Names and how you spell them...

[kristi26]

Well, as the proud owner of a very unusual name, I know that people, even long time friends who wish me well, often can't remember the spelling of my name, or, often, the pronunciation. :lol: I have come to respond to nearly any conceivable variant!

 

Signed,

 

Caitilin, not Caitlin, or Katelyn, or Caitlyn:D

 

Haha, I have an unusual spelling of a very common name as well, so I feel your pain, and it may be one reason it bugs me that she can't get it right. And I wonder, if it was anyone else, would it bother me so much? If it was my mom, I'd tell her she misspelled it. But I am not comfortable pointing out the error to anyone on DH's side.

[momto2Cs]

I'd let it go, although it did drive me batty when my grandmother-in-law insisted my son's middle name was "Odam" (it's ODIN).

[Jenny in Florida]

This seems to be something a lot of people are saying but I didn't think it was unusual at all. :001_huh: Honestly, I thought there were two ways to spell it and so, we picked the one that a) looked better with our last name and b) would make sense when shortened to a nickname (Lukas to Luke). Not trying to be snarky here...just confused by the whole "unusual spelling" thing.

 

It is "unusual" in the sense that the other spelling is more common . . . right now . . . in the U.S. But it's not "kre8tive" at all. It's a perfectly normal alternate spelling. There's a well-known actor who spells his name with the 'k' and has been out there working for a good 20 years or more.

 

Honestly, I think there are some people who simply care more about names. I'm one of them. My name is important to me. It bothers me when people get it wrong. It feels to me like they simply don't care enough about me to put any time or effort into learning my actual name.

 

However, there are some folks to whom it's no big deal, who truly don't understand why anyone would care, and they aren't going to bother worrying about it. Names aren't important to them, and they don't mean any harm. They just can't get out of their own heads enough to notice they're upsetting those of us who do care.

 

So, it's possible you're dealing with that. It's possible you're dealing with someone doing it wrong on purpose just to bug you. I think, of the two options, I'd rather have someone who just doesn't care.

 

But, yeah, it bothers me, too. It's one of those things I've had to train myself not to react against, in order to get along in the world. But I won't pretend it doesn't bug me or hurt my feelings.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

People spell my name wrong ALL. THE. TIME. Even on my facebook page, where it is written out in plain sight. It doesn't bother me.

 

My first, middle and last names were all spelled slightly differently than the "standard" way to spell them. (Thanks, Mom.) So I spent my whole life correcting forms. Currently, my name on my car title is spelled wrong, but they told me it would be more trouble than it's worth to fix it.

 

Though, I must say, the thing that bugged me the worst was a woman who could just not stop calling me Linda. I had to deal with 4 years of her calling me Linda, while I kept saying, "My name is actually Lynne."

 

I say just get over it. Some people are clueless. Even when you directly tell them something, they won't get it.

[kristi26]

It is "unusual" in the sense that the other spelling is more common . . . right now . . . in the U.S. But it's not "kre8tive" at all. It's a perfectly normal alternate spelling. There's a well-known actor who spells his name with the 'k' and has been out there working for a good 20 years or more.

 

Honestly, I think there are some people who simply care more about names. I'm one of them. My name is important to me. It bothers me when people get it wrong. It feels to me like they simply don't care enough about me to put any time or effort into learning my actual name.

 

However, there are some folks to whom it's no big deal, who truly don't understand why anyone would care, and they aren't going to bother worrying about it. Names aren't important to them, and they don't mean any harm. They just can't get out of their own heads enough to notice they're upsetting those of us who do care.

 

So, it's possible you're dealing with that. It's possible you're dealing with someone doing it wrong on purpose just to bug you. I think, of the two options, I'd rather have someone who just doesn't care.

 

But, yeah, it bothers me, too. It's one of those things I've had to train myself not to react against, in order to get along in the world. But I won't pretend it doesn't bug me or hurt my feelings.

 

 

Thank you, I think you expressed my feelings on this matter much better than I did. I grew up having my name spelled wrong and having to spell it for people all the time. I didn't want to do that to my kids and thought I'd done all right with it, but apparently, I was wrong. And it feels like, when she won't take the time to spell his name right, she doesn't care.

 

And this is not a case of lots of siblings. She and DH are it on that side. So my kids are her only blood nieces and nephews. As I said before, I am probably allowing her known feelings for me to cloud my opinion on this matter.

