Forty-one percent of names of babies’ born in Scotland are ‘typos’ – as revealed by a new campaign calling on the Tech Giants to correct autocorrect and spell-check spell-check.

I am not a typo (IANAT) advocates for greater tech inclusivity – and has undertaken research into baby names in the UK to demonstrate how the technology we use should be more inclusive and reflect today’s multicultural UK.

Across all girls and boys names given to children in Scotland in 2022, 3,347 of 8,074 (41%) were ‘wrong’, in testing conducted on Microsoft’s English (UK) dictionary. Names deemed typos include many of Scottish origin.

I am not a typo analysed data on baby names in Scotland released by the National Records of Scotland. The campaign group found that popular girls names such as Maeva (48 occurrences in 2022), Ayda (36) and Fiadh (36), and boys names including Ruaridh (95) and Lochlan (67), were ‘typos’.

1,889 out of 4,407 names given to girls in 2022 in Scotland were ‘typos’, according to Microsoft Word’s English (UK) dictionary – 43% of names given to girls. Some 1,458 out of 3,667 names given to boys in 2022 in Scotland were ‘typos’ – 40% of names given to boys.

Supporting the campaign, Professor Rashmi Dyal-Chand of Northeastern University in the US, author of the paper Autocorrecting for Whiteness, said: “My name is Rashmi, not Rashi, Rush me, or Sashimi, autocorrect notwithstanding. For people with names like mine, autocorrect is not convenient and helpful. It is unhelpful. And yes – it is harmful.”

Also lending her support, writer and journalist Dhruti Shah, who has covered the issue extensively, said: ‘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… My first name isn’t even that long – only six characters – yet when it comes up as an error or it’s mangled and considered an unknown entity, it’s like saying that it’s not just your name that’s wrong, but you are.’

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Similarly, 41% of names given to children in England and Wales in the most recent year analysed (2021) were ‘wrong’ – 5,492 of 13,532. The same English (UK) dictionary deemed popular names of babies born in Wales to be incorrect – like Alys, Seren and Osian – as well as names of babies in Northern Ireland, including Oisin, Daithi, Meabh and Eabha.

In an open letter to the Tech Giants, calling for them to ‘correct autocorrect’, I am not a typo say: “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.”