Ireland

Popular Irish names deemed typos by ‘harmful’ autocorrect filters

Campaign found that 42% of the names of babies born in the North in 2022 are considered ‘typos’

A study has found that more than half of names given to boys in Northern Ireland in 2022, and 36 per cent of names given to girls, were considered typos by spell-checking tools. Photograph: iStock

Jack White
Mon Mar 11 2024 - 15:37

Many popular Irish names are being caught in “harmful” autocorrect filters according to a new campaign that is calling on tech giants to “correct autocorrect”.

I am not a typo (IANAT), a British campaign that advocates for greater tech inclusivity, found that popular names deemed incorrect by an English (UK) dictionary are often Irish in origin.

Using Northern Ireland as an example, the group found that 42 per cent of the names of babies born in 2022 are considered “typos” by spelling tools, according to the study.

While using Microsoft’s English (UK) dictionary, 1,430 of 3,367 of the names were deemed “wrong”.

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More than half (56 per cent) of the 1,089 names given to boys in 2022 in Northern Ireland were considered typos, while 36 per cent of the 2,278 names given to girls in the same period.

The group also analysed the most popular Irish names in Northern Ireland finding that girls’ names such as Fiadh, Eabha and Meabh were flagged as typos.

Other girl’s names that were flagged included Aine, Cliodhna, Saorlaith and Ayda.

[ Deer God – Frank McNally on the dramatic surge in popularity of the girl’s name Fiadh ]

Oisin, Daithi, Odhran were among the popular Irish boys’ names that were flagged as incorrect as well as Daire, Senan, Aodhan and Fionn.

The example names do not include the síne fada, where applicable, because the UK Office for National Statistics does not include them as it logs names.

In an open letter to the tech giants calling for them to “spell-check spell-check”, campaigners called for change, namely the updating of digital dictionaries.

“Our children should not be othered by the technology that is integral to their lives. And it’s up to the arbiters of that technology to fix it. It’s about time that our technology reflected the society in which it functions,” it reads.

Writer and journalist Dhruti Shah, who is backing the campaign, said despite her name being six characters in length, it is often considered an error or an “unknown entity” by autocorrect features or dictionary tools online.

“My name is Dhruti. Not Drutee, Dirty or even Dorito. And yet these are all words my name has been changed to, often because of an autocorrect decision or a rushed message,” she saidn adding: “It’s like saying that it’s not just your name that’s wrong, but you are.”

Alongside those of Irish origin, IANAT said names deemed incorrect are disproportionately African and Asian in origin, which “doesn’t reflect a diverse, inclusive society”.

Professor Rashmi Dyal-Chand of Northeastern University in the US who authored a study on the issue called “Autocorrecting for Whiteness” said autocorrecting names can be “harmful” to those impacted.

“When I email someone, and autocorrect incorrectly changes the name I have typed, I feel responsible and I email back to apologise. Autocorrect communicates for me that I don’t care, or I’m thoughtless, or I don’t respect the person I’m writing enough to get their name right,” she said.

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