First of all my name is Aaron. Not an uncommon name. Spelled exactly the way it is always spelled (as a guy’s name anyway). It cannot be that hard to spell. However, every fucking time I am in a situation where someone asks me my name so that they can write it down or enter it into a computer (tech support, stores, etc…) it goes like this:
Them: First name?
Me: Aaron
Them: is that A-R-R-O-N
Me: No it’s A-A-R-O-N
COME THE FUCK ON! I have never seen the name Aaron spelled that way. Arron?!?!? What the hell is that? I can understand somebody not knowing once in a while, but this happens almost every fucking time.
Has anyone here ever in thier lives seen a person with that name that spelled it Arron? Because I’ve known many Aarons and they have all spelled it A-a-r-o-n, every single one. Is it really that goddamn hard to spell it?
Like I said, if this happened once in a while, no big deal. But every friggin time? If I had a hard name to spell it would be a different story, but come on. How the hell hard is Aaron to spell?
Yeah, my cousin’s name is Kaari. Kahh-ree. She’ll spell it out and get documented as “Kari” anyway.
This isn’t a spelling story, but you’ve reminded me of the time I went to the DMV with my brother-in-law. His last name is Mange. Pronounced with a short “a”, like man, not with a long “a”, like the skin disease in dogs. He gets the “maynj” pronunciation all the time, but God bless the DMV. They actually announced it as “Mangee.” With a hard “g”. We were both amazed.
I know that supposedly, Aaron Held up Moses’ staff when his arm got tired during the whole parting of the sea episode during the exodus. Something like that, anyway.
And, you can never be sure which ‘A’ is silent, because it rotates. Sometimes you pronounce the first one and sometimes the second. Occasionally you pronounce both A’s, but that’s a whole other story.
Reminds me of the time in first grade that the teacher tried to tell me how to spell my family name. Said name begins with McG; not Macg, nor thank heavens Mag. And it’s not an Irish name, it’s a Scottish (not Scotch) name.
Well, the teacher told me “That’s not how you spell an Irish surname.” I told her “No kidding, it’s not Irish. Plus it’s may name, not yours. Do I correct the spelling of your name, bitch?”
I’m not exactly sure why I got to see the principal - mouthing off or cursing. But Dad got called and he told the principal that my assertion of the teacher being a bitch was dead on.
I know how you feel. My daughter’s name is Sarah. With an “H”. At the end, please.
If I say (or she says), “Sarah, with an h” we have gotten (more than once, mind you)…Shara.
Some people are truly amazed you can spell that name with an “H” at the end.
“Isn’t it just S-A-R-A ?”
“Well, some people spell it that way, but I prefer the traditional spelling.”
“You mean the H isn’t some new thing?”
Is it my fault that my mother was such a hippie when she was carrying me (put it this way-I went to Woodstock. In utero-my mother was six months pregnant.) that spelling wasn’t her strong point?
I’m just immensely happy she didn’t name me Love,Freedom,Gemini…
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My mother-gotta love her-was fixated on the notion that all her children’s names start with the same letter.With that in mind she named her three daughters Tina,Tanya and Tara.
Which makes family get-togethers a hoot…it usually takes people two tries to say the name they want. So we made nametags with pronounciation.
I will,so help me god,not do this to my children.
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Back to the OP…every single time I say my name I have to spell it and the fact that it’s T-a-n-y-a not T-o-n-y-a seem to blow some people’s minds.
My ex-wife’s father was adamant about naming his children after characters in an old Korean poem (he and his children are Korean). Funny thing, though, is that the five children in the poem were two boys and one girl. Ex-father-in-law had one boy and four girls. One of the girls got tagged with a boy’s name.
What gets me the most is that it isn’t even an alternate spelling, that I could understand, but Arron? Why, if someone said that there name was Aaron would you assume that that is the way to spell it? Arron? That’s not even a damn name?
It’s actually a very simple name–it’s Cristi. But notice the funky-assed spelling.
Not my idea, mind you. It was my mom’s. When pressed as to why she chose that particular spelling, the only answer I’ve been able to get is “it was the thing to do at the time.”
Now, there are many, many different way to spell my name. Christi, Christie, Christy, Kristie, Kristy…you get my point. The spelling I have been saddled with, however, is one of the least-used spellings. What makes it even more strange, though is that it’s a nickname, derived from my middle name, which is Christine. With an H. A big ol’ honkin’ H, right there after the C, right where it’s supposed to be.
I got back at the world by naming my son John. With an H. And I’m using the damn thing.