| 1 | %% |
| 2 | %% |
| 3 | %% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Please add your example in the proper place. Thanks! |
| 4 | %% |
| 5 | %% |
| 6 | |
| 7 | [[quoteright:297:[[ComicBook/{{Static}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/my_nayme_is.png]]]] |
| 8 | [[caption-width-right:297:It's the one group Static can ''never'' defeat: \ |
| 9 | the Insufferable Y-Wymyn!]] |
| 10 | |
| 11 | ->''"Anyway I met this woman, her name was ah, Amy, you know, so I go 'Oh, A-M-Y?' She goes 'No, A-Y-M-I-E.' 'Ughhh... I have to take a nap! [audience laughs] Well, I'm Brian, B-R-I-V-O-L-B-N-the number seven and '''the letter Q! Brennemenahgah!!!'''[='=]"'' |
| 12 | -->-- '''Creator/BrianRegan''' |
| 13 | |
| 14 | ...not spelled like that. |
| 15 | |
| 16 | This trope describes an intentionally bizarre or unusual (mis)spelling of one's name. It's generally done to make oneself [[OneSteveLimit stand out from the crowd]] without going to [[AwesomeMcCoolname more ridiculous extremes]]. |
| 17 | |
| 18 | This would not include commonly accepted alternative spellings such as Jeff/Geoff or Terry/Terri/Teri, nor to simple foreign-language transliterations; the new spelling should be an obvious change from a generally-accepted way to spell it (it can, though, apply to foreign-language names which are respelled phonetically, such as "Antwan" [Antoine] or "Dontay" [Dante], unless/until the alternate spelling becomes mainstream -- the aforementioned "Jeff" was originally one of these). Further, it doesn't often apply to surnames, as few surnames have a single, accepted spelling, but there are rare occurrences. |
| 19 | |
| 20 | As a fictional trope, one would expect this to appear mostly in written works, for obvious reasons, but it can crop up in other media as well, especially if a {{Cloudcuckoolander}} gets to pick the name. It's also TruthInTelevision, as hundreds of babies are given "unique" spellings of traditional names each year. |
| 21 | |
| 22 | Sometimes characters who are NotQuiteHuman have exotic names that are oddly similar to RealLife names as a result of a FantasyCounterpartCulture. |
| 23 | |
| 24 | It's worth noting that [[Music/LynyrdSkynyrd replacing random vowyls with the letter "y"]] is an [[SelfDemonstratingArticle extrymely commyn mythod of invokyng thys trope]]. As is taking a one-syllable [[YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe worde ande adding the letter "e"]]. Or d'ropping in the [[PunctuationShaker oc'casion'l apostr'phe]], usu'lly (but not al'ways) in place of a v'wel. |
| 25 | |
| 26 | For added comedy value, this can lead to PsmithPsyndrome. |
| 27 | |
| 28 | See also HollywoodSpelling, but note that if the alternate spelling is considered bizarre in-show, HollywoodSpelling may be deliberately avoided. |
| 29 | |
| 30 | Compare XtremeKoolLetterz, a good way to invoke this trope; and TranslationYes in the case of unpronounceable names. |
| 31 | |
| 32 | Contrast InconsistentSpelling, where the writer themself isn't sure on how a name should be spelled. (If it's a variation on a ''foreign'' name, though, they can coexist.) Also contrast PretentiousPronunciation, where a word with a normal spelling is given a bizarre pronunciation. Spelling of something other than a name by the ''writer'' is probably PhantasySpelling. |
| 33 | |
| 34 | Not related to HisNameIs. May lead to ViewerNameConfusion. |
| 35 | |
| 36 | ---- |
| 37 | !!Igzampls: |
| 38 | |
| 39 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 40 | |
| 41 | [[folder:Ahddvayrtyzing]] |
| 42 | * A Mexican ad for DHL shows a 100% Mexican artist called María Chantal; however, when she went by the pen name of "[[EverythingsSexierInFrench Marie Chantale]]", and her commissions suddenly skyrocketed. |
| 43 | [[/folder]] |
| 44 | |
| 45 | [[folder:Animay & Mawnguh]] |
| 46 | * The sixth season of ''Anime/DigimonFusion'' is actually pronounced "Cross Wars". |
| 47 | * Dwun from ''Manga/HunterXHunter'' used to spell his name "Wdwune" until Ging changed it. Legally. In less than a minute. Over the phone. |
| 48 | * In the indie animation version of Anime/{{Kemurikusa}}, Rina is actually written as Nari but pronounced backwards. |
| 49 | * In ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'', Kyubey's name is written rather strangely in Japanese: half in katakana (including a gratuitous small U), half in hiragana. |
| 50 | * Nrvnqsr Chaos from ''VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}}''. "Nrvnqsr" is a transliteration of the Hebrew for "Nero Caesar" (see NumberOfTheBeast). So even though "Nrvn" could be read as "Neron", it's really really hard to think of "qsr" as silent. Particularly startling since the first time you see it, it is in its own page, "Nrvnqsr? |>". And no one explains how to pronounce it. |
| 51 | ** PlayedForLaughs in ''Anime/CarnivalPhantasm'', when Nrvnqsr has to write his name. He ''can't'', and instead, he just writes "Nero". |
| 52 | * ''Anime/YuGiOhZEXAL'' is actually pronounced "zeal" in the original Japanese. [[LostInTranslation The English dub pronounces the "X".]] |
| 53 | * Vrlitwhai Kridanik, from ''Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross'', has a first name that is pronounced "Breetai." Several other of the main Zentradi characters have similarly interesting spellings. |
| 54 | * This is apparently done deliberately in the English translation of ''Manga/TheFiveStarStories'', using various idiosyncratic romanizations to distinguish things in the ALongTimeAgoInAGalaxyFarFarAway setting from the real things they're named after. Examples include the kingdoms of "Grees" and "Babiron" on the planet Delta Belune and the rival planets Both and J[[HeavyMetalUmlaut ü]]no (from audio equipment manufacturer Bose and the Roland JUNO synthesizer). |
| 55 | [[/folder]] |
| 56 | |
| 57 | [[folder:Aeshean Animaeshyon]] |
| 58 | * In one English dub of ''Animation/DobyAndDisy'', the pronunciation of Disy's name is exactly like that of the name "Daisy". |
| 59 | [[/folder]] |
| 60 | |
| 61 | [[folder:Odiau Draama]] |
| 62 | * The AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho audios' resident PunctuationShaker victim C'rizz's name is pronounced much like the actual Welsh name Carys, so is understandably often misspelled that way. |
| 63 | * In another Big Finish ''Doctor Who'' drama, the Tenth Doctor's "Technophobia", the Doctor and Donna run across a woman who has the name "Bex". It's actually a riff on "Becks", itself short for "Becky/Rebecca". [[TheNicknamer The Doctor continually addresses her as "Bex-with-the-X"]]. |
| 64 | [[/folder]] |
| 65 | |
| 66 | [[folder:Kawmedy]] |
| 67 | * [[ParodiedTrope Parodied]] by the late great Creator/GeorgeCarlin (''Classic Gold''): "Your name can be spelled S-M-I-T-H and you can pronounce it 'Jenovsky' if you want to, you know? ''What's your name?'' Jenovsky. ''How's that spelled?'' S-m-i-t-h. ''What?!'' They're all silent, nevermind..." |
| 68 | * Katt Williams wondered what the point of the silent letter is by using this as an example. "Hello, my name is Bob, that's B-k-o-b." |
| 69 | * Juston [=McKinney=], himself an example of the trope, discusses all the problems this has caused in his life, such as people spelling it Justin, and how he can't say it's "Justin with an O" because people then think it's "Jostin". |
| 70 | --> That's like having a kid named Tim with an o. "So, it's Tom?" "No it's Tim, my parents were real ballbusters. This is my little brother Steven, it's with a ph, it's at the beginning. It's P-H-S-T-E-V-E-N-N, there's two N's at the end. The last one's capital, yeah they screwed that up too. |
| 71 | * Creator/BrianRegan provides the above page quote. |
| 72 | [[/folder]] |
| 73 | |
| 74 | [[folder:Cawmik Bux]] |
| 75 | * In ''ComicBook/BigBangComics'', Knight Watchman's name has a silent 'K': being a combination of 'Knight' and 'Watchman'. Unlike most examples of this trope, neither word is misspelled: they are just not usually combined like that. |
| 76 | * ''The DarkAgeOfSupernames'' is notorious for doing this, with characters like Grimm, Stryfe and so on. Most of them created by Creator/RobLiefeld. |
| 77 | ** Often this is done for trademark purposes when the name sounds like a common English word. You can't trademark "Strife", but you can trademark "Stryfe". |
| 78 | * Creator/JackKirby engaged in this quite a bit, with Apokolips, Darkseid, Desaad, Izaya, Ikaris, Sersi, Thena, Virman Vundabar... |
| 79 | * Agent ! from ''Comicbook/DoomPatrol''. Someone asks how to pronounce it, and is told, "It's easy, just '!'" |
| 80 | * Lucy's friend in ''ComicBook/LucyDreaming'' is named We'''ls'''ey, instead of the "Wesley" you'd expect. He's aware of how dumb his name sounds, and complains about it. |
| 81 | * Comicbook/{{Static}} had to deal with a trio of truly invincible foes - [[RhymeThemeNaming Bryttyni, Tyffyni]], and [[OddNameOut Krystyn]], aka ''The Insufferable Y-Wymyn!'' (OK, so they were just "the popular girls" at his school, but they really ''were'' insufferable!) [[note]]''Static'' #8[[/note]] Amusingly, in the same issue, Virgil also meets a young superhuman named "Funyl," but does not remark on ''that'' name. |
| 82 | * ''{{Comicbook/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles|Mirage}}'' started by misspelling Michelangelo as "Mich'''a'''elangelo". [[note]]This was not corrected until 2001 by Peter Laird.[[/note]] Corrections on further adaptations have been inconsistent. |
| 83 | * Thompson and Thomson from ''Franchise/{{Tintin}}'', who usually identify themselves on the phone as "This is Thomson without a P" or "This is Thompson with a P". (In the original French, they were Dupont et Dupond.) |
| 84 | ** Thompson usually used something along the lines of "This is Thompson with a P, as in Philadelphia/psychology/phone/something else with a silent P", while Thomson used "This is Thomson without a P, as in Venezuela". |
| 85 | * ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'': In [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Vol 1]], [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1987 Vol 2]], and ''ComicBook/TheLegendOfWonderWoman2016'' Etta Candy is the leader of the Holliday Girls, which is pronounced but not spelled like "holiday". Both of these spellings are used for real surnames, but "holiday" is the more familiar spelling of the word. |
| 86 | [[/folder]] |
| 87 | |
| 88 | [[folder:Kamik Strypz]] |
| 89 | * {{Lampshaded}} in ''Comicstrip/BloomCounty'' when Binkley meets his dad's significantly younger new girlfriend: |
| 90 | -->"Hi. I'm Stormee, with two 'e's." |
| 91 | -->"And I'm appalled, with two 'p's." |
| 92 | [[/folder]] |
| 93 | |
| 94 | [[folder:Fann Ouahorques]] |
| 95 | * ''Fanfic/HaterGoodSideStorySwayedDecisions'', a ''{{WesternAnimation/Breadwinners}}'' and ''WesternAnimation/PickleAndPeanut'' crossover: It features an original character named Sophee, an odd spelling of Sophie. |
| 96 | * The names of the various navy ships in ''FanFic/TheLifeOfTheLegendaries'' are warped spellings of Pokémon names. |
| 97 | ** Aircraft carrier - ''UNV Sazandra'' (Sazandora[[note]]Hydreigon[[/note]]) |
| 98 | ** Gun cruiser - ''UNV Shandara'' (Shandera[[note]]Chandelure[[/note]]) |
