Microsoft has updated its English (UK) digital dictionaries to include Welsh names thanks to a year-long campaign.

I Am Not A Typo (IANAT) last year found that 41 per cent of baby names in England and Wales, many of them Welsh, are marked as typos by automatic spelling systems.

Out of the 100 most common Welsh girl baby names, seven names came up as typos in Microsoft’s English (UK) dictionary, with Alys and Seren as the most commonly branded typos.

Six of the top 100 boys' names were deemed typos, with Osian and Harri as the most common to be ‘corrected’.

Hundreds of Welsh, Scottish, Irish, Eastern European, African, and Asian baby names previously flagged as typos will now be free of that red squiggle thanks to IANAT.

Welsh names such as Seren and Osian were found to occur hundreds of times per year across England and Wales – and yet are still deemed ‘typo’ names.
Welsh names such as Seren and Osian were found to occur hundreds of times per year across England and Wales – and yet are still deemed ‘typo’ names. (I Am Not A Typo)

Cathal Wogan, representative for IANAT, said: “This is positive news for everyone who’s been told by their device that their name looks like a mistake.

“Technology shapes how we see ourselves and each other.

“For too long, our devices have been telling people – especially those from underrepresented communities – that they don’t belong, or they or their identities are invalid in some way.

“This update from Microsoft, one of the world’s most important companies, proves that when we work together, positive change is possible.”

Other Welsh names to be ‘corrected’ include Nansi, Efa, Mabli, Eleri, Esmae, and Tomos, Macsen, Ioan, and Gruffydd, “demonstrating how Welsh names are treated differently by an English (UK) dictionary, despite Wales being part of the UK, and Welsh being a recognised language”, according to the group.

IANAT launched in 2024, having found that 5,492 out of 13,532 names (41 per cent) given to children in England and Wales (with a minimum of three occurrences) were flagged as potential typos during tests using Microsoft Word’s English (UK) dictionary on some devices.

Across all girls and boys names given to children in England and Wales in 2021 (with minimum three occurrences), 5,492 of 13,532 were ‘wrong’, in testing conducted on Microsoft’s English (UK) dictionary – 41%.
Across all girls and boys names given to children in England and Wales in 2021 (with minimum three occurrences), 5,492 of 13,532 were ‘wrong’, in testing conducted on Microsoft’s English (UK) dictionary – 41%. (I Am Not A Typo)

That included names with hundreds, even thousands, of real-world occurrences, while less common names remained untouched.

For example the name Esmae, which occurred 2,328 times among baby girls in the five years from 2017 to 2021, was branded a typo, compared with 36 occurrences of the name Nigel in the same period.

Microsoft has now added hundreds of previously missing names to its English spellcheck dictionary, enhanced its pattern-matching logic to detect likely names that are not specifically listed in the ONS guide, and made name behaviour more uniform across Microsoft-supported platforms.

I Am Not A Typo will continue to hold technology companies to account, and is now challenging other major tech companies to follow Microsoft’s example.

“Microsoft has stepped up here, but this doesn’t end our mission to correct autocorrect and spellcheck spellcheck across all platforms,” Cathal from IANAT added. “It remains the case that many platforms and devices are still short of par.

“Every tech company responsible for these systems needs to ensure its products reflect the societies they serve.

“Our names are not typos.

“They’re our identities.”

I Am Not A Typo is a collective aiming to create social change so no one feels like an oversight.