The “I am not a typo” campaign is pushing technology companies to update their dictionaries with more non-Western names.According to an open letter by the campaign group I Am Not A Typo, 41 per cent of names given to babies in England and Wales are flagged as ‘incorrect’ by Microsoft’s English dictionary — and most of those names are of African or Asian origin.
Many text software, from Microsoft Word to smartphone apps, have an autocorrect function that suggests changes to words that it thinks are spelled wrong. Programs often show a red line under a presumed misspelled word, where others will automatically change it to the one it assumes the user meant to type.
Many of the names flagged as incorrect are extremely popular, according to the letter. Esmae appears with a red underline when typed — even though 2,328 babies in England and Wales were given that name since 2021. Meanwhile the name Nigel, which was given to 36 people over that same period, is not flagged.
"If you get a name incorrect, whether that's on autocorrect or in real life, it really does make a difference. I think it's all about due respect," said Shah.