[Tammi K]

 

The boy's name I had chosen for my firstborn (who was a girl) was Reece. I was planning to write the anglicized spelling, because I know practically nobody in America is going to understand "Rhys" - the original Welsh spelling. They would not know how to pronounce it and they would not know how to spell it. If I had chosen to go with Rhys, to me I would be accepting this fact for the future - nobody will know how to pronounce it when written and nobody will know how to spell it if they try.

 

Rhys is my son's middle name. I actually like the fact that people look at it and go 'Huh?' I wanted to use it for his first name. (We lived in Australia at the time and it is not at all uncommon) but DH thought the kid's life would be h311 when we moved back to the USA. So, I just get to be amused at the puzzlement over Rhys.

My oldest is Caitlin. While there is a variation of Caitlin on every street corner now, 27 years ago was a very different story. NO ONE could read it, let alone spell it! And Taryn, wow, that causes people no end of grief. (In Austraila we knew a Teryn - way to get creative with an unusual name to begin with!) The last three have nice easy normal first names : Jake, Ben, Anna - except the last girl is actually AnnaClaire and spelling isn't an issue but darned if I can figure out how to get people to actually CALL her AnnaClaire. She finally gave up. Now she's just AC. (cause it's COOL!)

[LibraryLover]

People are silly.

Edited October 25, 2012 by LibraryLover

[SpecialClassical]

Well, as the proud owner of a very unusual name, I know that people, even long time friends who wish me well, often can't remember the spelling of my name, or, often, the pronunciation. :lol: I have come to respond to nearly any conceivable variant!

 

Signed,

 

Caitilin, not Caitlin, or Katelyn, or Caitlyn:D

 

Okay, so your name is pronounced like Katy Lynn?

[Firefly]

It's inconsiderate and it bugs me. Strangers or people I don't know well, I get it-- but friends and family who have known me for decades, GET IT RIGHT PEOPLE. I'm not Kelly, Kelley, Kellie, or Keli. It's KELLI. I don't identify with any of those other names. When I get a card or with "Kelly" on it, it often takes a split second for it to register. Kelly is not ME. I actually had a niece say to me once, "What's the difference?" :glare:

 

That said, you really can't change people and I realize it's not the end of the world. I've given up trying; but yes, it does bother me. You're not alone!

[Jeannie in NJ]

Oh I forgot but people often spell my name Jeanne, Jeane, Jeanie. But the worst is that I am often called (not by family lol) Judy, Jennifer, Jeannine, etc. If it is someone I am going to be dealing with often, I will say "Actually it is Jeannie" if it is a salesperson or someone else I will not be seeing again, I don't say anything.

[happi duck]

Haven't read the other replies...

 

I have a name that is frequently misspelled and it does bother me when people who should remember spell it wrong. I do correct the spelling because once it's 'out there' wrong more people start spelling it wrong.

 

I don't get angry but I don't 'let it go'. My correct name is part of who I am...when it's wrong it's not me. Honestly, my name written incorrectly does not register as 'my name'.

 

An example of corrections,

my name is on a list...I fix it with a pen

my name in an email...when I reply and sign-off I add a btw after my name

 

When spelling my name for a phone rep or such, I spell it first...if I say my name and then give the correct spelling it always comes out spelled wrong. (name? S-U-E, Sue instead of Sue, S-U-E)

 

Btw, I always make an effort to notice how people spell their names and do it correctly. I also pay attention to if people prefer their full names or shortened names. I don't understand how people shorten names without asking. I've seen people introduce themselves as say 'Samuel' and the other person says 'nice to me you Sam' :001_huh:

 

So, op I feel your pain! I for one think it's fine to kindly ask people to spell his name correctly.

[Guest]

Btw, I always make an effort to notice how people spell their names and do it correctly. I also pay attention to if people prefer their full names or shortened names. I don't understand how people shorten names without asking. I've seen people introduce themselves as say 'Samuel' and the other person says 'nice to me you Sam'

 

I do this too, and I do think names are important. BUT at the same time, I know that people will more often than not misspell a name if it isn't the accepted spelling.

 

To me, it seems self-centered to spell your child's name in an unusual way, or give them an unusual name, but then get annoyed when people can't spell or pronounce it. I watched my mother do this ALL the time. She named my sister "Traci" and then would be all indignant when people would spell it "Tracy" or "Tracey". IMO, that is self-centered.

