Why is Harringay the area spelled differently to Haringey the council?

[nickdastoor]

Someone once told me Haringey council were worried about offending gay people but that sounds like a tall tale.

[mikewith]

The London Borough of Haringey was formed in 1965 from the old boroughs of Hornsey, Tottenham and Wood Green; it took it's name from the original name of the area, Haringey, which was in turn derived from a 13th century lord called Hering. That name got various corrupted to Hornsey and Harringay (a district of Hornsey). I can't imagine that councillors in 1964 were even aware of any connotations of the word 'gay' so it's safe to say this is indeed a tall tale.