| 99 | ** Destroyer - ''HNS Gardvior'' (Gardevoir) |
| 100 | ** Battleship - ''HNS Craydaunt'' (Crawdaunt) |
| 101 | ** Missile cruiser - ''SCNV Saedra'' (Seadra) |
| 102 | ** Attack submarine - ''SCNV Draconite'' (Dragonite) |
| 103 | * There were a number of ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' fanfics based around a group of characters known as the Crowmeowme Brothers. In case you're wondering, it's supposed to be pronounced "chromium", not "Crow-Me-Ow-Me". |
| 104 | * In the ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' fanfic [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8935062/1/Shards-To-A-Whole "Shards To a Whole"]], which centers around the growing relationship and marriage between Tim [=McGee=] and Abby Scuito, Coast Guard officer and (later on in the story) Gibbs' love interest Abby Borin is spelled "Abbi" to [[OneSteveLimit distinguish her from Abby McGee.]] |
| 105 | * In ''Fanfic/HailToTheQueen'', the wild witch who challenges Luz is named Chrys (Chris, but with a 'y' replacing the 'i'). |
| 106 | [[/folder]] |
| 107 | |
| 108 | [[folder:Feelmms -- Animayteed]] |
| 109 | * The titular character of ''WesternAnimation/HydeeAndTheHytopsTheMovie''. |
| 110 | * In ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', Robaire ought to be spelled "Robert" like its English equivalent; clearly the creative forces behind the band sought to spell their leading man's name in a way that made its French pronunciation immediately apparent. |
| 111 | [[/folder]] |
| 112 | |
| 113 | [[folder:Feelmms -- Lyv-Akshon]] |
| 114 | %%* ''Film/BallisticEcksVsSever''. |
| 115 | * In ''Film/{{Bandslam}},'' Vanessa Hudgens' character's name is "[=Sa5m=]", but "the 5 is silent". |
| 116 | * ''Film/CouplesRetreat:'' "Hello, my name is Sctanley... spelled with a C." |
| 117 | * The protagonist in ''Film/{{Defendor}}'' (named, well, [[ProtagonistTitle Defendor]]) goes berserk if you spell his name with "-er". |
| 118 | * ''Film/ForeignCorrespondent'' has a character with the ridiculous last name of "ffolliot"--yes, two lower-case Fs--which he is somewhat embarrassed about. |
| 119 | ** In the 1980 film "ffolkes" (released as ''Film/NorthSeaHijack'' in some countries), the titular character (played by Roger Moore) isn't at all embarrassed about the two lower case Fs in his surname. |
| 120 | * ''Film/TheGoldfinch'': Theo's father's bimbo girlfriend insists that her name be spelled "Xandra." When Theo secretly checks her identification, he finds that her legal name is still "Sandra." |
| 121 | * ''Film/HighSchoolHigh'' has a character named "Cady" and pronounced "Katie". There's also another character named Anfernee who angrily corrects someone who calls him "Anthony". |
| 122 | * The epitome of this trope would have to be Jessica Lange's character from ''Film/KingKong1976''. A large chunk of dialogue is spent to establish that "Dwan" altered the spelling of her name specifically "to make it memorable". |
| 123 | * ''Film/TheHobbitTheDesolationOfSmaug'': There's the CanonForeigner counselor of Lake Town named "Alfrid". |
| 124 | * At the beginning of ''Film/KissKissBangBang'', Harry says, "Now that I live in LA, I go to parties, you know the kind: where a girl whose name is Jill spells it G-Y-L-L-E, that bullshit." |
| 125 | * Creator/TomHanks in ''Film/LarryCrowne'' once introduces himself over the phone as "Larry Crowne, with an 'e'." |
| 126 | * In ''Film/LAStory'', Creator/SteveMartin's character is charmed by a young woman who initially strikes him as down to earth. He's relieved to find her name is "Sandy", because, you know, he expected something weird. Turns out it's spelled "[=SAnDeE★=]" (yes, including the star, and case sensitive). |
| 127 | * In ''Film/MeanGirls'' the main character's name is spelled Cady, pronounced like Katie, but several people pronounce it Caddy. (Or rather, perhaps, like "catty," as this pun would make sense and might well have been intended.) At one point the principal, Mr. Duvall, comments that he has a nephew named Anfernee who gets mad when called Anthony. Almost as mad as Mr. Duvall gets when he thinks about the fact that his sister named him Anfernee.[[note]]Maybe she was a fan of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_Hardaway Penny Hardaway]]?[[/note]] |
| 128 | * In ''Film/MetalstormTheDestructionOfJaredSyn'', the LoveInterest is named Dhyana, pronounced Diana. |
| 129 | * In ''Film/TheOtherGuys'' we get to meet the evil ex Christinith. |
| 130 | * According to the WordOfGod, the in-universe name of the dog to whom Tommy Wiseau says "Ohai doggie" in ''Film/TheRoom2003'' is actually [[ADogNamedDog "Dogeee"]] with three E's. |
| 131 | * ''Film/ThatThingYouDo'': The band originally called them selves the Oneders -- meant like "One-ders", but everyone read it as "O-nee-ders". When they got a manager, they changed their name to the Wonders: "As in, I wonder what happened to the O-nee-ders." |
| 132 | -->'''Guitarist:''' ''(drunk)'' Hey, it's pronounced Oh-nehd-ers! |
| 133 | * In ''Film/Warlock1989'', the female hero is named Kassandra. She says that it's "Kassandra with a K" and the male hero calls her that when speaking to her. |
| 134 | * ''Film/WillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory'': When Mike Teevee signs Wonka's ComicallyWordyContract he spells his surname as 'TV'. |
| 135 | [[/folder]] |
| 136 | |
| 137 | [[folder:Liturutur]] |
| 138 | * In ''Literature/AnneOfGreenGables'', Anne hates it when someone spells her name "Ann" and refers to herself as "Anne-spelled-with-an-e", which becomes both a taunt and an affectionate nickname. |
| 139 | * Creator/PiersAnthony's ''Bio of a Space Tyrant'' has a character named "Shelia", whose name was misspelled on her birth certificate. |
| 140 | * J.R. Ward's ''Literature/BlackDaggerBrotherhood'' series does this constantly, featuring main characters like Rhage, Zsadist, and Qhuinn. The female characters mostly seem to escape unscathed but there is an Ehlena. |
| 141 | * Used in Creator/RobertAHeinlein's ''Literature/TheCatWhoWalksThroughWalls'' as a plot point; they heard the name pronounced 'Tolliver' but weren't sure whether it was Tolliver or Pronounced-Tolliver-But-Spelled-Taliaferro and had to figure out which because he had to die by midnight. |
| 142 | * In the ''Literature/ColSecTrilogy'', the protagonist's surname is "[=MaKiy=]," which can be interpreted as a phonetic spelling of the traditional pronunciation of "[=McKay=]." (He's a BraveScot played straight, and the setting is AfterTheEnd, [[FridgeLogic after all]].) |
| 143 | * ''Literature/ACourtOfThornsAndRoses'': The protagonist's sister's name is "Elain" rather than the usual Elaine. |
| 144 | * Alfred Bester's (1953) ''Literature/TheDemolishedMan'' uses a sort of Text speak version of surnames: @kins (Atkins) ¼maine (Quartermaine), etc. It was written that way as a text representation of {{Rebus Bubble}}s in a telepathic society. |
| 145 | * Also done in the medieval setting of the ''Literature/{{Deryni}}'' novels: King Brion (Brian) Haldane, Lord Seisyll (Cecil) Arilan. |
| 146 | * ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': |
| 147 | ** ''Literature/{{Thud}}'' has Nobby going out with a girl named Tawneee. Three "e"s. Also, Tawneee has a friend called Broccolee (originally Candi, but changed it after she heard that broccoli is healthier). This might be an InvokedTrope, because they're both stri- [[InsistentTerminology exotic dancers.]] The same book features Mr. A. E. Pessimal, whose name is A. E. ''Just'' A. E. "You mean you weren't named, just initialled?" asks Vimes. |
| 148 | ** Then there's Magrat Garlick, the original third member of the Lancre witches, who was ''supposed'' to be named "Margaret" but got sideswiped by an illiterate baptism. She attempted to avoid this fate for her daughter, but thanks to a too-literal reading of her instructions by the priest officiating at the ceremony, the poor child ended up with the name "Esmerelda Margaret Note Spelling of Lancre". |
| 149 | ** The point of "Keli" (Princess Kelirehenna III of Sto Lat, better known as "Kelly"). |
| 150 | ** In ''Literature/{{Wintersmith}}'', we learn that Roland's last name is Chumsfanleigh. A footnote tells us that it's "Pronounced Chuffley" and that "it wasn't his fault". |
| 151 | ** In ''Literature/UnseenAcademicals'', the necroma- [[InsistentTerminology sorry, "post-mortem communicator"]] Dr Hicks has taken to spelling his name "Hix", because no self respecting official token evil wizard should pass up a chance to have an x in his name. |
| 152 | ** Ysabell in ''Literature/TheLightFantastic'' and ''Literature/{{Mort}}''. |
| 153 | ** ''Literature/{{Pyramids}}'', set in FantasyCounterpartCulture Egypt, features a handmaiden named Ptraci. |
| 154 | ** A very brief mention in ''Literature/{{Eric}}'' of a Red Sonja parody named Red Scharron. |
| 155 | * Wrob Barney from ''Literature/ExperimentalFilm'' was born Robert. He added the W in high school to distinguish himself from his siblings [[AlliterativeFamily Richard, Robin, and Reid]]. |
| 156 | * ''Literature/FuturisticViolenceAndFancySuits'' has [[XtremeKoolLetterz Vixxxen]], the ActionGirl of the incompetent League of Badass. Though the implication is that she picked it herself, making it an AtrociousAlias. |
| 157 | * Robert Graves' UsefulNotes/WorldWarI memoir, ''Literature/GoodbyeToAllThat'', describes his time as an officer of the Royal Welch Fusiliers, who, he notes, are rather protective of their archaic spelling of the word "Welsh", and resistant to attempts to correct it. |
| 158 | * Gildhe from ''Literature/HeraldsOfRhimn'' is pronounced the same as “Gilda.” Justified in-universe; Gadhian names like “Jeidhe” and “Gardhe” are also pronounced with an “-a” sound. |
| 159 | * In ''Literature/ItAllStartedWithColumbus'', the hardships that John C. Frémont endured on his way to discovering California included "the failure of many persons to put the accent in his name, even though he reminded them repeatedly." |
| 160 | * ''Literature/{{Janie}}'': ''The Face on the Milk Carton'' begins with protagonist Jane Johnson experimenting with signing her name "Jayyne Jonstone." Then the ''other'' names show up, provoking a case of BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor... |
| 161 | * Polish writer Janusz Korczak (real name Henryk Goldszmit) wanted his pen name to be Jan''a''sz Korczak, as a reference to an obscure novel by Józef Ignacy Krasicki, but an editor thought it was a typo and changed to a Janusz, which is a popular Polish name. |
| 162 | * {{Literature/Kydd}} takes pains to point out that his name is spelled with a Y instead of a I. {{Word of God}} says the name of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana,_Princess_of_Wales Princess Diana]]'s mother, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Shand_Kydd Frances Shand Kydd]], rang a bell with him. [[http://julianstockwin.com/2014/01/07/kydd-my-first-book/]] |
| 163 | * Inverted in Creator/LarryNiven's ''Literature/KnownSpace'' novel, ''ARM'', where protagonist Gil Hamilton speculates that "Ecks", the last name of one of the people he interviews while investigating a murder, may have back-formed from a 20th-Century ancestor who changed his name to "X" (as Malcolm X did). |