 

One of my children has a name that has two widely accepted spellings. I did a little research before I named him, because I wasn't sure if one dominated the other, but, when I found that it was about 50-50 on two "l's" or one, I just chose the one I liked better - two "l's." Some people spell it with one in a pinch. No biggie. If it were something like an official report, of course I would correct it. If it's a birthday card, I just don't worry about it. However, if I'm sending a birthday card to my friend's son and I know his name is the one-l version, of course I spell it right. So, it's not that I don't think it matters at all, it's just that I know that if you give your kid an uncommon spelling, you must be prepared to know others will make mistakes.

[freesia]

I do this too, and I do think names are important. BUT at the same time, I know that people will more often than not misspell a name if it isn't the accepted spelling.

 

To me, it seems self-centered to spell your child's name in an unusual way, or give them an unusual name, but then get annoyed when people can't spell or pronounce it. I watched my mother do this ALL the time. She named my sister "Traci" and then would be all indignant when people would spell it "Tracy" or "Tracey". IMO, that is self-centered.

 

One of my children has a name that has two widely accepted spellings. I did a little research before I named him, because I wasn't sure if one dominated the other, but, when I found that it was about 50-50 on two "l's" or one, I just chose the one I liked better - two "l's." Some people spell it with one in a pinch. No biggie. If it were something like an official report, of course I would correct it. If it's a birthday card, I just don't worry about it. However, if I'm sending a birthday card to my friend's son and I know his name is the one-l version, of course I spell it right. So, it's not that I don't think it matters at all, it's just that I know that if you give your kid an uncommon spelling, you must be prepared to know others will make mistakes.

I don't agree with you that it is self-centered. IMO it is more self-centered for family to "not notice."

 

People outside the family are different, imo. Folks tend to have their own "preferred" spelling. In my extended family we have Anne (which I always have to spell) and a Sarah and a Sara. The Sara/h's have to spell their names for outsiders but family spells it "right" for each person. Even my uncle, who makes fun of the "h" spelling (and named his Sara w/o an h) spells the other Sarah's name "right." I get that some folks don't care but I really don't "get" why family would consistently get it wrong unless they were making a statement.

 

That said, like I said before, I would let it go. Had my grandmother lived to call my son "Joe" instead of "Josiah" like she "threatened," I would have ignored it. I know my grandmother and mother have strong feelings about names and I just ignore it as much as possible.

[happypamama]

I'd let it go, but I do think it's really impolite if it's close family that spells it wrong continually. I really think grandparents, for instance, ought to learn how to spell their grandchildren's names!

 

My name has two common spellings, one of which is more typically Biblical; I have the other, so it gets spelled wrong a lot, but close family made it a point to get it right. Same with my sister; her name has a bunch of spellings, and my parents chose one of the least common. Her name gets misspelled more often than mine does, by far, but again, the grandparents get it right. My youngest son is Zachary, and I've seen people spell it "Zachery," but not more than once; we call him Zach most of the time anyway, and since the Biblical form has an "e" in there (though not in that spot), I think it's relatively easy to get it confused. I did go with the more common current spelling, though.

[ktgrok]

eh, let it go. My name is Katie, and I just am at the point where I spell it for everyone, and assume they will get it wrong and spell it Katy anyway. No big deal.

[Arcadia]

My extended family is pathetic at spelling names and we go by nicknames most of the time. I have problem remembering names. I actually have to write their names down somewhere. Me and hubby have to double check for his parents names.

 

Even if the relative mis-spell to hurt, there is nothing much you can do about it.

[stripe]

I have never seen "Lukas." Only "Luke." So to me, it's different. I can see myself getting it "wrong."

 

Let it go. I get it. Really I do. But let it go. I had to let it go with my kids.

[Soror]

I'm in the let it go camp. Unless something was specifically stated and repeated hinting at maliciousness or such I wouldn't consider it on purpose.

 

On the other end here, my dc's all have short and "normally" spelled names. People call my son by the longer and much less popular version of his name all the time. The same with dd1, they add an extra letter to her name although it is traditionally spelled without it. The name we are considering for dd3 has 2 very popular spellings so I'm sure we will get the same with her, no matter which version we choose.

