I wanted to add some input to Jennifer’s request for information on people’s experience with common names that required spelling out.

I am an unfortunate victim of just such a name, KATHRYN. I have never liked my name and never felt like it fit me – however the worst part about my name is constantly having to spell it out for people. Even when I spell it out for people, it is still often written wrong! I have to spell my name out EVERYWHERE I go for EVERYONE – it is the biggest pain!

There are so many variations on how to spell it: Kathryn, Catherine, Katherine, Katharyn, Katharen, Cathryn, Catharin, etc etc. it’s usually hard to ever find anything personalized with my spelling, also. I can appreciate that I don’t have a very weird or unusual name that might cause ridicule, but having this type of name has caused me to want to change it entirely when I get married.

 Sincerely,

 a VERY frustrated K-A-T-H-R-Y-N.

Dear Kathryn,

Thank you for your input! I can imagine your frustration.

Jennifer

Jennifer Moss (she/her) is the founder of BabyNames.com, author of The Baby Names Workbook, and Producer of The Baby Names Podcast. Jennifer is widely regarded as the leading expert on popular baby name trends and the naming process, serving as the authoritative source on the subject for national and international media.

Jennifer entered the tech arena in the 80s as a software developer and database architect, and became a pioneer in the Internet industry. In addition to operating BabyNames.com, Jennifer owns a web development agency in central California.