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HelpRyleigh
I recently overheard a conversation that went something like this:
"Oh, I love the spelling Ryleigh!"
"Yah, we chose it because we thought Riley was very masculine and we wanted it to sound feminine so we spelled it with the leigh in it."
"I have a cousin who did the same thing with Kelly. She spelled it Kelleigh."
"Ooh, thats pretty!"
Ugh, so dumb. Why not just choose a feminine name in the first place? Obviously, you know my opinion on it, but I was wondering what you thought about the ley/leigh/lee trend. Do you prefer one over the other and why?
"Oh, I love the spelling Ryleigh!"
"Yah, we chose it because we thought Riley was very masculine and we wanted it to sound feminine so we spelled it with the leigh in it."
"I have a cousin who did the same thing with Kelly. She spelled it Kelleigh."
"Ooh, thats pretty!"
Ugh, so dumb. Why not just choose a feminine name in the first place? Obviously, you know my opinion on it, but I was wondering what you thought about the ley/leigh/lee trend. Do you prefer one over the other and why?
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Replies
Changing the spelling does not make a boys name a girl. I am not really big on the -leigh thrend except for Ashleigh (not that I would name my kid that or anything).
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I don't like Ryleigh at all, but I do think it makes it more feminine. And I'm not a fan of Kelly in the first place, but if I were to mutilate its spelling, I'd go with Calleigh.
If I were going to use Riley, I'd go with either Reilly or Riley, probably the former. I'd most likely only use it as a middle name, anyway, and as honouring. It's my grandmother's maiden name, but there are plenty of other ways I could honour her without using that.
If I were going to use Riley, I'd go with either Reilly or Riley, probably the former. I'd most likely only use it as a middle name, anyway, and as honouring. It's my grandmother's maiden name, but there are plenty of other ways I could honour her without using that.
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I honestly think that surnames, while they may sound nice, should be used only when the name has a relation to you. If you name your son Hemingway because you love the author: cool! If you name your daughter Katherine Collins Lastname because Collins is a family name: cool! But I dislike people naming thier children surnames for the way they sound. Maybe I'm a purist or just weird but I think it kind of de-values the name itself. Family names are things that are an honor to have. It's a piece of history and heritage that you are given and to just pick a ramdom surname for it's great sound and give it to your child cheapens it IMHO. So for you, Glass Angel, I think that's great!
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I like the name but only spelled Riley and only for a boy.
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I prefer Riley. I don't think there's anything wrong with Ryleigh, though. It looks fine. It's no Khaytelynne.
I think people should choose whatever names they like. I'm pretty open when it comes to the boys names on girls thing. Names change over time and so do the genders of names. Julian and Christian used to be girls names and I can still see them on girls. Ashley is common for girls yet I can still see it on a boy. I feel people should respect other peoples tastes a bit more. There's nothing wrong with a girl names Casey or Riley, in my opinion. Those names work on girls and apparently quite a few people think so. I like them for both genders.
Well, Rylee is about to enter the top 100 and Rylie isn't that far behind so I think in a few years it'll be one of those names where no one will know how to spell it anymore and all spellings will be accepted equally (think Kaylee or Kaylynn). So a Ryleigh wouldn't have more problems than a Riley. It could make her life easier because Ryleigh does indeed LOOK or feminine written down. Of course it can't sound more feminine because it sounds exactly the same as Riley.
Personally if I'd give my daughter a unisex name I wouldn't change the spelling to make it more feminine. I kind of like Casey and Finley for girls. However instead of spelling them Kacie and Finleigh I'd rather have their middle names listed everywhere (e.g. Casey Sophia and Finley Grace).
So I don't have anything against girly spellings as long as they don't make the child's life unnecessarily difficult.
I think people should choose whatever names they like. I'm pretty open when it comes to the boys names on girls thing. Names change over time and so do the genders of names. Julian and Christian used to be girls names and I can still see them on girls. Ashley is common for girls yet I can still see it on a boy. I feel people should respect other peoples tastes a bit more. There's nothing wrong with a girl names Casey or Riley, in my opinion. Those names work on girls and apparently quite a few people think so. I like them for both genders.
Well, Rylee is about to enter the top 100 and Rylie isn't that far behind so I think in a few years it'll be one of those names where no one will know how to spell it anymore and all spellings will be accepted equally (think Kaylee or Kaylynn). So a Ryleigh wouldn't have more problems than a Riley. It could make her life easier because Ryleigh does indeed LOOK or feminine written down. Of course it can't sound more feminine because it sounds exactly the same as Riley.
