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Forum
-> Parenting our children
-> Infants
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amother
Forestgreen
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 Mon, Aug 08 2016, 3:13 pm
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We named our baby Tsofia, and this spelling appears on all her (US) legal documents. People usually hear "Sophia" and that's fine with us. However, it's getting a bit annoying having to explain to doctors offices etc that the T is not a typo. I'm wondering if we should change the spelling of her name. Do you think it's going to make a difference later on in life, in terms of job prospects? She has a normal sounding middle name. Thanks!
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gold21
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Mon, Aug 08 2016, 3:39 pm
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Is it difficult to change one's legal name?
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workaholicmama
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Mon, Aug 08 2016, 3:45 pm
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If you can change the name now you will prevent lots of confusion down the road. Coming from someone with very weird spelling of first name, which many times leaves me frustrated why my parents didn't think abt it when they filled out the birth certificate
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PinkFridge
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Mon, Aug 08 2016, 3:54 pm
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I could see changing it. OTOH, look at our president. His unusual name hasn't held him back. And has been pointed out, people now have all sorts of funky names. Or standard names with unusual spellings, to make the kids more special. Who knows what things'll be like by the time you're concerned about, if Moshiach hasn't come yet....
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amother
Royalblue
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Mon, Aug 08 2016, 3:59 pm
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I love the name Tsofia and wanted to use it but DH was concerned about this exact thing. Would you consider Zofia? It looks less like a typo but it wouldn't be like her name is simply Sofia.
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amother
Plum
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Mon, Aug 08 2016, 4:04 pm
My name is Tsofia and I love it!
For years I had to explain to everyone that the T is not silent and if they were jewish they got it and if not then they remained confused - Sophia is a very standard version of the name and in my opinion Tsofia is truly beautiful!
To add - my parents had the same doubt but decided it was worthwhile to correct the spelling for others and keep the name...you could make the name spelt differently on her birth certificate/official documents
ETA it has never made a difference to any job I've had - both with jewish and non jewish co-workers and infact has only made me well remembered by most because of my name!
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sequoia
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Mon, Aug 08 2016, 4:16 pm
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It is a beautiful name. Don't change it.
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amother
Forestgreen
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Mon, Aug 08 2016, 6:58 pm
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OP here. Thanks for all the responses! Yes, I love her name, too! Seems like there are opinions on both sides - thanks for giving us food for thought as we make this decision.
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PinkFridge
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Mon, Aug 08 2016, 7:27 pm
| amother wrote: | | OP here. Thanks for all the responses! Yes, I love her name, too! Seems like there are opinions on both sides - thanks for giving us food for thought as we make this decision. |
FTR I think I'm with Sequoia.
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sky
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Mon, Aug 08 2016, 7:39 pm
| gold21 wrote: | | Is it difficult to change one's legal name? |
Not really. I believe where I live its a trip with both parents to the clerk's office in the city where the baby was born. then some waiting time. A new birth certificate. A new SS card. Update the name at the insurance company.
Its a pain, but doable.
I happen to really like the name that you have now.
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Bernie
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Mon, Aug 08 2016, 7:39 pm
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They also have a different meaning. We discussed these two names with a rav who explained that Sophia is a name in and of itself, with its own meaning - one we were not fond of. I know you are talking about the English name and her Hebrew will stay the same, but there is a koach in the name that is used day to day.
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cnc
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Mon, Aug 08 2016, 7:39 pm
| gold21 wrote: | | Is it difficult to change one's legal name? |
Yes. I needed to do it for one of my children. The process took approximately a year.
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cnc
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Mon, Aug 08 2016, 7:41 pm
| sky wrote: | Not really. I believe where I live its a trip with both parents to the clerk's office in the city where the baby was born. then some waiting time. A new birth certificate. A new SS card. Update the name at the insurance company.
Its a pain, but doable.
I happen to really like the name that you have now. |
It took me almost a year to get the new birth certificate.
Changing the SS card was much quicker. I got the new one in about a week. The insurance automatically updated and sent me a new card once I dealt with the SS office.
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bluebird
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Mon, Aug 08 2016, 7:55 pm
You'd really be changing the spelling, not the name. I see this as using Hava instead of Chava so that people are less confused and pronounce the name more correctly instead of stumbling over it. I say go for it.
I love the name. 
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amother
Navy
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Mon, Aug 08 2016, 8:32 pm
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speaking about changing a name... when my mother was born she was given a secular name and a Yiddish middle name after a grandmother. Her parents were not frum and decided to remove the Yiddish middle name. Well guess what, my mother grew up and became frum and guess which name she uses now. Maybe it was in zchus of that grandmother....
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Amarante
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Mon, Aug 08 2016, 8:58 pm
What a beautiful name. I would keep as is as I don't think it's that confusing in terms of pronunciation. Literate people know how to pronounce Tzar so I think it works even in secular culture.
My mother's best friend was Zivia which she spelled with the Z and not the Tzvia spelling but I think Tzvia is way more confusing than Tsophia to Anglos.
And fergettadubout the CH sound as I honestly think that unless one has grown up making that sound, it's difficult to even mimic. I have had very silly sessions where people try to pronounce that sound correctly. If you don't learn how to make certain sounds as a toddler, very difficult to learn unless you are the Meryl Streep of accents. :-). I know there are some tribal languages from the South Pacific that have sounds impossible to duplicate unless learned as an infant.
But back to the original post. Beautiful name and I don't think will cause major issues down the road. Even if you don't change spelling legally, there is nothing to stop you from using any name especially when the spelling change is subtle. I had an assistant who hated her name Phyllis and just started using a shortened version of her middle name except for legal documents and there were never issues.
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chicco
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Mon, Aug 08 2016, 10:58 pm
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Last edited by chicco on Sun, May 17 2020, 7:59 pm; edited 1 time in total
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gp2.0
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Mon, Aug 08 2016, 11:08 pm
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I would change it. Tsophia is neither here nor there. I'd use Sophia but I guess Tzophia would work too.
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amother
Salmon
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Mon, Aug 08 2016, 11:13 pm
My name starts with "Tz" (tzaddik) and I really wish my parents had spelled it differently on my legal papers, I.e. only a Z or an S...
Because my name is so hard to get right over the phone, I've made up an English name and use that.
Do your kid a favor - change it now.
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Iymnok
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Tue, Aug 09 2016, 2:15 am
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With a Z in place of the S it would be more clear that it's not Sophia.
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