Y would you do that?

[girlsteve.livejournal.com]

I recently started a new job at a Students Union, so I thought I'd dig into all the resources I have left from my time as a student busy body to see what might prove useful. I got a little distracted when I found out that the General Secreatry in my first year was called Chrystyna Chrymyra

Don't know about you, but I'd especially avoid unneccesary y's if my surame was Chrymyra.

It got me thinking though, what are the legitimate uses of the letter Y? Because names like Alyson, Sydney or Robyn have always looked like perfectly reasonable alternative or feminised spellings of Alison, Sidney and Robin. Simillarly, my boyfriend's name is Myles, and that never bothered me. But Chrystyna is just...wrong, to me.

So what do you think is accaptable? And what are the worst offences you've come across?

Comments

[snailrevolution.livejournal.com]

Sometimes I think extras y's are more acceptable than doubling vowels; for example I know a girl named Krysteena - I would almost rather it be Krystyna (Firefox says this is acceptable XD).

But generally, I think one y can look pretty.

[kilobites.livejournal.com]

I think that Sydney is fine because it's the feminine version of Sidney. Robyn seems fine because it's feminized too. Karyn doesn't bother me horribly, but it's borderline. I really dislike most uses of the letter Y as an alternate for other vowels, just because it always seems like someone is just trying way too hard to be creative. The worst offenses I've come across?

Madysyn. For sure.

[roseofjuly.livejournal.com]

UGH. I hate the name Madison and Madysyn just makes it worse. I also hate Addyson/Addysyn/Adyson.

[farting-nora.livejournal.com]

Worst I've seen are three sisters: Elyzybeth, Krystyn, and Myranda. Krystyn I could handle, but Elyzybeth and Myranda are terrible.

[roseofjuly.livejournal.com]

My roommate's name is Krystin, which is fine, but Krystyn is too much, and I can't stand Elyzybeth and Myranda. It makes me want to pronounce them with long Is.

[aless02.livejournal.com]

Oh, creepy. I actually work with this girl now!! Trust me, I had the same thoughts when I first saw her name, too. I think her family is Ukrainian, which probably explains a lot about her name ;).

[girlsteve.livejournal.com]

No Way! Small world!

If she ever asks, I said her name was awsome... (although, thinking about it, give my first name it's probably kind hypocritical for me to comment on anyone else's!)

[aless02.livejournal.com]

Haha, very small world indeed. I don't work with her on an everyday-basis, but I did recognise the name instantly :-).

[nandy-pandy.livejournal.com]

Oh, pfft, I feel stupid after leaving my comment below, then. I thought her parents just wanted to be cute with the matching surname.

[in_excelsis_dea.livejournal.com]

I've nearly always disliked Jenny, and that's a legitimate spelling. I can't tell you how hard it is to find another Jennie- though it did make 7th grade easier, because the two of us spelled our names differently, so there was no confusion.

Maybe it's because I'm not in the US, but I can't say I've ever met people with really freaky y spellings. When I lived in the US, the trend hadn't apparently caught on yet, and now I don't have much to do with little kids while I'm there, so I guess it hasn't caught my eye.

I'd say that it's legitimate if there's a good reason to have a Y- like making it more feminine (Syndey) or if it's a long accepted alternate spelling (Myles). Though, I honestly can't think of ever meeting a Miles...

[lilacmermaid.livejournal.com]

Apart from Sydney, I think the only time Y doesn't bother me in a name is when it's the last letter: Jenny (as mentioned above), Danny, Kelly...

And even then, I don't always like Y better in those cases ... I like Lizzie better than Lizzy, for instance.

[azelmaroark.livejournal.com]

I prefer Sydney to Sidney and Blythe to Blithe, but that's about it. In general I despise names with "y"s that aren't supposed to be there.

[laminy.livejournal.com]

My middle name is Layne, I think that that's fairly legitimate.

[nandy-pandy.livejournal.com]

Krystyna is the Polish spelling, despite how odd it looks with all those Y's. I get the feeling, though, that Chrystyna's parents just chose that particular spelling so it'd match her surname...

...which was a cruel, cruel idea.