Personally if I'd give my daughter a unisex name I wouldn't change the spelling to make it more feminine. I kind of like Casey and Finley for girls. However instead of spelling them Kacie and Finleigh I'd rather have their middle names listed everywhere (e.g. Casey Sophia and Finley Grace).
So I don't have anything against girly spellings as long as they don't make the child's life unnecessarily difficult.
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People can choose whatever name they like, but if you want a name to look feminine then just choose a feminine name in the first place. To me, it just sounded like she liked the name but was trying to make excuses for spelling it the way she did. Personally, I just think it makes look people look illiterate and downgrade.
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I understand what you mean and respect your opinion. I still think that some spellings looked terribly weird when they were first used but are now accepted and I think that this might continue in the future. For example: Kaitlyn looks perfectly fine to most people nowadays as do Kathryn and Allison and they are all not the original form of the name and were thought of at one point. Still I agree with you somewhat as I dislike most creative spellings ;)
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I absolutely.... 'despise' the ley/leigh/lee trend. It's dumb. If I could choose one of those spelling, I'd say -ley is the most tolerable.
But also, a misspelled name looks messy, imo.
Something like Emmaleigh or Kaeleigh would look very untidy to me. The name looks like it's going to collapse. Other long names like Xochiquetzal don't look quite like they're going to collapse because they have a lot of sounds, and it can build up the length of itself because it has those sounds. But making a name longer with leigh spellings makes a name messy and longer than it should. Kelleigh looks like there should be more sounds in it that there really is.]
I seriously don't see how making a leigh/lee/ley ending makes a name more feminine.
So, as you can see, I don't like the name Ryleigh.
I hope my post wasn't too long. ;)
But also, a misspelled name looks messy, imo.
Something like Emmaleigh or Kaeleigh would look very untidy to me. The name looks like it's going to collapse. Other long names like Xochiquetzal don't look quite like they're going to collapse because they have a lot of sounds, and it can build up the length of itself because it has those sounds. But making a name longer with leigh spellings makes a name messy and longer than it should. Kelleigh looks like there should be more sounds in it that there really is.]
I seriously don't see how making a leigh/lee/ley ending makes a name more feminine.
So, as you can see, I don't like the name Ryleigh.
I hope my post wasn't too long. ;)
This message was edited 12/18/2009, 4:12 PM
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I dislike Riley in general and on girls in particular, and I don't see how the -eigh makes it more feminine. It would have made more sense to spell it Rilie in that case. Not that I particularly like that either, but it makes more sense.
I'm not a huge fan of -ley names, but I think the -ley ending looks better and cleaner than the alternatives. Ashley looks nicer to me than Ashleigh or Ashlee.
I'm not a huge fan of -ley names, but I think the -ley ending looks better and cleaner than the alternatives. Ashley looks nicer to me than Ashleigh or Ashlee.
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I know a girl named Riley. I like that name. I met and Emmaleigh once.
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to play devil's advocate
The -leigh DOES make it look more femmy. I mean when you see something-leigh you're pretty confident in assuming that the bearer is female, especially if they are using a unisex name. But that only helps if you see the name, of course. Hearing about Riley and Kelly, you are still unsure of the gender, ohh the uncertainty.
I personally find -eigh endings reminsicent of phlegm somehow and not to my liking, but that's just me. It's that "gh" I think. Makes me want to clear my throat.
Kelleigh is sure something I've not seen before... I can't wait to see a Chloeigh! (YOU KNOW ITS COMING, IT'S SO PRETTY)
The -leigh DOES make it look more femmy. I mean when you see something-leigh you're pretty confident in assuming that the bearer is female, especially if they are using a unisex name. But that only helps if you see the name, of course. Hearing about Riley and Kelly, you are still unsure of the gender, ohh the uncertainty.
I personally find -eigh endings reminsicent of phlegm somehow and not to my liking, but that's just me. It's that "gh" I think. Makes me want to clear my throat.
Kelleigh is sure something I've not seen before... I can't wait to see a Chloeigh! (YOU KNOW ITS COMING, IT'S SO PRETTY)
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I agree, -eigh reminds me of phlegm too! I agree that it makes a name girly, but only because it isn't used on boys, not because I think it looks feminine in the SLIGHTEST. :P
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A girl I went to high school with has a Cloie. I don't know what spelling is worse, this or Chloeigh.
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Lol
The poor name looks as it had contracted a disease resulting in an abnormal excrescence.
The poor name looks as it had contracted a disease resulting in an abnormal excrescence.
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What I think about it? I loathe it.
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