| 164 | * Cayke the Cookie Cook, from the Literature/LandOfOz books. |
| 165 | * In the travelogue/nature documentary ''Last Chance To See'', by Creator/DouglasAdams, one of the nature officials in New Zealand is referred to as "the eccentrically named, or rather spelled, Phred." Sort of a TruthInTelevision as the book was nonfiction and Phred was a real person Adams was writing about. |
| 166 | * The ''Literature/LegendsOfLaconia'' character Cassiopoeia insists on the nickname "Cassi", without the "e". HypocriticalHumor because her [[OurVampiresAreDifferent brother]] Ferdinand is irritated when she calls him "Ferdy", which she does constantly. |
| 167 | * Grantaire in ''Literature/LesMiserables'' sometimes signs with a capital R, which in French (grand R) sounds like "Grantaire." |
| 168 | * {{Exaggerated|Trope}} in ''Literature/LivInTheFuture'', where the name of the deceased girl whose Unizon watch Liv takes is "Braeyleighe Mikaylynne Smmythe". A more standard spelling would be "Brayley Micalyn Smith". |
| 169 | * Creator/DavidSedaris writes in his book ''Me Talk Pretty One Day'': "One evening we went to move an attractive young woman who found it charming to spell the name Kim with an ''h'', a ''y'', and two ''ms''." |
| 170 | * Captain Midnite, the highwayman hero of ''Midnite: The Story of a Wild Colonial Boy''. His DeadpanSnarker [[TalkingAnimal Siamese]] sidekick claimed misspelled names were more badass. |
| 171 | * The young adult novel entitled ''My Name Is [=Su5san=] Smith The 5 Is Silent.'' |
| 172 | * Creator/WilliamGibson's ''Literature/{{Neuromancer}}'' features the antagonist Lady 3Jane Marie-France Tessier-Ashpool. It is not mentioned whether the "3" is silent. |
| 173 | * In the ''Literature/{{Redwall}}'' series, some characters' names have the word "white" spelled as "wyte" and "earth" spelled as "urth" (including twin badgers Urthstripe and Urthwyte). |
| 174 | * Emmet from ''Literature/TheRoosevelt'' loves that his boyfriend Jeremey spells his name with an extra E, which makes him seem even more special. |
| 175 | * The ''Literature/RossOCarrollKelly'' novels have many, many female characters whose parents have given them affected unique forenames; Ross even refers to them as "Jayne with a Y", "Keera with two E's", "Erika with a K"... |
| 176 | * Every single name in Creator/DavidWeber's ''Literature/{{Safehold}}'' books, meant to represent the shift in pronunciation that would occur after 800-1000 years. Common changes are replacing "j" with a "zh" and use of vowel groups such as "ah" and "ay" instead of other vowels (except "i" which is replaced with "y"), such as antagonist Zhaspahr Clyntahn (Jasper Clinton). This is combines with a healthy dose of XtremeKoolLetterz, such as Charlz instead of Charles. |
| 177 | * In ''Literature/TheSilenceOfTheLambs'', the murderer insists he be addressed as "Jame". That's what's on the birth certificate, and no matter how much friends and family point out that "James" was the obvious intention, IT IS JAME. |
| 178 | * In ''Literature/SistersNoWay'' Cindy's narration mentions that her mother wanted to spell her name 'Cyndi' but her very Irish father refused. |
| 179 | * Creator/AynRand gives several male characters Irish surnames, but not in the common spelling: Howard Roark (Rourke) in ''Literature/TheFountainhead'' and Hank Rearden (Riordan) and Fred Kinnan (Keenan) in ''Literature/AtlasShrugged''. |
| 180 | * Neal Stephenson's ''Literature/SnowCrash'' has a character named "[=Da5id=]", apparently replacing the V with the number associated with its Roman numeral. It's likely a hacker handle. |
| 181 | * ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', as part of its medieval setting, likes to vary the spellings of familiar names: Joffrey (Jeffrey/Geoffrey), Kevan (Kevin), Lysa (Lisa), Jeyne (Jane), Margaery (Margery), Petyr (Peter)... and that's not including all the slight variations (Eddard/Edmure/Edric, etc) and different spellings of almost homophonous names (e.g. Alliser/Alester, [[ThemeTwinNaming Arryk & Erryk]]). Since the series also has at least three different sets of "official" pronunciation (two different audiobook readers and the TV show), this can lead to a [[ViewerPronunciationConfusion fair bit of confusion]] about whether the names should be pronounced like their real-world counterparts, or differently (e.g. Petyr Baelish as "Peter" vs. "Pet-tire"). |
| 182 | * Creator/IsaacAsimov's "Literature/SpellMyNameWithAnS": Dr Marshall Zebatinsky decides, on the advice of a [[FortuneTeller numerologist]], to spell his last name "Sebatinsky", and the story tracks the various [[InMysteriousWays side-effects of that change]]. |
| 183 | * ''Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy'' from the ''Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse'' gives us the evil clones [[EvilMentor Joruus C'baoth]] and [[EvilKnockoff Luuke Skywalker]] (cloned from Jedi Master [[Literature/OutboundFlight Jorus C'baoth]] and Luke Skywalker, respectively). Although the spelling of these names is not called into question (because the characters never had to spell them), the "telltale mispronunciation" was mentioned as a sign that these were indeed clones. Since this is Creator/TimothyZahn we're talking about, there's a pun involved too: It's not just a mispronunciation; since both clones characters have the letter U in their names, the clone is ''Another U''. (One wonders what C'baoth would've named the clone of Mara Jade he intended to create. "Maura"? "Maara"?) |
| 184 | ** At least it wasn't [[Literature/HandOfThrawn Entoo Nee]] or Ebanne Q3 Baobab, who got mistaken for droids all the time. Even though they didn't actually look a thing like droids. |
| 185 | ** No other clones, not even the "Devist family" and [[spoiler: Tierce]] from the Literature/HandOfThrawn duology, written by the same author, distort their names like that. Maybe it's a Joruus thing, or maybe because these new ones were desperate to keep anyone from knowing that they were clones, and the Devists were all furiously working to avert WhichMe by being as individual as was practical. |
| 186 | ** The same author uses this trope as a way to slip in very normal (at least pronounciation-wise), Earth-sounding names such as Jacen, Jorj, Billey, Rion, and Odonnl. Audiobook narrators tend to pronounce Jorj, for example, as "Zhorzh" instead of "George". |
| 187 | * Used a great deal in Fiona Patton's ''Literature/TalesOfTheBranionRealm'' series: Ashlii, Jonathon, Duglas. Many female names end with variants of 'Lynn' -- Saralynne, Terrilynne, Flairalynne. |
| 188 | * Creator/MargaretWeis did this with the leader of her mercenary team ''[[Film/SevenSamurai Mag Force 7]],'' which was simultaneously both {{homage}} to and ripoff of ''[[Film/TheMagnificentSeven1960 The Magnificent Seven]].'' Most of the directly-patterned characters died before the team got their own line of novels; by that time, the only two direct {{Exp|y}}ies left were pilot Harry Luck and cyborg team leader "[[XtremeKoolLetterz Xris]]". |
| 189 | * In ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'', Robert Jordan used this on occasion, with Elayne (Elaine) and Logain (Logan) being the most obvious normal names with single letters replaced or added. The most prominent concentration of such names is near the beginning of The Fires of Heaven, ranging from unconventional ("Maigan" for Megan) to plain odd ("Caralin" for Caroline and "Joni" for Johnny). |
| 190 | * ''Literature/WinnieThePooh'' has this a lot. [[KnowNothingKnowItAll Owl]] and Eeyore believe that the former's name is spelled "Wol", Tigger spells his name "T - I - Double Guh - err". |
| 191 | ** In "WesternAnimation/TheNewAdventuresOfWinnieThePooh", and every movie where Tigger has a house, the sign (New Adventures) and mailbox (Tigger Movie) has him spelled as "Tigr". |
| 192 | * Creator/PGWodehouse liked this trope, perhaps because his name is pronounced "wood-house", not "woad-house". |
| 193 | ** In a rare surname example, Rupert (or Ronald) Literature/{{Psmith}}. The P is silent, "as in pshrimp", but [[PsmithPsyndrome he can tell if he's being called "Smith"]], and will correct people. In his first book, Psmith admits that he deliberately changed his name because "Smith" is too common. |
| 194 | ** A short story features a baronet called Sir Jasper ffinch-ffarowmere, who could hear you say "Finch-Farrowmere". The "two small fs" thing actually occurs in RealLife. |
| 195 | ** In ''Indiscretions Of Archie'', Archie's last name, Moffam, is pronounced "Moom". To rhyme with Bloffingham. |
| 196 | ** There's also [[Literature/{{Ukridge}} Stanley Featherstonehaugh Ukridge]], whose middle name is pronounced "Fanshawe". It's a genuine, if unusual, English name. And yes, it is pronounced like that. |
| 197 | ** The ''Literature/JeevesAndWooster'' story "The Spot of Art" had Bertie trying to win the affections of a girl named Gwladys. With a "w". His Aunt Dahlia didn't approve of her for precisely that reason, rattling off a long list of other suspect names such as "Kathryn" and "Ysobel". Most impressively, she does this ''in conversation''. (Of course, the joke is also that Gwladys is actually the original, Welsh spelling...) |
| 198 | ** Another short story features "Lester Mapledurham (pronounced Mum)." |
| 199 | * ''Literature/RoysBedoys'': Roys and Joys’s names are pronounced the same as the real names Royce and Joyce. |
| 200 | [[/folder]] |
| 201 | |
| 202 | [[folder:Lyv-Akshon Teevee]] |
| 203 | * ''Series/TwoBrokeGirls'': [[Creator/SandraBernhard Joedth]]. "Spelled J-O-E-D-T-H. The 'dth' is silent." |
| 204 | * ''Series/NineteenKidsAndCounting'': Invoked Trope here - the titular family has 18 kids that are [[FamilyThemeNaming Family Theme Named]] to all have names starting with "J"; one of the daughters is called "Jinger", pronounced like the usual "Ginger". |
| 205 | * Some of the Grounders in ''Series/{{The 100}}'' have this, to emphasize how languages and naming conventions evolved in 97 years. Examples include Nyko (Nico) and Gustus (Augustus). |
| 206 | * Season 12 of ''Series/TheAmazingRace'' featured a team of two [[{{Goth}} Goths]] by the names of Kynt and Vyxsin. Season 15 had the couple of Meghan & Cheyne (pronunced "Shane"). Season 16 had Caite (pronounced "Katie", not "Kate"). Season 21 had Jaymes...whose partner's name was James. |
| 207 | * A memorable ''Series/ABitOfFryAndLaurie'' sketch involved a character named Derek giving a report to a policeman. When asked to give his full name, he says "Derek" and then drops a cigarette lighter on the table. When asked to spell the name, he says " N I P P L hyphen E." Further HilarityEnsues as his address involves a tap dance and a slap to a cheek. |
| 208 | * ''Series/{{Cheers}}''. Two examples. |
| 209 | ** In the episode "Second Time Around," Frasier dates one of Sam's old flames named Candi. |
| 210 | --->'''Candi:''' My name is Candi.\ |
| 211 | '''Frasier:''' ''(noticing her necklace)'' Yes, I see. With an "I".\ |
| 212 | '''Candi:''' Yeah, I used to spell it with a "Y", but I wanted to be taken seriously, so I spell it with an "I", like "Gandhi".\ |
