# I'm tired of people getting my name wrong **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 23, 2010, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-people-getting-my-name-wrong/554778 "2010-09-23T16:03:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-people-getting-my-name-wrong/554778/21 "2010-09-23T18:38:31Z")
My last name is a quite rare first name (think children’s books), but spelled differently. I don’t have quite the same issue as the OP, but people have been mispronouncing it my whole life, including at my college graduation. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-people-getting-my-name-wrong/554778/22 "2010-09-23T18:45:56Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > My last name is a quite rare first name (think children’s books), but spelled differently. I don’t have quite the same issue as the OP, but people have been mispronouncing it my whole life, including at my college graduation. How? Does the mispronunciation rhyme with “how”? ---
**Author:** ![Terra1041](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Terra1041](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terra1041)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-people-getting-my-name-wrong/554778/23 "2010-09-23T18:47:36Z")
My name is Taryn, which people get wrong more often than they get right. I get called Karen, Tara, Tyren, _Tiffany_ (WTF?), and just about everything else. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-people-getting-my-name-wrong/554778/24 "2010-09-23T18:56:09Z")
I’m actually working on changing my name because I was tired of being called ‘Linda’. Yes, including in writing. Up until the other day it worked - it got mispronounced until I corrected them. Until the other day when someone responded to an email with an extra ‘n’. I’m hoping it was just a typo. People just don’t fucking pay attention. There’s two people in the department, me and another girl. We tend to share projects. I’ll get email with her name, she gets email with mine. I have no idea. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-people-getting-my-name-wrong/554778/25 "2010-09-23T19:22:54Z")
My last name is also only six letters and one syllable. It’s bad enough that the first letter rhymes with many other letters of the alphabet, but people are always transposing letters. Idiot: Could you spell it? Me: Okay, B. . . Idiot: C? Me: No, B. . . Idiot: T? Me: NO, it’s B as in Baxter Idiot: Your first name is Baxter? I remember trying to spell it phonetically over the phone once: Tard: Can you spell it? Me: Sure, B as in Bravo, Alpha, Xray, Tango. . . Tard: Oh, wait a sec. . .can you spell “Alpha”? Fuckin’ kill me now. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-people-getting-my-name-wrong/554778/26 "2010-09-23T19:34:36Z")
Oh, the supreme glory of marrying a man with a short, anglo surname… after a lifetime with a long, irritating ethnic name. I can still hardly believe it when I say my name once and don’t get asked how it’s spelled. People just KNOW. It’s awesome. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-people-getting-my-name-wrong/554778/27 "2010-09-23T19:39:38Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Tard: Can you spell it? > Me: Sure, B as in Bravo, Alpha, Xray, Tango. . . > Tard: Oh, wait a sec. . .can you spell “Alpha”? That’s awesome! ---
**Author:** ![mittu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@mittu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mittu)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-people-getting-my-name-wrong/554778/28 "2010-09-23T19:56:10Z")
> [@Ale](#): > > You would assume that having a three letter name (I go by Ale, short of Alejandro\*) people would easily get it the first time but nooooo… > > -Ah-leh… easy, isn’t it?. > _Some time later_ > -Oh, hello Ali/Aille/Alale! > > :dubious: > > \*_Sometimes I wonder if I should blurt out the full thing when meeting new people, but by the way most seem to struggle with “Ale” I’m afraid they’ll have a seizure or something._ I would be surprised if anyone pronounced ‘Ale’ ‘Ah-leh’. Without knowing it was short for Alejandro I would never pronounce it that way. If I saw those 3 letters wrote down I would pronounce it the same as the drink. You have made the choice to spell your (abbreviated) name the same as a commonly understood word but you pronounce it completely differently. It’s hardly surprising it causes confusion! ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-people-getting-my-name-wrong/554778/29 "2010-09-23T19:56:50Z")
My last name is a long-ish Italian one, but easy to pronounce correctly – pretend it’s “Pavarotti”. We pronounce it with a long O in the last syllable (like “wrote-ee”) but no one ever, ever gets this right and always uses the short O, and I gave up correcting them long ago. What gets me is when people get the rest of it wrong, like saying Parabola-tee, or something. Where are they getting those letters from? The one good thing about this is that it makes it very easy to tell who’s a telemarketer on the phone. ---
**Author:** ![Morgis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Morgis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgis)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-people-getting-my-name-wrong/554778/30 "2010-09-23T20:12:17Z")
My name is Cristin. It’s a pretty common name, but mom and dad got a little creative with the spelling, so no one ever spells it right. Also, people tend to assume that because it spelled strangely, the pronunciation must also be different. I get a lot of Christians and Christinas. I find this puzzling, but only mildly annoying. What makes me crazy is when I tell someone my name and they immediately start calling me Chris. Yes, this would be a valid nickname for me, but I have never gone by Chris, and I’ve never asked anyone to call me that. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-people-getting-my-name-wrong/554778/31 "2010-09-23T20:22:26Z")
> [@gregorio](#): > > Annoying yes, but a good telephone solicitor screening technique. If someone asks for Mr. (Lastname pronounced incorrectly) I can be reasonably sure that I will be solicited. My response will vary by mood. And yes, call display helps there, too. > > Also not sharing last names with my wife is a big help there as well. If someone asks for Mr. (Wife’s lastname) or Mrs (My lastname (pronounced incorrectly)) we know the jig is up. Roger that. My _answering machine caller id_ pronounces the name correctly when my mother calls, but I have yet to encounter a telemarketer who does so. Maybe because none of them are Jewish. Or German 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-people-getting-my-name-wrong/554778/32 "2010-09-23T20:32:01Z")