 

I try to make sure I remember correct pronunciations of people's names, when I can remember the names(which I'm not that great at). I do not remember spellings very well at all. For most people I know I don't usually see their names so it just doesn't stick in my head.

[nukeswife]

As the mother of a Lucas with a "c" let it go. You did pick an acceptable alternate spelling but as others have said it's not the most common one used. I could be that she's just so used to spelling it with a "c" now that it's a hard habit to break and she doesn't do it on purpose.

 

When our son was born and we told the nurse we wanted to name him Lucas she asked me, "with a c or a k?" I blanked, my dh was deployed and we'd never talked about the spelling, we both just figured we'd use Lucas because we didn't want him called Luke for a nickname. He actually prefers Luca if you have to shorten it.

 

Now our dd doesn't usually have trouble with spelling, but man people sure bucher her name when they say it. Her name is Annika, pronounced, AH-nih-kuh. Not uh-NEE-kuh, not ANN-ih-kuh, and certainly not ANN-ih-kin (yes as in skywalker).

[happi duck]

At least you bother to double-check it!

 

I have a dd with a European spelling of an easy English name. I am not surprised when folks in general get it wrong. But when close family members repeatedly misspell it, it leaves me shaking my head a bit. I know they know the right way, they just alternate between right and wrong. It is nice of you to stop and be sure!

 

I have been married for 22 years and my mom still misspells my married surname. And she really likes my husband! She just doesn't take the time to make sure she gets it right.

 

My brother did this for years but I corrected him each time and finally hit on a good way for him to remember.

[Lab1]

My MIL calls my kids alterations of their names! Forget about spelling them right! All but my last kid have the most common spelling of their old fashioned names. We did go with an alternate spelling for my last baby so Americans had a chance of pronouncing it right. Forget spelling when we spelled it phonetically!

 

Some people are just clueless! My great grandmother always called my brother by her brothers name. My mom just let it go. My MIL didn't make an effort to call my oldest by her actual name until my kid started crying because grandma didn't know her name. She can't remember how to spell her other grandchildrens names either, and they are all normal except the first grandchild. She isn't that old and works a full time job. Some people are clueless and repeated mispellings or pronunciation from family can hurt your feelings.

[Mom-ninja.]

.

Edited October 26, 2012 by Kleine Hexe

[Lab1]

Okay, this could totally be a "family issue" then. My DH can't spell his own middle name. :lol: He still asks me to spell it for him. Shh! I didn't tell you that!!!

 

I feel better now that my DH can't remember or spell our kids middle names. He can't remember their birthdays or how old they are. He doesn't know his age or how long we've been married. He has messed up more forms then I care to remember! He sent out a birth announcement email with our kids name spelled wrong! And I was spelling it out slowly for him. I admit it is strange and French, but I was saying the letters and telling him where the capital letter is inside the name! Must be genetic. His mother is the same way. She named several of her kids "nicknames" and I'm starting to wonder if she couldn't spell them correctly!

 

I had a dad drop off his little girl at the church nursery. Her name is modern with at least 4 spelling, so I asked him how to spell her name. He just looked at me and said he'd ask his wife. It's his kids first name! Even my DH had their first names down by their first birthday!

 

I'm starting to think there is a problem with the population in general!

[stripe]

Gosh, I left my neighbor a note this summer, and I realized later I spelled her name wrong. She spells with a K, I wrote a C. But I've only seen her name written down once. I'd hate her to think I was trying to be rude.

[Reflections]

I personally don't care if you misspell my name - I'm just happy for people not to call me Elizabeth - it's not even my middle name yet hordes of people have called me that! Not that there is anything wrong with the name - (it's my dds middle name). So a simple change of C for the K or a Y instead of "erine" I'm okay with - happy even.

 

IMO it is going to happen a lot in your ds life. You could just classify this as your "pet peeve" and glare inwardly.

[freesia]

I personally don't care if you misspell my name - I'm just happy for people not to call me Elizabeth - it's not even my middle name yet hordes of people have called me that! Not that there is anything wrong with the name - (it's my dds middle name). So a simple change of C for the K or a Y instead of "erine" I'm okay with - happy even.

 

IMO it is going to happen a lot in your ds life. You could just classify this as your "pet peeve" and glare inwardly.

LOL

 

I get called Susan?!? My mom almost named me that, too.

