Respellings Names

A familiar name written a new way. Respellings are where invented meanings cluster most thickly elsewhere on the internet, because a new spelling reads as a new name that must have come from somewhere.

Rankings for

16 names, most popular first in United States

Very Rare Rare Uncommon

Girls Boys Unisex

Brayden Brayden is a modern American invention with a real Irish surname behind it, and it peaked in 2010 — one of the latest peaks on this site.
Irish #229 in US
Bryan Bryan is a boy's name of Irish origin whose meaning is unsettled — noble and high are both proposed.
Irish #336 in US
Erick Erick means ever-ruler, and the K-spelling is the Scandinavian one — Erik the Red named Greenland deliberately to attract settlers, which may be the earliest recorded use of a misleading brand name.
Scandinavian #366 in US
Collin Collin doubles the L of Colin, and the name underneath has two unrelated sources — a French pet form of Nicolas, and the Scottish Gaelic Cailean, which share nothing but a spelling.
American #493 in US
Johnathan Johnathan is a misspelling that became a name — it inserts an h into Jonathan by confusion with John, and the two are different Hebrew names that only look related.
English #509 in US
Phillip Phillip is a boy's name meaning lover of horses, the doubled-l spelling of Philip.
Greek #651 in US
Shawn Shawn is a boy's name, the phonetic American respelling of the Irish Seán, which is itself the Irish form of John.
Irish #681 in US
Kristopher Kristopher means Christ-bearer, and the legend built the meaning backward — a giant who carried a child across a river turned out to be carrying Christ, which is the story explaining the name.
English #1,188 in US
Jonathon Jonathon respells Jonathan, and the original names a gift — Yahweh has given, borne in scripture by the friend whose bond with David the text describes in terms it uses nowhere else.
English #1,487 in US
Jeffery Jeffery is a boy's name whose first element is genuinely disputed, though the second means peace.
Germanic #1,562 in US
Terrance Terrance respells Terrence, and the name descends from a Roman playwright born enslaved in North Africa — Terence was freed by his owner and his Latin became a school text for centuries.
American #1,565 in US
Fredrick Fredrick is an American respelling that ranks higher in England and Wales than in the United States — 934th against 1730th, which reverses the usual direction for a respelling.
English #1,730 in US
Shaun Shaun spells the Irish Seán phonetically for English readers, and it is the same name as John — the Irish took it from Norman French Jehan rather than directly from Latin, which is why it sounds nothing like John.
Irish #1,943 in US
Rickey Rickey means strong ruler, and its peak is the largest in this group — 3,818 American births in 1958, against 45 in the most recent year we have.
English #2,829 in US
Earnest Earnest respells Ernest, and the Germanic behind it is not mild — eornost meant vigor in battle, seriousness of the deadly kind, long before it settled into the sense of being sincere.
English #4,177 in US
Yoann Yoann is a French respelling of one of the most widely borne names in history — John, whose forms include Ian, Sean, Juan, Ivan, Giovanni, Jens and Hans, all from one Hebrew sentence.
French 43,069 births

Or Browse by Decade

A style is our reading of a name. A decade is the register — the names children were actually given, in order, with the counts.

Search Names

Respellings Names

Or Browse by Decade

Related Styles