| 213 | '''Frasier:''' Yes... I believe that's why he changed it, too. |
| 214 | ** The episode "Sam's Women" has a beautiful but dumb woman come into the bar, catching the attention of Sam and every other man there. She tells Sam her name is Brandee, "spelled with two 'e's'." |
| 215 | * Creator/StephenColbert of ''Series/TheColbertReport'' has been known to accuse [[Series/TheDailyShow Jon Stewart]] of this, adding an H to make it "John" because "that is how you are supposed to spell that." (It's short for "Jonathan" and so is perfectly valid.) |
| 216 | * Quendra (aka "Kendra with a 'Q-U'") on ''Series/{{Community}}''. |
| 217 | * ''Series/CopsLAC'' gives us Jahrryde Trent, pronounced like Jared. |
| 218 | -->'''Jack''': Two Rs as well? How cute.\ |
| 219 | '''Samantha''': Said his mother wanted him to be different.\ |
| 220 | '''Diane''': Well, she's got an armed robber for a son. That's different. |
| 221 | * At least one article has mentioned how the professionals on ''Series/DancingWithTheStars'', especially the likes of Edyta, Ashly, Kym, Dmitry, and Maksim, seem to have a dislike of vowels. |
| 222 | * ''Series/DoctorWho'': |
| 223 | ** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E12BadWolf "Bad Wolf"]], the character Lynda clarifies that her name is spelled with a Y, not an I. Subsequently, the Doctor calls her "Lynda with a Y". Lynda keeps saying "Lynda-with-a-Y" because she's a Big Brother contestant and there was another one, already evicted, who was Linda-with-an-I. |
| 224 | ** In the two-parter [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E4DaleksInManhattan "Daleks in Manhattan"]]/[[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E5EvolutionOfTheDaleks "Evolution of the Daleks"]], a showgirl named Tallulah explains that her name is spelled "with three l's and an h". When she later asks the Doctor if he can save her boyfriend's life, the Doctor answers, "Oh, Tallulah with three L's and an H– just you watch me!" |
| 225 | ** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E10InTheForestOfTheNight "In the Forest of the Night"]] has Maebh (as opposed to Maeve) Arden. The spelling of her name can only be seen in the episode briefly on the cover of her workbook, and in the credits. Then again, this might not count, because there's no "v" in Irish — her name is simply non-Anglicised, rather than spelled unusually. |
| 226 | * ''Series/EerieIndiana'': Marshall has disdain for his older sister for spelling her name "S-Y-N-D-I." In "Foreverware", he says that no one who spells their name that way should be allowed to drive a car. |
| 227 | * In ''Series/FamilyMatters'', Lieutenant Murtaugh asks Rachel to call him Lou, spelled "L-i-e-u". He also reveals to Carl that he had his first name legally changed to "Lieutenant" when he became a lieutenant. When asked what his name was before that, he says, "Sergeant". |
| 228 | * In an episode of ''Music/FlightOfTheConchords'', the main characters argue over the the name of their new love interest, one saying it's Barbara and the other "Brahbrah" (to which the first replies that no one is named "Brahbrah"). At the end of the episode, "Brahbrah" is indeed revealed to be her name. |
| 229 | * ''Series/GameOfThrones'': |
| 230 | ** Many of the character's names are very similar to modern names, such as Eddard, Robb, Joffrey, Petyr, Jaime, Margaery, and Alliser. |
| 231 | ** Knights are titled "''ser''" rather than the traditional English "sir". |
| 232 | * ''Series/HouseOfTheDragon'': |
| 233 | ** There's Queen Aemma, which is pronounced like "Emma". |
| 234 | ** Dyana, the maid who gets raped by Prince Aegon at the Red Keep. |
| 235 | ** Helaena Targaryen, pronounced like "Helena". |
| 236 | ** Ser Erryk Cargyll, like "Eric". |
| 237 | * Somewhat parodied with [[EmoKid Izaak Wolfe]] in ''Gap''. |
| 238 | * ''Series/GirlMeetsWorld'': Auggie's friend Dewey constantly says his name is "Doy", but "the W is silent". [[BerserkButton Disagree with him, and he'll flip out.]] |
| 239 | * Downplayed in ''Series/{{Ghostwriter}}'', where there are times Lenni will introduce herself, particularly if they have to write her name, as, "Lenni, with an 'I'", to which they respond "okay Lenni with an 'I'". |
| 240 | * In one episode of ''Series/ICarly'', Spencer does a audition as a drummer for a Rock band, one of the member is a girl named Susy, but she [[InsistentTerminology insisted]] it's pronounced "Soo-Say". |
| 241 | * ''Series/{{Hollyoaks}}'' featured a character called Mitzeee. She made sure you knew it was spelled with 3Es. |
| 242 | * On ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'', a girl in a restaurant is annoyed when the waitress fails to realize ("Kristen?" "Kirsten?") that her name has "r"s on ''both'' sides of the "i": "''Krirsten''". Given that Ted is known to embellish and was told of this by Barney and Robin, this may or may not be an invention to illustrate how much of a b*tch the girl was. |
| 243 | ** In another episode, Ted and Barney are separately told that a woman's name is "Robyn with a Y". They both reply [[StrangeMindsThinkAlike "Yobin?"]] |
| 244 | * An ''Series/InLivingColor'' sketch featured a man whose spelled out his name as (approximately) "Q, E, P, H, F, E, N, N, N, N ... N." He then revealed that it was pronounced "Kevin". |
| 245 | * One of the main characters on ''{{Series/K9}}'' is named "Jorjie". |
| 246 | * In ''Series/KathAndKim'', Kath, Kim and Sharon are brainstorming names for Kim's baby. Sharon suggests Taylor, spelled T-A-I-L-U-H. Kim offers the name Tiffany, spelled T-Y-P-H-P-H-double-A-double-N-triple-I. |
| 247 | * Further to the examples in Live Action Movies, above, Walt Longmire of ''Series/{{Longmire}}'' also named his daughter Cady ("Katie"). |
| 248 | * Don Draper's self-proclaimed rival, Ted Chaough (pronounced "Shaw") starting in Season 4 of ''Series/MadMen''. |
| 249 | -->'''Roger Sterling''': Hey, writers, how many extra vowels is that? |
| 250 | * An episode of ''Series/MajorCrimes'' features a [[HighClassCallGirl "professional conversationalist"]] named Shampagne. |
| 251 | * In the Sci-Fi DomCom ''Meego'', the lead gave his name as "P, L, X, a circle with four lines through it, and a triangle the size of my head." It's pronounced "Smith". One scene has him make out a cheque to the ice-cream man, signing his name, then putting "(triangle not drawn to scale)". |
| 252 | * One of the running jokes in ''Series/ModernFamily'' is how Mitchell and Cameron's gay friends all have ridiculous names. In one episode, they meet a friend's date who introduces himself as "Joe" but then pauses to add "J-E-A-U-X", to which Mitchell mutters "There it is!" |
| 253 | * ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'' |
| 254 | ** Mr. Raymond Luxury-Yacht, which is pronounced "Throatwobbler-Mangrove". |
| 255 | ** In the Bookshop Sketch, a man keeps asking for books with titles from Charles Dickens, but spelled differently and by different authors, such as ''David Coperfield'' and ''Knickerless Nickleby'' by Edmund Wells and ''Rarnaby Budge'' by Charles Dikkens. The exasperated bookseller tells him he has none of these books, nor "''Carnaby Fudge'' by Daries Tikkens or ''Stickwick Stapers'' by Miles Pikkens with four Ms and a silent Q." |
| 256 | * In the opening spot of the [[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S10E09Hamlet German "Hamlet"]] episode of ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'', Tom Servo announces he's decided to change the spelling of his name to Htom Sirveaux. Crow's response: "Well, Htom, why don't you hlick me?" After the commercial break, we see Crow deciding to change the spelling of his name to Cröe. What's funnier is that they're quite alright with the "Sirveaix" pronunciation, as it would still be "Servo". However, the "Htom" is what crosses the line, as Mike thought it was "Thom" and Tom's correction causes Crow to give an AsideGlance and tell him to "hlick me". |
| 257 | * Kari Byron from ''Series/MythBusters'' pronounces her first name "Carrie". |
| 258 | * One of the main characters of ''Series/{{Nashville}}'' is called Rayna Jaymes. Yes, with a Y. |
| 259 | * ''Series/NathanBarley'' features the individual "15 Peter 20" and "Jonatton Yeah?" |
| 260 | ** Also, an artist named Djave, who pronounces it Dave ... and is a woman. |
| 261 | * On ''Series/{{NCIS}}'', [[PerkyGoth Abby's]] stalker ex-boyfriend's name is '''Mikel Mowher'''. It's pronounced "Michael M-ow-ur". |
| 262 | * ''Series/TheOddCouple1970'': Oscar's secretary Myrna marries a man named Sheldn - there was a misspelling on his birth certificate. |
| 263 | * ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'': In "Suzie Prentiss", Suzie spells her surnmame "Prentisss". A SoundToScreenAdaptation of "Stretch Is In Love". |
| 264 | * In the ''Series/RedDwarf'' episode "Timeslides", there is a model named [="Mulholland-JuhJones"=]. Presumably she insists on spelling "Jones" with two small J's, as "jjones". |
| 265 | * ''Series/{{Reno 911}}'': Seeeeemji. The 'J' is silent. |
| 266 | * ''Series/RuPaulsDragRace'' season 9 had James Writh add a Y to his name to make his drag name: Jaymes Mansfield. |
| 267 | * ''Series/SanfordAndSon'': Fred Sanford. spells his name "S-A-N-F-O-R-D Period". |
| 268 | * Parodied on ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' on occasion: |
| 269 | ** In one sketch, Jamie Foxx played a kid on a talent show. His name was spelled Q-U-E-V-Y-N-N-N, and pronounced like "Kevin". |
| 270 | ** In another sketch, Creator/BettyWhite played a woman whose name is pronounced as "Blarfengahr Blarfengahr" and written as "Lee Smith". |
| 271 | * ''Series/SexAndTheCity'' has Big's coke-snorting model girlfriend, name pronounced "Shaw", but according to her "the Y is silent." It isn't explained how she actually does spell it (Shya? Shawy? Syhaw?). |
| 272 | * ''Series/SheHulkAttorneyAtLaw'': The HardDrinkingPartyGirl who accidentally gets teleported to Kamar Taj introduces herself with "I'm Madisynn, two N's, and one Y, but it's not where you think!". When she spells her name out while testifying in court, the scribe has to cross out whatever he wrote and rewrite it. |
| 273 | * ''Series/ToddlersAndTiaras'': All over the place. Among many examples, Maddisyn-Rae, Alycesaundra, Kendyl, Jozy, Jersie, Shian, Mykel, Kaydence. |
| 274 | * Audrey fforbes-Hamilton in ''Series/ToTheManorBorn'' insists on the two small fs. In one episode she is puzzled as to how a journalist managed to get the fs into "Hamilton". |
| 275 | * Parodied in ''Series/TheVicarOfDibley'', where Geraldine struggles with the name of Creator/PeterCapaldi's fiancé Aoife (a very common Irish name, but the spelling isn't exactly intuitive to the English). When Capaldi's character notes her brother's name is Breifne, Geraldine asks if he spells it "Krtnqz". "That's the guy!" [[note]]Part of the joke being that neither k, q or z appear in the Irish alphabet.[[/note]] |
| 276 | * {{Subverted}} in an episode of the SitCom ''Series/{{Wings}}'', in which a visiting socialite has a romantic fling with "Brian With An 'I'." |
| 277 | * In the ''Series/WizardsOfWaverlyPlace'' episode 'Credit Check', there's a guy named Pa-ul. Alex [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this of course. |