[Unicorn.]

I have friends and relatives, who see my name on facebook, and still spell it wrong. I actually thought of you today while having a conversation w/ dh. We were at ds's football game, and he asked me what number Clay M. was. I looked at him funny, and he says, "You know, A's son." I looked at him funny for a few minutes, then told him he was talking about 4 different people. So I said " A is the school secretary who used to cut my hair. Her son is in 8th grade. Clay is ds's friend from ROTC (and his mom works at the same campus as dh.) The boy he was asking about was Colten, and his mom works for the chiro that ds sees. He knows most of these people. Some people are just........ clueless. :lol:

[GSOchristie]

I see your name is Kristi, my name is Christie, my best friends still write Christy sometimes. With so many possible spellings it is easy to get confused, often. My best friend's daughter is Rachael. I have to double check every time I write it because it will not stick in my head, she is 10 :tongue_smilie:.

[sweetbasil]

except the last girl is actually AnnaClaire and spelling isn't an issue but darned if I can figure out how to get people to actually CALL her AnnaClaire.

 

That's easy! Just move to the South. There are plenty of double-named girls!

[somo_chickenlady]

My husband's name is Geramé, sounds identical to Jeremy. No one ever gets his name right. Most don't even know how to pronounce it by just looking at it.

[Caitilin]

Okay, so your name is pronounced like Katy Lynn?

 

No, more like Kate-a-lyn. The middle I is a schwa sound, and the emphasis on the first syllable. :001_smile:

[Sara in AZ]

It took me a few years to remember that my nephew Erik's name was spelled with a K.

 

It took me a few years to remember that there are two E's, two T's, and two M's in my other nephew, Emmett's name.

 

I still have to stop and think if my third nephew's name is spelled Dean after my Mom's dad or Dene after my Dad's dad.

 

People I have known for years and/or are related to me occasionally spell my name, Sara, with an h, Sarah. I have way to much to do to use any brain cells worrying about that.

[newlifemom]

Totally OT:

 

For years a guy in the church orchestra called my dh, 'Dave'. Years I tell you. Dh tried to to correct him for quite a while but finally gave up thinking, "guy was kinda 'speshul' [very socially awkward] and to let it go" Which he did. Then the guy moves to Florida. The last day he was at church he said something to the effect of, "Good-bye Mike". :001_huh:

 

 

Hope that helps you to at least smile a little for the next time his named is misspelled.

[NittanyJen]

I'm lucky if people even get the correct long form of my name, as in the correct name. From there, getting the correct spelling of the name-- wahoo, I feel as if I owe them birthday cards for life just for paying attention.

 

I don't think it's that hard to pay enough attention to a person to spell his or her name correctly (maybe I'm bitter after a lifetime of being called Jennifer when my name is NOT Jennifer??) But a name is personal. It's one of the most personal things about you. Failing to learn your name . . . kind of tells you where you stand with a person. (and that comes from me; I have a horrific time learning names and faces; I have to introduce myself six or seven times before I figure out who a person is, typically; but I will get it if I am around them enough. If they are really important to me, I learn how to spell their names. I have nieces with a really amazing Celtic name. I can spell it; she's my niece).

 

Strangers and office workers get a free pass. I wish strangers and office workers would not make assumptions about names and fill out the long form for you though!

 

< my name is NOT Jennifer >

[thebacabunch]

One the one hand; my husband can't spell his kids names with the exception of our son. They have the same name. My dh is the sweetest, just can't spell, bless him.

 

On the other hand; my sil WILLFULLY mispells my names as if, by shear force, my name will bend to her will. hahahahaha! My name is Rebecca and she insists on spelling it Rebekah. Cracks me up. Love her to death.

[JeneralMom]

My own mother cannot (or will not) pronounce DD5 name properly. Her name is Cordelia (Cor-dee-lee-ah), but from birth my mother has said Ker-dell-ee-uh. And, on her first day of school her substitute teacher labeled all of her things (I was waiting for my iron-on labels to arrive) in permanent ink with Claudilia.

 

No one can spell DD3's name right but I just give up on correcting people. My mum actually spells it multiple ways hoping one is right - the outside of an envelope has one spelling and the inside of the card has another for instance.

 

I did make a big point of correcting people when we moved to Australia that the X in DS7's name was not to be pronounced like a "Z". It really bothers him.