My wife has a very odd first name, in fact as far as we can tell only one other person in the entire country has it. So pretty much everyone gets it wrong. But what is really annoying is that some people even get her nickname wrong, and her nickname is neither bizarre nor unexpected given her actual name. I never did, maybe the reason we’re married. ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_Doubt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7cd45c/32.png) [@Angel\_of\_Doubt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_Doubt)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-people-getting-my-name-wrong/554778/33 "2010-09-23T20:36:26Z")
The solution for me came when my first name became maddengly, irritatingly popular in the last few years. It put an end to putting on mini-spelling lessons for (the same) people who time after time would mispronounce it: Me: Ok, look - (writing B-A-T down) “How do you pronounce this?” Idiot: Bat? Me: “Goood. Now how about this: B-A-I-T?” I: “Bait” (Repeat same thing with other letters for the B) Me: Now you see an A-I in my own name. Why do you keep pronouncing it with a short A!!!??? ---
**Author:** ![BetsQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BetsQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BetsQ)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-people-getting-my-name-wrong/554778/34 "2010-09-23T20:42:19Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > It’s _also_ not a normal English word that could be confusing people, like for example being named Rood and being mistaken for Rude. My last name _is_ a common English word. It’s still misspelled regularly, usually by adding an E at the end. I guess it looks more name-like and less common noun-like with the E. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-people-getting-my-name-wrong/554778/35 "2010-09-23T20:50:56Z")
> [@BetsQ](#): > > > [@Sailboat](#): > > > > It’s _also_ not a normal English word that could be confusing people, like for example being named Rood and being mistaken for Rude. > > My last name _is_ a common English word. It’s still misspelled regularly, usually by adding an E at the end. I guess it looks more name-like and less common noun-like with the E. Worde upe. ---
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-people-getting-my-name-wrong/554778/36 "2010-09-23T21:06:45Z")
My first name is “Huw.” It’s a common-enough Welsh name, and happily sounds exactly the same as the Germanic “Hugh.” My surname could be a first name. So, when people aren’t misspelling my first name (“Hue,” “Hew,” “Hugh,” ad infinitum), they are swapping my first and last names, somehow assuming I am Chinese. I had a school secretary at a new school once exclaim to me that they were expecting a Chinese boy. I’ve had driver’s licenses issued to me with my names reversed. I even received government forms “_corrected_,” with the names reversed. I once had a U.S. work permit issued to me with my first and last names reversed, even though my two middle [very Anglo-Saxon] names were on the same form and a copy of my [correct] passport was attached. Sigh. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-people-getting-my-name-wrong/554778/37 "2010-09-23T21:37:30Z")
Oh, God, I am _so_ with you all. My particular onomastic cross to bear is that my Christian name is two syllables and has a short variant (like “Robert/Rob” and “Samuel/Sam”), which I cannot stand. I used to use my Christian name at work, but then I moved to Chicago, where _everyone_ used the short form - even if I introduced myself by the proper name. So when I moved back to the South, I gave up the fight and started going by my surname. When I am asked why I don’t use my proper name, I say that people can’t pronounce it. The worst thing is that if I make a big deal about it, people think I’m being a pompous jerk: “Why don’t you like [short form]? It’s your name, isn’t it?” **No. It’s not.** My surname gets misspelled all the time, too, but that doesn’t bother me so much - it’s a homonym of two common English words, so I don’t think people are being inconsiderate when they get it wrong. ---
**Author:** ![chizzuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@chizzuk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chizzuk)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-people-getting-my-name-wrong/554778/38 "2010-09-23T22:01:57Z")
My name is Jennifer. I was asked this past summer if it had one N or two. That was the first time in my life that I had ever been asked that. Everyone always correctly assumes that I spell it with two N’s. I guess “Jenifer” is just not that common. It looks really ugly to me. It’s only been misspelled once, by some idiot who thought it was “Jeniffer.” That was quite bizarre. I’m used to having to spell out my last name, even though it’s quite short and is pronounced exactly the way it looks according the phonetic rules of English. But my first name? No problems. There are certain inconveniences with having a first name that tons of other people my age also have (I was born in the 1980s), but spelling is not one of them. And I hate being called Jen or Jenny. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-people-getting-my-name-wrong/554778/39 "2010-09-23T22:20:33Z")
Since my user name is my real name, the most common response I get is “Really?” Followed by How do you spell that? Answer t-h-a-t. What does it mean? No one knows. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-people-getting-my-name-wrong/554778/40 "2010-09-23T22:21:24Z")
My first name has two common spellings, one with a c and one with a k. Mine is the latter, so I generally have to correct people on it, but it’s easy to say “FirstName-with-a-k” and people figure it out pretty quickly. The fun begins with my last name…starts with a C, but the pronunciation is “kay—”. People invariably start writing a K before I get a chance to start spelling it after I say it, but if I just start spelling without saying the name first, people get really confused. So, in sum, it’s FirstName-with-a-k, LastName-with-a-c. Got it? Also, my last name is pronounced kind of, but not really, like a first name, so some idiots call me that name sometimes. Odds are, though, people have at least subbed in a short A for a long one in my last name. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-people-getting-my-name-wrong/554778.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-people-getting-my-name-wrong/554778.md?page=3)