| 278 | * ''Series/TheYoungOnes'': Vyvyan, Vyvyan, Vyvyan!!!! |
| 279 | [[/folder]] |
| 280 | |
| 281 | [[folder:Mewzik]] |
| 282 | * One common "joke" (referenced in, and possibly stemming from ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'') consists of asking a someone to spell Music/{{ACDC}}. Their answer will invariable be "Ay, see, dee, see," or, if they're particularly clever and wary "Ay, see, slash, dee, see." Both of these answers, are wrong, since it's spelled with a lightning bolt, not a slash. |
| 283 | * Inverted with [[strike:Louis]] [[strike:Luigi]] Music/LudwigVanBeethoven, who signed his works in the language of his target audience. |
| 284 | ** And [[strike: Georg Friedrich Händel]] George Frederik Handel. Actually pretty common among well-travelled artists pre modern era. (John Bach?) |
| 285 | * Owen from Music/TheBirthdayMassacre used to spell it O-en because he wanted a nickname that wasn't 'Waffles'. |
| 286 | * Music/{{Marillion}}'s song "Kayleigh" was named after lead singer Fish (Derek Dick)'s ex-girlfriend Kay Lee. The song was such a hit (at least in the UK) that parents started naming their daughters Kayleigh in RealLife. |
| 287 | * Viktor Vaughn, a character adopted by Daniel Dumile (Music/{{MF DOOM}}) on his album ''Vaudeville Villain''. As he says in the song ''G.M.C'', "Party people know the name: Vik with a 'K', if it's all the same." |
| 288 | * The lead singer "Nic." in the Swedish band Nic And The Family pronounces his name "Nick dot". |
| 289 | * A HUGE number of rappers and hip-hop artists use stage names with unusual spellings. There's actually a very good reason for this: such names are much easier to defend as trademarks. |
| 290 | * [[MyspeldRokband This is a trend in the hard rock/metal genre]]: Music/LedZeppelin, Music/DefLeppard, Music/MotleyCrue, Music/LynyrdSkynyrd, etc. Although in Led Zeppelin's case this was to avoid people mistakenly pronouncing the word "Lead" like "Leed". |
| 291 | ** Skynyrd named themselves after Leonard Skinner, their high school gym teacher. It was not intended as a compliment. |
| 292 | * Bob Geldof's "Attitude Chicken" features a girlfriend, name of...Ahknne? |
| 293 | -->Yes, my girlfriend's name is Anne, but she says the K is silent |
| 294 | -->Put the H after the A or [[BerserkButton she gets really violent]] |
| 295 | * The avant-gard gospel ensemble The Danielson Famile. |
| 296 | * The first word in metal band Music/MachinaeSupremacy's name is apparently pronounced like "machine". |
| 297 | * Music/{{Halestorm}}'s lead singer is Elizabeth "Lzzy" Hale, while their drummer is Arejay (pronounced "R.J.") [[BandOfRelatives Hale]]. |
| 298 | * There is a group called "!!!" (it's pronounced "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Click_consonant chk chk chk]]"). |
| 299 | * The band Music/SunnO pronounces their name "Sunn". If you're wondering, they're named after a brand of amplifiers, and the "O)))" part of their name is meant to look like a symbol used in said company's logo. |
| 300 | * In one of his radio shows, [[Music/PDQBach Professor Peter Schickele]] mentions a friend who spells his name [=Hen3ry=]. "The three is silent." |
| 301 | ** The joke about "[=Hen3ry=]" is more famously associated with Music/TomLehrer -- see his album ''Music/AnEveningWastedWithTomLehrer''. |
| 302 | * The Christian rock band White Heart had a running gag in their album credits in which subsequent albums spelled lead singer Rick Florian's first name as Ric, Rikk, Riq, Ricke, Rhic, Rikcq, Ricque, etc. |
| 303 | * Gordon Gano of the Music/ViolentFemmes [[InvertedTrope inverted]] this trope when he decided to phoneticize his surname (original spelling: Gayneau). |
| 304 | * Shane [=MacGowen=] is an odd example. In Ireland people mix and match their names all the time, depending on whether they're speaking English or Irish. The convention is generally to translate the name directly, thus Seán Mac Gabhann and John Smith would be understood to be the same person. However, Shane's parents instead decided to transliterate his name into an Anglicised spelling of the original Irish name. Though the result gives people familiar with English phonetics a hand with the pronunciation, to Irish people it looks about as weird as Kendra with a QU. |
| 305 | * J-Pop group AAA is pronounced as 'Triple A'. |
| 306 | * [[Music/The13thFloorElevators Roky Erickson's]] first name is pronounced "Rocky". It's a nickname that sort of stems from his full name, '''Ro'''ger '''Ky'''nard Erickson. |
| 307 | * Brazilian band J. Quest was supposed to be pronounced in English, "Jay Quest". Given the fear of a lawsuit by Creator/HannaBarbera for the WesternAnimation/JonnyQuest inspired name, they decided to rename themselves with what the people were already saying, Jota Quest ("Jota" being "jay" in Portuguese). |
| 308 | * Music/BritneySpears' first name is actually a very uncommon spelling of the name Brittany. |
| 309 | * In Girlicious, we have: Nichole Cordova, Tiffanie Anderson, and Chrystina Sayers. |
| 310 | * Rocker Vicci Martinez, who had to remind the judges on Series/StarSearch how to spell her name. |
| 311 | * Bulletboys singer Mark Maytorena, who tweaked his name to become Marq Torien. |
| 312 | * Danish {{industrial}} project [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leæther_Strip Leaether Strip]]. |
| 313 | * Sonja Kristina was the singer with the British prog-rock group Music/CurvedAir. Her birth name was the slightly less exotic Sonia Christina Shaw. |
| 314 | * Music/PablloVittar has said his given name Phabullo is supposed to be pronounced the same as [[DragQueen her]] StageName. |
| 315 | [[/folder]] |
| 316 | |
| 317 | [[folder:Pinbawls]] |
| 318 | * ''Pinball/{{Barracora}}'', which was originally named "Barracuda" until [[ExecutiveMeddling executives requested a name change.]] |
| 319 | [[/folder]] |
| 320 | |
| 321 | [[folder:Pohdkasts]] |
| 322 | * Jake's character in the ''Podcast/CoolKidsTable'' game ''Small Magic'' is Stege, short for Stegen, because according to Jake all good fantasy names are just one letter off from regular names. |
| 323 | * ''Podcast/TrialsAndTrebuchets'' has a character named Angelika Lindeman, whose name is a less common spelling of the name Angelica, and Adelyne Raethran, whose name is a rare variant of the name Adeline. |
| 324 | [[/folder]] |
| 325 | |
| 326 | [[folder:Prow Resling]] |
| 327 | * When Monty Brown joined ''Wrestling/{{WWE}}'', he was given the stage name Marquis Cor Von ("Marquis" pronounced "Marcus", not "Marquee" as one might expect). That lasted all of about a week; the next week, he was Marcus Cor Von. |
| 328 | * Outside of WWE, Terrence Gerin goes by Rhino. In the WWE, it's Rhyno. |
| 329 | ** This is so WWE can own a trademark on the name. The same thing also applied to Eddy Guerrero becoming Wrestling/EddieGuerrero and ECW's Taz becoming Wrestling/{{Tazz}} when they came to WWE. |
| 330 | ** Also from the WWE, there was Wrestling/{{Chyna}}. |
| 331 | * {{Wrestling/Bayley}} spells her name with a second y instead of 'Bailey'. According to the woman herself, the latter was the original spelling. But since she's from the Bay Area of San Jose, she opted to spell it that way. |
| 332 | * Similar to the Rhyno example above, when Ruby Riot was brought up to the main roster, her name was changed to Ruby Riott, likely for trademark purposes. Similarly, the New Age Outlaws were originally referred to as "Road Dog" Jesse James and [[Wrestling/BillyGunn "Bad Ass" Billy Gunn]], but it was soon changed to Road Dogg and Badd Ass. |
| 333 | [[/folder]] |
| 334 | |
| 335 | [[folder:Rowl-Play]] |
| 336 | * A cybernetics company in ''Roleplay/DarwinsSoldiers'' is named [[Franchise/{{Alien}} Weyland-Yutani]]. WordOfGod states that it is pronounced "Vey-land OO-tani". |
| 337 | * Rhys from ''Roleplay/DawnOfANewAgeOldportBlues'' dislikes that his name is a less common spelling of Reese, as he thinks it sounds pretentious. |
| 338 | * In ''Roleplay/DinoAttackRPG'', Pterisa's name is an alternate spelling of the more common given name Teresa. In this case, it isn't just a funny spelling but also a PunnyName, since this spelling references Pterisa's pterosaur-based genetics. (Incidentally, Pterisa sounds a bit similar to "Pteroessa", meaning "winged", an epithet of the Greek goddess Nemesis.) |
| 339 | [[/folder]] |
| 340 | |
| 341 | [[folder:Taybultohp Gaimz]] |
| 342 | * Almost all of the suggested human names in fourth edition ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' are differently spelled variations of regular names. |
| 343 | * Common in ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000''. Creator/DanAbnett is especially fond of this trope, with characters such as [[Literature/{{Eisenhorn}} Alizebeth Bequin]] and [[Literature/GauntsGhosts Lijah Cuu]]. |
| 344 | * There's a minor character in TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering who at least has "My Nicknayme Is". She appears in the ''Kaladesh'' block, as seen [[http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/magic-story/release-2016-10-05 here]], and is codenamed "Shadowblayde". Yes, with the Y, which is somewhat lampshaded in the story. |
| 345 | * ''TabletopGame/WarhammerAgeOfSigmar'' does this with most of its factions ([[OurOrcsAreDifferent Orruks]], [[OurElvesAreDifferent Aelves]], [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame Duardin]], [[OurOgresAreHungrier Ogors]], etc.), leading to much derision by the fanbase as a blatant copyright protection scheme. |
| 346 | * In ''TabletopGame/HcSvntDracones'', Vectors born in the territory of [=MarsCo.=]--the JackOfAllStats faction--generally have [[HumansAreAverage the most contemporary-human-like names to match]], but the spellings have decayed into this due to LanguageDrift over the centuries. |
| 347 | [[/folder]] |
| 348 | |
| 349 | [[folder:Theetur]] |
| 350 | * Galinda/Glinda in ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}''. She starts out insisting that "Galinda" is the correct pronunciation, but after Dr. Dillamond is fired, she decides to adopt his mispronunciation as her name in a show of solidarity, becoming the familiar "Glinda". |
| 351 | --> '''Glinda:''' the 'Guh' is ''silent''. |
| 352 | * ''Theatre/JerseyBoys'': Doubling as a RealLife example, early on in his career Frankie Valli initially adopted the stage name "Frankie Valley" since his real last name, Castelluccio, is too long for a marquee. His future wife Mary suggested he change the spelling to "Valli" since most Italian last names end in a vowel. |
| 353 | [[/folder]] |
| 354 | |
| 355 | [[folder:Toiz]] |
| 356 | * ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' deliberately misspells some names based on common words that otherwise couldn't be trademarked. Like "Grappel" instead of Grapple, "Demolishor" for Demolisher, "Spittor" for Spitter, or "Scattorshot" for Scattershot. Also, Jazz was originally meant to be named "Jazzz". |
