Can a Name Be Misspelled?

The other day, I saw an article that snarked, "kids these days think 'Britney' is the correct spelling." Seriously? So, what is the "correct" spelling? Brittani? Brittney? Brittny? Britnee? Brittnee? Brittany? I'm pretty sure the writer would choose the last one—after they yelled at me to get off their lawn.

This got me thinking. What constitutes a "correct" spelling of a name? Is there such a thing? I believe there is and there is not.

If, like the aforementioned writer, you think there is only one true "correct" spelling of any given name, well, I hate to tell you this, but that's wrong. Almost every name has variants. Don't believe me? Check behindthename.com for yourself. Even John can be spelled differently. In fact, you can make up new ways to spell a name if you are a new parent and you want to name your kid J'onh or Marri or whatever. That's entirely up to you.

However, if you know someone named Teri, and you write it down as Terri or Terry—or anything else other than Teri—you are spelling it wrong. For example, my name is Esther and so very often, I have people writing it as "Ester" instead. This is wrong, because my name is spelled "Esther." If your name was Ester, I spelled it "Esther," that would be wrong too. If you called Britney "Brittany," that would be wrong. Each person's name is spelled a certain way that their parents chose for them (or, rarely, they chose themselves), and that is the correct spelling for their name.

However your name is spelled on your birth certificate, that is the correct spelling for your name—or if you use a nickname, you decide how it is spelled, and that is the correct spelling. But others with a name that sounds the same may have a different spelling, and that is the correct spelling for their name. Therefore, it is possible to misspell a name, but only when that name belongs to a specific individual and you are writing about that person.

Lead Vs. Led

One of the most common mistakes I see is the confusion of "lead" and "led." It seems that many people don't know how to use these words. So here's a (hopefully) simple explanation.

Lead

This word has two meanings and two pronunciations.

1. Pronounced LEED.
verb (used with object)

1.

to go before or with to show the way; conduct or escort: to lead a group on a cross-country hike.

2.

to conduct by holding and guiding: to lead a horse by a rope.

3.

to influence or induce; cause: Subsequent events led him to reconsider his position.

4.

to guide in direction, course, action, opinion, etc.; bring: You can lead her around to your point of viewif you are persistent.

5.

to conduct or bring (water, wire, etc.) in a particular course.

This can also be a noun, as in someone who takes the lead, or a leash.

Pronounced LED.
noun

1.

Chemistry . a heavy, comparatively soft, malleable, bluish-gray metal, sometimes found in its naturalstate but usually combined as a sulfide, especially in galena. Symbol:  Pb; atomic weight:  207.19;atomic number:  82; specific gravity:  11.34 at 20°C.

2.

something made of this metal or of one of its alloys.

3.

a plummet or mass of lead suspended by a line, as for taking soundings.

4.

bullets collectively; shot.

5.

black lead or graphite.

As in, pencil lead.

Led

This word has only one meaning and one pronunciation.

verb

simple past tense and past participle of lead.

It is used in cases such as "Yesterday, I led the choir in singing 'Amazing Grace.'"

It is never correct to use "lead" as a past tense of itself. Do not say "Yesterday, I lead the choir in singing 'Amazing Grace.'" Bad. Very bad.

I see it all the time online, though. It drives me crazy, because I pronounce it LEED in my head, and then it sounds awful. "Are you aware of what leed to this?" Ugh. No. "Are you aware of what led to this?" Much better.

It's very simple: when it's a verb, it's spelled just how it sounds. Today, I lead. Yesterday, I led. Easy peasy.

Now, do it right. Please.

(All definitions from dictionary.com)