I prefer Meghan. < /explanation>

[anapology.livejournal.com]

I thought:
Megan was Meg-an
Meagan was May-gan
Meaghan was Mee-gan

ehhh i dont really like the name anyway! It's really popular where i'm from.

[mountain-nest.livejournal.com]

I like Megan.

I also like Meegan.