| 357 | * ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'' rewrote certain names when Maori activists threatened Franchise/{{LEGO}} for taking words from their culture. So Jala became "Jaller", Maku was changed to "Macku", Huki to "Hewkii", Puku to "Pewku", and the sport Koli to "Kolhii". Other characters whose names came from different languages also had their spelling changed when they got sold as toys: Hali to "Hahli", Orkan to "Orkahm", Akmu to "Ahkmou", Nuri to "Nuhrii", and Tehuti to "Tehutti". |
| 358 | [[/folder]] |
| 359 | |
| 360 | [[folder:Vidyo Geims]] |
| 361 | * ''VideoGame/AceCombatXSkiesOfDeception'' gives us the Ca'''r'''iburn with a R, whereas King Arthur's first sword is Ca'''l'''iburn with a L. At least, one hopes that the l/r mess here is intentional. Given the Garm/Galm mixup of ''VideoGame/AceCombatZeroTheBelkanWar'', it's possible they noticed the mistake and ran with it. |
| 362 | * ''VideoGame/BackyardSports'': CRAYNE CONSTRUCTION! |
| 363 | * ''VideoGame/BaldursGateIII'': Wyll is named after his great-uncle. As for why his great-uncle was named Wyll, Wyll shrugs and guesses that his great-grandfather wasn't that great at spelling. |
| 364 | * In ''VideoGame/{{Catherine}}'', all three of Vincent's potential love interests have the [[SignificantName same name]] that are all spelled slightly differently. The initial release gives us [[BettyAndVeronica Catherine and Katherine]], while the UpdatedReRelease introduces a ThirdOptionLoveInterest named Qatherine (or "Rin" for short). |
| 365 | * ''VideoGame/TheCloserGameOfTheYearEdition'' has two examples, both for playable characters: |
| 366 | ** @twitter's name is always spelled [[AllLowercaseLetters in lowercase]] and with a preceding '@' sign so it looks like a normal Website/{{Twitter}} username. This helps to distinguish the character from the social media platform it embodies. |
| 367 | ** Zizek's name, meanwhile, plays with the trope: The strange spelling is ''not'' a deviation from a normal English name but a deviation from a normal ''Slovenian'' surname--the [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed real life person the character's based on]] is better known with the surname ''Žižek'', with carons over the Zs. |
| 368 | * In ''VideoGame/CrisisBeat'', one of the heroes is named Keneth Kurova. Not Ke''nn''eth, for reasons unknown. Maybe because the guy's Russian. |
| 369 | * ''VideoGame/{{Deltarune}}'' has Rouxls Kaard, pronounced "[[PlayingCardMotifs Rules Card]]." The "[=RouxlsRoux=]" consumable item points to the correct pronounciation, but the strange spelling still makes it easy to miss the joke if one's not familiar with the loanword. |
| 370 | * ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2'' has the Anguished One choose to go by the name 'Al Saiduq' when joining as a partymember. Coupled as a MeaningfulName, it's a changed spelling of Al Saidak meaning The Test. |
| 371 | * Serah in ''Videogame/FinalFantasyXIII''. |
| 372 | * ''VisualNovel/FirstKissAtASpookySoiree'' features two incubus brothers named Baezel and Chirval, who, apart from the weird spelling, follow the EdibleThemeNaming that is prevalent in Creator/NomnomNami's universe (as in, basil and chervil). The ''VisualNovel/StarryFlowers'' novel features another incubus named Kardaemon (cardamom), suggesting that being named after a weirdly-spelled herb is a common thing for incubus demons. |
| 373 | * U-1 from ''VideoGame/GitarooMan''. In the Japanese, it is pronounced "Yuichi" (U-ichi, geddit?). The English version pronounces it "U-Wun", though. Like "Ewan", or "You won". |
| 374 | * One of the enemies encountered in the Arcarum mode of ''VideoGame/GranblueFantasy'' is named "Journey Dryft Lyzard". |
| 375 | * Many minor [=NPCs=] in ''VideoGame/GuildWars'', such as henchmen Kihm, Little Thom, and Jamei, and also General Morgahn. |
| 376 | * Alyx Vance of ''VideoGame/HalfLife2''. |
| 377 | * Rena of ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'''s name is "Reina", but she [[DoNotCallMePaul refuses to go by]] that name. She took out the "i" because she thought it removed her bad memories. This has become a [[MemeticMutation meme]] in the western fandom, because she just took out the "i", but it [[LostInTranslation makes sense in Japanese]] as Rena changed the writing of the name from kanji to katakana. |
| 378 | * The name of Nihkee from ''VideoGame/{{Hiveswap}}'' is actually a corruption of "Nike". (As in the Greek goddess of victory, not the shoe company.) |
| 379 | * A number of characters from ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxter'', mostly because the setting is a FantasyCounterpartCulture that resembles Earth. Jak and Daxter themselves are the obvious examples. Others are Erol, Rayn and Ximon. |
| 380 | * To spoof how the word "gnome" is spelled with a silegnt "g," all the gnomes in ''[[VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing Kigngdom of Loathigng]]'' sprignkle their speech and gnames with silegnt "g"s before the "n"s. For example, "Hagnk" ignstead of "Hank", and greetigng you with "Greetigngs, advegnturer!" ignstead of "Greetings, adventurer!". |
| 381 | * Kliff from ''VideoGame/NoStraightRoads'', whose name is usually spelt with a "c". |
| 382 | * Maggey Byrde from ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyJusticeForAll'', for plot reasons. Her first trial as a murder suspect revolves around the victim writing her name wrong (using the more common spelling of "Maggie"). In the original Japanese version, her name is Mako Suzuki. In this case it revolves around the victim using the wrong rendition of the surname (Victim wrote: 鈴木, the more common rendition. The actual rendering: 須々木, which is non-standard). |
| 383 | * ''VideoGame/PunchOut'': Mrs. Ryan decided to name her son Aaron, but insisted on spelling it "Aran". This resulted in endless bullying in school, and as such, Aran Ryan grew up to be the AxCrazy boxer he is today. |
| 384 | * Psymon Stark of the ''VideoGame/{{SSX}}'' series. There isn't exactly a story behind it, but as you migh have guessed, he's a bit of an oddball. The kind with serious mental health issues, that is. |
| 385 | * It's a remarkably common occurrence in ''VideoGame/ValkyrieProfileCovenantOfThePlume''. While the protagonist's name, Wylfred, isn't common enough that spelling is an issue, it does pop up with other potential party members including Phiona, Rosea, and Heugoe. Seriously, ''Heugoe''? And then there's [[AliceAllusion Ailyth]]... |
| 386 | * While it isn't a common ''name'', it's worth mentioning that [[VideoGame/RatchetAndClank Captain Qwark's]] name is not spelled like the ''word'' "Quark". [[{{Headscratchers/Headscratchers}} Puzzlingly]], Alister Azimuth gets his name misspelled quite frequently, too, [[SubvertedTrope despite having the standard spelling in both his first and last name.]] |
| 387 | * ''Videogame/SidMeiersAlphaCentauri'' has Conservator Lular H'minee, leader of the Manifold Caretakers, has an apostrophe. (This may actually be the only way to express her name in some sort of human language, as the Progenitors communicate via field modulation.) |
| 388 | * The second missile silo in ''VideoGame/{{Thwaite}}'' is manned by a woman named Staisy. |
| 389 | * ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' features magical creatures named Entelexeia. Were you expecting that to be pronounced "en-tele-KAY-a"? |
| 390 | [[/folder]] |
| 391 | |
| 392 | [[folder:Web Animayshun]] |
| 393 | * In ''WebAnimation/EverySimsMachinimaEverParody'', the AlphaBitch is named "Madylynne". |
| 394 | * ''WebAnimation/HunterTheParenting'': One of the main characters is named Marckus, spelled with both a C and a K. |
| 395 | * ''WebAnimation/TheMostPopularGirlsInSchool'': Brittnay Matthews, ''not'' Brittany or Brittney. |
| 396 | * ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': Qrow was named "Crow" by the tribe that raised because they viewed both him and the bird as bad luck symbols. Qrow was BornUnlucky, possessing a [[OnePersonOnePower Semblance]] he [[PowerIncontinence can't control]] or switch off. While he finds it [[WindsOfDestinyChange useful in battle]], it brings [[TheJinx misfortune]] to those he cares about as well. He likes playing the role of CoolUncle to Ruby and Yang, however, and the quirky spelling fits in with his "lone wolf hero" image. |
| 397 | [[/folder]] |
| 398 | |
| 399 | [[folder:Webkamiks]] |
| 400 | * While names like Ceilidh (kay-lee) and Ciaran (keer-un) are traditional Scottish names, ''WebComic/{{Avalon|1999}}'''s characters largely use the less common spellings of their names, although Phoebe prefers her name pronounced "feeb". |
| 401 | * [[MeaningfulName Blond]] from the webcomic [[http://www.blueandblond.com/archives/page.001.html ''Blue and Blond'']] is very particular about the fact that his name does ''not'' have an 'e' on the end, and will know if you spelled it that way in conversation. |
| 402 | * Grrl from ''Webcomic/CatAndGirl'' is this, in order to contrast with Girl. |
| 403 | * Writer T. Campbell is fond of this trope. ''Webcomic/{{Fans}}'' has Rikk (instead of Rick) and Alisin (instead of Alison/Allison); ''Webcomic/PennyAndAggie'' has Cyndi (Cindy) and Lynda (Linda). |
| 404 | * PlayedForLaughs in Webcomic/{{Drowtales}}, with Val'erie Val'Ley'gurl. Many other names exist somewhere on Earth but with non-standard spellings and PunctuationShaker apostrophes. |
| 405 | * Downplayed in ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'' with Tedd and Sandi. |
| 406 | * PlayedForLaughs in ''Webcomic/LsEmpire''. The Kayoss all have punny names (destruction based for boys and flower based for girls) but one of their key traits is that they are incapable of spelling correctly. |
| 407 | * ''Webcomic/TheNoob'' parodies the high rate of this in {{MMORPG}}s (where multiple characters with the exact same name are not allowed). Ohforf visits an elven city where all the males are named variations of Legolas (Legolass, Leggolas, Legolaus) and all the females are Arwen (Arwyn, Arrwen, Arwhen). Ohforf also runs into this problem when first naming his character and tries Aragorn. When the game tells him it's taken, he then tries about ten misspellings of it while the computer makes fun of him for the attempt. |
| 408 | * Xykon from ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' will kill you if you misspell his name. "Zs are for pussies." (Somehow he's [[MediumAwareness able to tell]] the difference when people are speaking.) |
| 409 | * Robot names in ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'': [[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/d/20060419.html See here.]] "5er0" has the pronunciation "Vernon", treating 5 as V and 0 as "none". |
| 410 | * ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'': Genarro plays the ''[[VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft Years of Yarncraft]]'' video game as a mage called "Genaru". [[InconsistentSpelling While the comic can't always decide how his name actually is spelled]], that spelling doesn't appear anywhere else, and neither does the "u". |
| 411 | * ''Webcomic/SurvivorFanCharacters'' has a lot of it in later seasons, possibly because of recommenders avoiding OneSteveLimit. Offenders are [[PunnyName Miichelle]] from Season 3, Ker (short for Caren[[note]]not Car, because she is not an automobile[[/note]]) from Season 7, Emilee from Season 8, Iyzebel from Season 13, Mikah and Yukie from Season 14 (both are girls). |
