Or maybe I should just go with some unpronouncible symbol...

A month or so ago, mister mrtl and I had a conversation about changing the spelling of my nickname. My nickname is not my given name -- at least not the one on my birthday certificate (although it is the spelling that my parents chose), -- so I didn't feel any moral or legal obligation to the spelling of it when I decided in fifth grade that the y in "Cathy" was too old fashioned and changed it to "ie," which was much more young and hip. A couple years after that, I still felt no moral or legal obligation when "ie" became way too immature, so I dropped the e. I've not changed it since.

::tangent to pay some respect and then some::
Grandma always made me feel warm and fuzzy. She'd pick up on the changes pretty quickly and humor them without a disparaging comment. It took a while for others to catch on. Some still haven't caught on, but I don't blog about work so won't say any more there. hee

What follows is another tangent, but I'm trying to get this damned post finish so I can get my horny toes on so won't bother with format. This explanation could be considered another tangent... now my head is starting to spin.

Makes me think there's going to be some resistance to others picking up on this now. My elementary school mates adjusted very well, but I dropped the e in conjunction with a move. Either way, making such a change as an adult would be quite the interesting experiment.
::end tangent to pay some respect and then some::

So we're talking about why I shouldn't stir things up by changing it yet again, this time maybe even to some spelling that seems totally incomprehensible but works. You remember the old joke where you write down "ghouti" and explain how it's pronounced "fish"? (I think it was ghouti, anyway, and remember the gh was like in laugh and the ti like in nation... can't remember what the i sound was from.)

Whatever, back to me. To change the spelling, I wouldn't start off with a K, since that would mean three of us would have names starting with K's, and three K's is just wrong, especially when we're calling Jem "Juju" regularly. What would people think? So it would have to start with a c, unless there's some other letter to use... ::blank:: Let's think about it.

I bet that if I go Irish with this I could really make it interesting. After all, Caoimhín is the Irish form of Kevin. WTF?

c... ch like in school
... qu like in Quinlan
... gh like in Turlough

::quick tangent to consider renaming with gh::
I don't think so.
::end quick tangent to consider renaming with gh::

a... au like in laugh
... ae like in Aengus (see namenerds)
... agh like in Clodagh

Good call on the Irish pronunciations, mrtl! Weee!

::tangent to digest a name::
Fineen means "wine-birth."
::end tangent to digest a name::

th would have to stay, unless anyone out there has any bright ideas.

i... e like in Bedelia
... ee like in Colleen
... ei like in Neil
... ea like in Kean
...aoi like in Saoirse

I think we have a winner.

Quaghthaoi

Whatdyathink?

----

Update: Andrea rocks!

if you really want to change the -th- to something, and seriously want to throw people off...well, this is not irish at all, it's not even the english alphabet...but you could stick a theta θ in there :)

This is just what my nickname needed: a symbol. (Hey, if I could train myself to do the special programming for Hänni, I can do it for myself as well. (What's the shortcut for this, though? I can't find it and would have to copy/paste.)

Quaghθaoi it is!

Comments

[Andrea]

ha! i love all the irish-ness in that! (as the mother of an aislinn [ASH-lynn]

if you really want to change the -th- to something, and seriously want to throw people off...well, this is not irish at all, it's not even the english alphabet...but you could stick a theta θ in there :)

try it: Quaghθaoi

[mrtl]

oooooh, Andrea, that gives me the symbol edge. LOVE IT!

[Sharkey]

I like the new you--you should totally go with it.

I always spelled it "ghoti." With 'gh' like laugh, 'o' like women, and 'ti' like nation.

[mrtl]

That's it, Sharkey! Thanks!

[Amber]

ooohhh...my head hurts now. I need Mr Toes now.

[~Kabe]

Oh how I've missed you!

Welcome back -- with a symbol!

[Ern]

That's awesome. Period.

[mrtl]

Amber, we'll have to make a date!

~Kabe - Hey lady! smooches!

Ern, I may start small, seeing how well it catches on.

[Daphne]

We used to do this to my given name in high school--since my name is ever-so-slightly tricky to spell in the first place. If only we'd known about Irish names then! I may've known a Shiobhan but I doubt it.

[mrtl]

Daphne, like anyone should know your name since Daphne was in Scooby Doo. Whatev. lol

I think Amy's (Anybody's Guess) sister's name is Saoirse or Shiobhan.

[Amy]

Hi mrtl!
yeah her name is Siobbhan. It's Gaelic and supposed to be spelt siobhan but my poor mother, having had four kids within five years, was tired and confused.

when she was a teenager she spelled it Shove-On and the second O was a peace sign. Heh.

[Amy]

And i love your new name. It looks kind of Goth and kind of Vietnamese and kind of Thelonious.

[RzDrms]

after all of this, i'm opting to call you 'bob.'