Why is Your Name Spelled That Way?

Hello, this is my post for the What’s In a Name Writing Assignment on the ds106 website. I always get a look from people after I spell out my first name for them or a comment like “that’s a pretty way to spell it”, but not many people ask why Kayleigh is spelled the way it is. My blog name has parts of my real name incorporated into it. My full name is Kayleigh Ann Barbee. My last name comes from my father’s side of the family and has mixed Irish/Scottish origins while my middle name, Ann, was the middle name of one of my great, great grandmothers on my mother’s side of the family. My first name comes from a more interesting and unusual source. My mother and father loved the modern music they grew up with in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Before I was born they had listened to the music of a British neo-progressive rock band called Marillion. Their biggest hit came out in 1985 and became No. 2 on the charts and the song was titled “Kayleigh”. My parents loved the music and the message of love in this rock song so that was how I was given the name Kayleigh. I researched later that the name has Irish and Gaelic origins, which connects perfectly with my last name.

I chose this topic because I think that the way my parents chose my first name is fascinating to me. Many people in my family received their first names from older family members or family members that they would never get to know because they had passed. Also, I wanted to ask my family about the origin of my middle name because I had never asked about it before. I also found out that if I had been a boy I would have been named Lucas, but they didn’t have a clear reason for that name other than my parents both liked the name. I know my mom really enjoys the first Star Wars trilogy, but I am pretty sure that my boy name had nothing to do with George Lucas.

I also chose this topic because people sometimes ask if my last name has any relation to the doll which shares the same name with a different spelling. Mainly, I just carry around a card with my full name on it so I don’t have to spell my name out loud for people and so I don’t get frustrated trying to tell someone that my name is Kayleigh, not Katelyn, Katie, or Haylee. By explaining my name, I feel that the name has more of a presence than just labeling it as just a different or modified version of an easier to spell name. For this assignment, I just typed up the assignment here on my blog and embedded a video of Marillion’s song from Youtube.