| 412 | * Jame from ''Webcomic/TerrorIsland''. "It's like James, but there's only one of me." |
| 413 | * As we find out whenever someone from ''Webcomic/TheWotch'''s world hears it spoken for the first time, "Xaos" is actually pronounced like "Chaos". |
| 414 | * ''Webcomic/{{xkcd}}'' has a coder invoke this with [[http://xkcd.com/327/ malicious intent]] -- presumably the SQL injection following the "Robert" isn't pronounced. |
| 415 | * Mayy Storm from ''Webcomic/{{Zelfia}}''. Semi-[[JustifiedTrope justified]], as it's a LineOfSightName. |
| 416 | [[/folder]] |
| 417 | |
| 418 | [[folder:Web Orijinul]] |
| 419 | * In a parody of pre-rendered '90s adventure games such as ''VideoGame/{{Myst}}'', [[http://orsomething.co.uk/155/ryndyr/ J Nash recalls]] a magazine feature entitled "Ryndyr" ''As the Dyngyyn Kyypyr of Ryndyr himself might say, "Gyyd lyck!"'' |
| 420 | * Website/{{Neopets}} are required to have globally-unique names, so users, unless they want to have [[LeetLingo unsightly numbers and underscores]], have to resort to this if they want their pet to have a specific name. Unfortunately, the sheer number of pets in existence over the decades means that even plausible misspellings are exceedingly hard to find. The developers have noted numerous times that this was a headache to everyone, and an [[TheArtifact Artifact]] of the site originally being developed by inexperienced college students[[note]]Specifically, it's a problem with how they implemented an SQL backend. The reason every pet needs a globally unique name is because pets' names are used as their ID in the database. This is considered horrible practice nowadays, and it's recommended that either dedicated ID strings or a combination of attributes that can't be duplicated anyway be used instead, precisely to avoid situations like this[[/note]], but can't be changed at this point without toppling the entire database. So, the strange pet names are [[FranchiseOriginalSin here to stay]]. |
| 421 | * Two stories on Website/NotAlwaysRight actually invert this. The person is actually trying to give a fairly normal spelling, and gets a completely new name back. In one, a guy says his name is "Stephen with a Ph" and gets called Pheven. In the other, a girl is Jessika with a K, and gets called Kessica. |
| 422 | * Relatedly, there's an image that circulates online occasionally of a Starbucks cup addressed to "Cark". The story goes that the customer specified that his name was "Marc with a C." |
| 423 | * The [[https://www.reddit.com/r/tragedeigh r/tragedeigh]] subreddit is about real-life examples of this trope. |
| 424 | [[/folder]] |
| 425 | |
| 426 | [[folder:Web Vydiauz]] |
| 427 | * The Chess-centric [=YouTube=] channel ''WebVideo/{{agadmator}}'' pointedly uses a lower-case "a" in all references. |
| 428 | * ''WebVideo/GuruLarryAndWez'': Larry Bundy, Junior, British web and TV personality, uses the US abbreviation ("Jr.") instead of the British abbreviation ("Jnr"). |
| 429 | [[/folder]] |
| 430 | |
| 431 | [[folder:West Urn Animayshun]] |
| 432 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'' |
| 433 | ** Wakko's name is spelled with a double k than a "ck" that the word is normally spelled with so as to fit with [[RhymeThemeNaming Yakko]] better. |
| 434 | * In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/BrandyAndMrWhiskers'', Mr. Whiskers orders a fountain engraved with his name, spelled with four Q's. In a later scene, we see the fountain engraved with the text "Mr. Whisqqqqers". |
| 435 | * ''WesternAnimation/CentralPark'': A non-human example with Bitsy Brandenham's dog Shampagne, whose name is pronounced and spelled like "champagne" but with the C replaced with an S. |
| 436 | * ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor:'' |
| 437 | -->'''Numbuh 5''': I'm telling you — the word "chicken" does not have a 2 in it.\ |
| 438 | '''Numbuh 4''': Well, it does now! |
| 439 | * On ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}},'' the title character comments on "[[MyspeldRokband Mystik Spiral]]," the name of her crush's band. |
| 440 | -->'''[[TheSlacker Trent]]:''' Would it help if we spelled "mystik" with ''two'' Y's?\ |
| 441 | '''[[TheSnarkKnight Daria]]:''' ''(thinking)'' And I'll spell my name D-A-R-''Y''-A and be crowned Miss America.\ |
| 442 | '''Daria:''' ''(speaking)'' It might. |
| 443 | * ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': The episode "Peter's Two Dads" sees Peter forced to wait in line at the airport as Robert Loggia taking his time spelling his name, using annoying superlatives about himself. (Purportedly to make sure the ticket clerk has it correct. When Peter complains, the clerk loses his place and Loggia starts again, further annoying Peter!) |
| 444 | * From ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}:'' |
| 445 | -->'''Melllvar:''' Make it out to Melllvar. That's Melllvar with three L's.\ |
| 446 | '''George Takei:''' I think I've done enough conventions to know how to spell "Melllvar." |
| 447 | * In the ''WesternAnimation/GaryTheRat'', Gary's regular cheese delivery man (named Bud), was sick one day and replaced with his cousin "Bud with an L". After a moment of silence, he mentions that the L is silent. Don't ask how you spell Bud with an L. |
| 448 | * In the [[WesternAnimation/PixarShorts Pixar Short]] ''WesternAnimation/JackJackAttack'' (based on an unseen incident in ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1''), Kari the babysitter says her name is like Carrie, but spelled with a K, one R and no E. And pronounced Car-E. |
| 449 | * ''WesternAnimation/MyLifeAsATeenageRobot'' has a recurring minor character named Teresa spelt "Pteresa". Most of the cast actually believe her name is meant to be pronounced "Puh-Teresa". |
| 450 | * In ''WesternAnimation/PlanetSheen'', Doppy says his name is spelled, "D-O-P-P-tralalalalalalalalalala-Y." The tralalalalalas are silent, but felt. |
| 451 | * Used as the punchline to a decades-long BrickJoke in ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'''s [[Recap/SouthParkS25E2TheBigFix "The Big Fix"]]: [[spoiler:the name is Tolkien, but everybody has been misspelling and pronouncing it as Token]]. |
| 452 | * The titular protagonist of ''WesternAnimation/SuperWhy'' is named Whyatt Beanstalk. |
| 453 | [[/folder]] |
| 454 | |
| 455 | [[folder:Reeal Lyfe]] |
| 456 | * [[Series/TheOprahWinfreyShow Oprah Winfrey]]. She was named "Orpah" by her aunt, after the Biblical character from the Literature/BookOfRuth, but people kept misspelling the name in everything except for her birth certificate, which still has it as "Orpah". |
| 457 | * Actress Creator/AnnaSophiaRobb. Yes, that is her full first name, and no, the capitalized "s" is not a mistake. |
| 458 | * Comedian and actor Creator/FrankieHowerd told at least one newspaper that he'd used Howerd as his stage name, instead of his real surname Howard, solely so that people would assume it was a typo and remember him. |
| 459 | * Averted with Creator/SylvesterMcCoy - actor Percy Kent-Smith accidentally acquired that stage name from one of his theatre characters, after a reviewer assumed it was the actor's own name. However, the character was 'Sylveste' and he later chose to standardise it to 'Sylvester' rather than keeping that spelling. |
| 460 | * Songwriter Jule Styne was born Jules Stein, but changed his name to avoid confusion with another Jules Stein, the founder of MCA. |
| 461 | * There's the infamous case of Alfried Krupp who enforced slave labour in Nazi Germany. "Alfried" may sounds like a German spelling of "Alfred", but he's the only known example of someone with that name, making it unclear as to why it's spelled like that. |
| 462 | * Three of Henry VIII's six wives were named Katherine. They all spelled their names differently -- that is, even ''their own names, at different times''. For some reason in modern-day literature, fiction and non-fiction, [[UsefulNotes/CatherineHoward Katherine Howard's]] name will still be spelled differently from those of UsefulNotes/CatherineOfAragon[[note]]incidentally, this Catherine was actually born Catalina; her name was changed to an English variation when she married into the English royal family[[/note]] and [[UsefulNotes/CatherineParr Catherine (or Kateryn) Parr]]. |
| 463 | * Some [[UsefulNotes/TheSeveralStates American states]] are infamous for this. Particularly notorious are UsefulNotes/{{Utah}} and Idaho, as (1) they have large populations of UsefulNotes/{{Mormon|ism}}s, and these unique names are something of a tradition in Mormon culture (nothing religious about it, it's just one of those LDS quirks, like Jell-O), and (2) even among the non-Mormons, people out there are pretty independent-minded (it's the Intermountain West, after all). |
| 464 | * The fictional character [[Literature/TheThornBirds Ralph]] ''[[Literature/TheThornBirds de Bricassart]]'' was the namesake for former NFL player ''D'brickashaw'' Ferguson. |
| 465 | * The former Mervyn's department store chain was founded by Mervin J. Morris, whose architect involved in building the first store suggested that the name be spelled with a Y to make it more visually appealing. |
| 466 | * Subverted by radio host [[https://twitter.com/thesportsgroove Mark Gray]], who makes a point of introducing himself on-air as "Mark with a K, Gray with an A." |
| 467 | * Many an unusual name. A good example is [[UsefulNotes/NationalBasketballAssociation NBA star]] Dwyane Wade... Junior. Yes, a second-generation misspelling, and it's pronounced "Dwayne". |
| 468 | * Also from the NBA -- Antawn Jamison. His birth certificate swapped the "a" and "w", so his name is pronounced "Antwan" instead of "Anton". |
| 469 | * The [[UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague NHL]] gives us Auston Matthews. And he's a double-barreled example, as his middle name is Taylour. |
| 470 | ** The NHL is a font of these, as they have a rule that requires a player's name to be spelled correctly on the roster and thus each player to have an official roster spelling of their name. For example, Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Evgeny Kuznetsov of the Washington Capitals both have the first name Евгений in their native Russian but have chosen different official Romanizations. The official Romanization of Евгений preferred by the Russian Federation is Yevgeny, which is unpopular with NHL players as it makes it more difficult to teach Anglophones the correct pronunciation. This led the International Ice Hockey Federation to create its own system of romanization of Cyrillic-alphabet names in 2011; the NHL has adopted this system for players who entered the league after that date (Malkin arrived in the NHL in 2003 and Kuznetsov in 2010, so their English spellings remain in place). |
| 471 | * A variant from the NHL: Guy Hebert, born and raised in New York, used the French pronunciation of his name and surname to fit along with all the Quebecers in the league. |
| 472 | * From Creator/RoosterTeeth we have Kdin Jenzen. When asked about it, she usually jokes about how her parents couldn't afford vowels. |
