I do understand your frustration. I love
Carolina (with the Latin pronunciation) but I also live in
Virginia and I knew it would never fly here so I never even considered it seriously with my last child.
Yes,
Reese and
Reece are more well known in the US, however, with the popularity of Irish actor,
Jonathan Rhys Meyers, I'm hoping that will change. I personally love
Rhys (this spelling only). At least you didn't dumb down. That's a pet peeve of mine (not that it should matter to anyone, lol). Would
Rhys be butchered here? Perhaps, however, people can be easily educated. My advice is to educate them and take great pride in doing so.