Spelling Names

Both regular readers of my blog may have noticed that spelling is not exactly my strong point.

My parents were prescient on this point: they were going to name me Christopher, but they thought I wouldn’t have been able to spell it!

Marc (NOT Mark) has proved tricky at times: it's neither short for Marcus nor French, but the Welsh spelling. We don’t have a “k”, but we muddle through: “dd” and “ll” are obviously much more useful letters.

At least my name’s not Wyclif (or Wiclif or Wycliffe). According to Gillian R. Evans' very interesting looking new biography, there are over twenty spellings of Wyclif’s name recorded - though sadly she doesn't list them.

John Wyclif: Myth and Reality (Lion, 2005), p.9.