| 473 | * Actress Creator/NichelleNichols. Upon first seeing her name written down, you could be forgiven for thinking it's a typo of "Michelle". |
| 474 | * Actor Issac Bright (this is his stage name). His real name is Assaf Ziv. |
| 475 | * Creator/AleisterCrowley adopted the unique spelling of his forename for numerological reasons, or possibly just to be memorable. |
| 476 | * A non-human example is American Pharoah, who in 2015 became the first horse to win the [[UsefulNotes/HorseRacing U.S. Triple Crown]] in nearly 40 years, and the first ever horse to win the Grand Slam (the Triple Crown plus the Breeders' Cup Classic). Two stories are circulating about his name—either a deliberate misspelling by the horse's owner (himself an Egyptian-born American) or an inadvertent one by the winner of a social media contest to name the horse. |
| 477 | * Website/{{Google}}, the search engine we know and love, did this to the number "googol" for their name. |
| 478 | * Stories began circulating about a young girl named "Kharringtyn-[=McKhynleigh=] Khaybryn Sparks" after this image [[http://38.media.tumblr.com/2b732c3ff9e4f8b330eac7c8eab62574/tumblr_inline_n70s379Ug91qzqeg0.jpg]] made the viral rounds. Turns out she (and her sister "Khayleigh-Huntyr") actually exist[[https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/a-real-khyuty-pye/2014/06/19/47dcff4c-ea65-11e3-b98c-72cef4a00499_story.html]]. |
| 479 | * From the 1970s onward, many Filipinos would add an "h" to their name/nickname, or name their children with a superfluous "h" in their name. For example, a man named Robert would call himself "Rhob" or "Bhob" or "Bhert," while a woman named Joanne would call herself "Jhoanne." |
| 480 | ** Brazil also has a tendency for this, along with the letters K, W, and Y (which weren't even used in Portuguese until the orthographic reform that was passed in 2009!), and unnecessary double letters. |
| 481 | * Actor Eriq La Salle didn't change his name upon joining showbiz, just the spelling of his name -- he was born ''Erik'' La Salle. |
| 482 | * Creator/KimKardashian's [[Series/KeepingUpWithTheKardashians sisters Kourtney and Khloé]] are named so because their mother, Kris (short for Kristen), liked the names but wanted her daughters to have the "K" in their names like her. Kim herself and their half-sisters Kendall and Kylie Jenner got away with more common "K" names. |
| 483 | * Similarly, [[Series/NineteenKidsAndCounting Jinger Duggar's]] name is spelled accordingly because her parents wanted [[AlliterativeFamily all of their children to have names beginning with J to match their father]]. All of the other children got away with typical "J" names (Josh, Jana, Jill, etc.) although a few involve a non-J name appended onto a J name (John-David, Joy-Anna, and Jordyn-Grace) to make them more interesting or unique while keeping them in line with the theme. |
| 484 | * Fox 13 aired a story about a Memphis school parents' activist group, and one of its spokeswomen was called, not Erica, but Airwrecka [=McBride=].[[http://www.egotripland.com/rapper-names-airwrecka-mcbride/]] |
| 485 | * A couple of American economists (one white, one black) published a study on the consequences of giving one's child a distinctively black name (i.e., one far more likely to be given to African Americans than to whites). At the time of the study (2005), close to 30% of the black girls born in California were given a name that was unique among ''every baby born that year in the state''. More details [[http://www.slate.com/articles/business/the_dismal_science/2005/04/a_roshanda_by_any_other_name.html here]]. (At the same time, however, ''many'' names that are distincitvely African-American -- for example, any girl's name beginning with "La" -- will be perceived by some as this trope even if the name actually isn't that unique and/or has true cultural roots.) |
| 486 | * Invoked with Creator/JohnScalzi's cat [[http://whatever.scalzi.com/2015/01/25/ghlaghghee-2003-2015/ Ghlaghghee]] -- he wanted a creative name for their new kitten, his then four year old daughter insisted on calling the kitten "Fluffy". Remember George Bernard Shaw's comment about English pronunciations being so nonsensical that "ghoti" could validly[[note]]Not really—there are rules, just too many to keep track of; 'gh' can only be pronounced like 'f' at the end of a word (laugh, cough), and 'ti' can only be pronounced 'sh' before another vowel (nation, ratio)[[/note]] be pronounced "fish"? So did Scalzi. |
| 487 | * An even more bizarre example would be the British regiment known as "The Artists Rifles", they were originally called "The Artist's Rifles", but after various army clerks [[WantonCrueltyToTheCommonComma couldn't figure out where the apostrophe went]], they eventually dropped it altogether (as if that was less confusing). The whole thing was resolved after UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, when the regiment was redesignated the 21st Territorial Special Air Service Regiment. |
| 488 | * Former Fox News host and current NBC host Megyn Kelly spells her name with a "Y". |
| 489 | * Brazilian footballer Casemiro's full name is Carlos Henrique Cas'''i'''miro. Ahead of one game for Sao Paulo, he found that his name had been spelled wrong on his shirt; he played so well in that game that he decided to keep the misspelling as a GoodLuckCharm. |
| 490 | * Brazilian writer Millôr Fernandes was born Milton. At the age of 17, examining his own birth certificate, he noticed that the registrar's rushed handwriting rendered his name as Millôr. Without hesitation, he adopted that unique name. |
| 491 | * Also in Brazil, comedian Dadá Coelho has a sister named Emmemeirejanes. Their parents' inspiration was hearing the line "I'm Mary Jane" in a movie. |
| 492 | * Creator/LyndaBarry changed her name from Linda to Lynda as a teenager to appear more distinctive. |
| 493 | * Creator/CharlizeTheron is actually an aversion. Tacking "-ize" to feminize names is a distinctly [[UsefulNotes/SouthAfrica Afrikaans]] practice (in Theron's case, she was named after her father, Charles). However, since she made it big in the United States, the name looks and sounds unusual to most people. |
| 494 | * Creator/GinniferGoodwin was born Jennifer Michelle Goodwin, but changed her first name to appear distinctive and to reflect her Southern upbringing. |
| 495 | * Many names for children are often spelled in an odd way to make their kids more "unique", which includes everything from the Y-Wymmyn example in the page image to something like "Le-a", pronounced "Ledasha"[[note]]although this particular case [[https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/le-a/ is actually likely]] an UrbanLegend[[/note]]. Many people on the internet claim these as names by suburban white people. |
| 496 | ** This trend of "unique" names (or rather, unusual spellings of more common names) is OlderThanTheyThink. It started off in [[UsefulNotes/{{Mormonism}} Mormon]] communities, as a way to keep the peace. In that cultural/religious context, the "baby blessing" (a formal naming ceremony) is SeriousBusiness, and so is conformity in the culture (so ''any'' chance at personal expression is much more precious than it is in secular society.) Women are expected to have children [[MandatoryMotherhood (whether they really want to or not)]], and are expected and encouraged to have names for hypothetical future children already picked out ''long'' before they ever become pregnant. (Often as early as 4th or 5th grade, maybe even sooner.) So if Alice likes the name "Ashley," and Betty (who could be a friend, a sibling, a cousin, or a sister-in-law) also likes that name (and perhaps becomes pregnant first), in order to avoid a conflict with Betty, who might see it as Alice "stealing" her baby name, Alice might spell it differently (but pronounce it the same), so that it's "not the same," and Betty will (theoretically) not be mad at Alice. This method of baby-naming filtered out into the larger mainstream society (largely stripped of [[ItMakesSenseInContext its cultural context]]) through the Internet (e.g. "mommy blogs," social networking sites, personal webpages, parent forums, online baby name books, etc.) |
| 497 | ** It's worth noting, however, that ''some'' alternate spellings are actually cultural rather than just for the heck of it. For example, some Jewish and Christian families will use the spelling "Rebekah" or "Rivkah" rather than the more common "Rebecca" because the former two are used in some editions and translations of the Torah (moreso the latter of them, in this case) and Bible. |
| 498 | * Creator/DavPilkey. His strange spelling of his first name originated from his teen years while working as a waiter at Pizza Hut where "e" in his name was accidentally omitted from his name tag. Thus, the oddly spelled nickname "Dav" stuck ever since. |
| 499 | * Adam Spiegel is better known as filmmaker Creator/SpikeJonze, pronounced like the common surname Jones. And yes, it's a play on Music/SpikeJones. |
| 500 | * UK singers/actors Danyl Johnson and Treyc Cohen, who both became famous through TV talent show ''The X Factor'', were born Daniel Johnson and Tracey Cohen. They adopted the outlandish spellings of their forenames, presumably to make them stand out, but left the pronunciations untouched. |
| 501 | * One child, in Sweden, was named [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naming_law_in_Sweden#Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116 "Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116"]] (pronounced "Albin") in an attempt by his parents to avoid a fine for not registering a name. The courts rejected this, so his parents then tried to name him "A" (also pronounced "Albin") instead. The courts rejected that too, and his parents eventually just named him Albin. |
| 502 | * Exaggerated with Elon Musk's son, [=X Æ A-Xii=]. It's pronounced "ex ash ay twelve", which some have theorised is code for "Kyle". He's known as X for short. |
| 503 | * Discussed in [[https://www.ericdsnider.com/snide/the-nayme-gaimme/ "The Nayme Gaimme"]], a column by writer/film reviewer Eric D. Snider. In the column, he outlines a set of rules for naming your children. The first? No new names. You already have plenty of names to choose from. The second, as outlined below, is not to misspell an existing name: |
| 504 | --> Don’t misspell your kid’s name on purpose. Seriously, what are you trying to pull? Violation of Rule No. 2 is [[LoopholeAbuse usually an effort to circumvent Rule No. 1]]: We can’t make up new names, so we’ll misspell an existing name, thus, in a way, making a new name! |
| 505 | --> No. You can’t do this. It’s not clever; it just looks like you can’t spell. It also does not distinguish your child from the other children with the same name. When the teacher calls on Michael, it will sound the same as if she is calling on Mikkal, [=MyKle=] or Mighkull. She should not have to differentiate between traditional-spelling Michael and all the train-wreck-spelling Michaels in the class. |
| 506 | * Documented on [[https://www.reddit.com/r/tragedeigh/ the subreddit r/tragedeigh]]. |
| 507 | |
| 508 | [[/folder]] |
| 509 |
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