The birth of spellcheck was supposed to put an end to spelling mistakes. Yet today, more than 22m people in the UK report having their name misspelt or showing up with the dreaded red squiggly underline.
Spellcheck, and its descendant autocorrect, is not something many parents consider when they’re picking out the best baby names. But a new campaign called I Am Not A Typo suggests that these digital dictionaries can have a real impact – some 41% of adults have experienced their names being autocorrected or flagged as incorrect, it suggests.
They’ve compiled a list of names deemed ‘incorrect’ by Big Tech, hoping to convince tech companies to finally recognise them. Is yours on the list?
Annmarie – According to Ancestry, Annmarie has roots in both Hebrew – Anna meaning ‘grace or favour’ – and Latin, with Marie denoting rebellion. When combined, they symbolise a combination of grace and resilience – something Annmaries everywhere will need in the face of all the times they’re autocorrected.
Azaan – Gaining in popularity, this name comes from the Islamic call to prayer (the adhan), and has consistently ranked in the top 500 most popular baby boys names during the 2020s.
Brianne – Derived from the male Brian, which means high or noble, but unlike Brian, Brianne is often caught out by technology…
Carys – The name Carys is popular in both England and Wales, particularly in the latter as it derives from the Welsh verb caru, meaning ‘to love’.
Esmae – One of the most popular names for typos, Esmae has consistently made it I Am Not A Typo lists since the campaign began in 2020.
Filip – Far more common over the last five years in England and Wales than its ‘ph’ alternative Philip, Filip is almost always corrected to ‘Flip’, thanks to our phones.
Fatimah – Also commonly spelt Fatima, Fathima or sometimes Fatma, this is one that still causes issues despite being far more popular than names such as Flo – seven times more popular, in fact.
Izhaan – Not quite as popular as some of the others on this list, but still a similar number to names such as Dean, which doesn’t attract typos.
Kiara – Often corrected to Liar, Kiara gained recognition from Disney’s Lion King as the name of Simba’s daughter.
Lochlan – Derived from the Scottish Gaelic words ‘loch’ and ‘lann’, meaning land of the lakes, it can be traced back to ancient tribes in the Highlands. Despite its ancient origins, it’s been making a bit of a comeback.
Maeva – Of Tahitian/Polynesian origin, this gorgeous name means ‘welcome’. And welcome it certainly is, with 400 babies named Maeva in the past year.
Mirha – More baby girls were named Mirha in 2023 than Laura. Arabic in origin, it often translates to ‘princess’ or ‘leader’.
Nikodem – A boy’s name with Polish and Greek origins, meaning ‘victory of the people’. But will they claim victory over autocorrect?
Ottilie – This name has taken the rankings by storm, as it now firmly sits in the top 100 names based on frequency.
Parminder – If you’re a fan of Bend It Like Beckham (who isn’t?), you’ll recognise this from lead actress Parminder Nagar, who portrayed young footballer Jesminder ‘Jess’ Bhamra.
Prisha – From a Sanskrit root, ‘Pri’ means love. In the last five years of data, more than 120 girls were called Prisha – that’s twice as many as those named Jade.
Preeti – Pronounced ‘pree-thi’, Preeti is another name meaning love – but is usually corrected to Pretty.
Quinn – Irish in origin, it would originally have been spelt ‘Ó Cuinn’, which translates to ‘descendant of Conn’; Conn being an old Irish name for ‘chief’, ‘intellect’ or ‘wisdom’. In 2023, Quinn ranked 236th on the list of baby girl names, but it’s a strong name for boys, too, coming in at 351 in the ranking for boys names.
Rían – Many choose not to add the fada – the accent on top of the ‘i’ that elongates the vowel so that it sounds more like Rhiannon than Ryan – but as well as changing the pronunciation, it also changes how likely it is to be misspelt. Another majestic name of Irish origin, whether fada or no, Ríans are kings – Rí meaning king in Irish.
Róise – Rising in popularity, Róise is now in the top 100 most popular names for baby girls in Northern Ireland. But will they all grow up being changed to Rosie by their technology?
Ruairidh – Similar to the Irish Ruairi and the Anglicised cousin Rory, Ruairidh is a Gaelic name – all of which are descendants of the Old Irish Ruaidri. It’s a very old name meaning ‘fiery’ or ‘red-haired’, but also ‘Red King’.
Seren – Generally given to girls, this is a beautiful Welsh name meaning ‘star’. It’s also a popular Turkish girls name.
Sophia – Sophia Galer-Smith, award-winning author and journalist, said that she’s often mistaken as a Sophie. ‘Sophia is my identity. My Italian mother named me Sophia after Sophia Loren. I’m called Sophie so much and a lot of people who apologise without me saying anything say: “Sorry, autocorrect!”
(As a Sofía myself… don’t even get me started on this one!)
Teddie – For every boy born Teddie, there were around 10 named Teddy according to ONS data. This error affects little girls more than little boys, as the ‘ie’ spelling is much more popular among baby girls born than their male counterparts.
Zohan – You might recognise this from the comedy You Don’t Mess With The Zohan, starring Adam Sandler, but it only started to make its name in the statistics as a baby name for little boys in England and Wales in 2014 – several years after the film’s release. Ever since, it’s been on the rise. As of the ONS’s most recent data, it’s broken into the top 500 most popular boys names.
Read the full list of names at I Am Not A Typo