[Angel]

My kids have unusual spellings. Skyeler and Alyxandra, nicknamed Skye and Aly. I never mind telling people how to spell it. I knew when I picked both that that would happen. Dd18 and I always get a giggle out of how many spellings are on her different "Baby's First Christmas" ornaments when we pull them out each year. I have always let them know that mommy and daddy chose their names and their spellings and not to expect people to get it right, but who cares because we LOVE their names. They have both adopted this attitude.

 

If there is more than one spelling of a name, then I expect to tell someone which one it is, common or not.

 

For what it's worth, I have an aunt who is like a grandmother to me. I love her. She loves me. She always spells my name Angle.

[Greenmama2]

Okay, this could totally be a "family issue" then. My DH can't spell his own middle name. :lol: He still asks me to spell it for him. Shh! I didn't tell you that!!!

 

:lol: I spelt my DS's middle name wrong on his preschool enrolment last week :blush::blush: Even worse, I had no correcting fluid and had to cross it out. Plus, as it's a Gaelic name most people assume it's kre8tiv so I felt even more ridiculous. It is, in fact a valid Gaelic name with two accepted forms (having slightly different meanings) and I couldn't remember which one DH and I had eventually agreed on back in the overtired newborn haze.

[Cosmos]

This seems to be something a lot of people are saying but I didn't think it was unusual at all. :001_huh: Honestly, I thought there were two ways to spell it and so, we picked the one that a) looked better with our last name and b) would make sense when shortened to a nickname (Lukas to Luke). Not trying to be snarky here...just confused by the whole "unusual spelling" thing.

 

A google search on "Lukas" gets 118,000,000 hits.

 

A google search on "Lucas" gets 503,000,000 hits.

 

For whatever that's worth. I don't recall ever meeting a Lukas myself.

[JFSinIL]

Well, I agree with the others who point out that you did choose the less common spelling. That said, I have spent my life having to spell my given name as folks usually want to end it with "ie" when it is "y". No big deal, though.

 

My youngest is a Jaclyn.....still working to convince one aunt that it is not Jacqueline or something like that.

 

Just remembered - my mom once told me that when my kid brother was about 10, Dad mentioned that they might want to pick a middle name for him instead of just the initial they'd been using. My mom looked at him, then pointed out that my brother DID have a middle name. Jay. All that time my dad thought it was just the initial J. ;-)

Edited October 26, 2012 by JFSinIL

[AnnaM]

I have a Luke and people constantly call him Lucas. It drives me insane but I just smile and correct it. My youngest daughters name is Keira (Keer-uh). She has just learned to go ahead and answer to any variation of Kara, Kira, Key-er-a, or whatever and then politely help them pronounce it correctly LOL

[myfatherslily]

My name is Sarah. People who have known me for years write Sara. I can understand just not remembering, but it does seem ridiculous when they are replying to me on Facebook or responding to a letter that I sent and signed and also put a return address on.

 

Some people just can't be bothered to try spelling a name correctly and that's that. There's not much you can do about it.

 

For the record, I think Lukas is perfectly reasonable spelling (though according to ssa.gov, less common). I like it.

[wendyroo]

My uncle calls my older son Eddie - his name is Peter.

My uncle calls my younger son Eddie II - his name is Elliot.

 

It annoys me and DH. It annoys my mother and father and my grandmother and most everyone on that side of the family; I assume that is why he does it. He will also talk (in front of the kids who are 1 and 3) about how their real names are bad and boring and that is why he has renamed them.

 

I try very hard to ignore it, because, really, what other choice do I have?

[Mom22ns]

I've never seen Lukas before either.

 

My ds's best friend is a foster kid who spent his weekends with us for a few years. His name is Micheal. I have emailed and posted on FB about him many times and people almost always change the spelling to Michael when they reply. I think they assume it is a typo on my part. Maybe your MIL thought the same on your part. I would hope that seeing you post about Lukas regularly will eventually get her to see it is not a mistake :)

[Holly]

A few years ago, I signed 3 of my DC up for VBS...at our small church we attended every Sunday. They misspelled all three names. :lol: Two of my DC have very common Biblical names and the third is less common. I get that one being misspelled, but to get all three wrong?

 

It's also a bit of a joke in my family, but my great aunt is unable to remember my DH's name. We've been married over 11 years now. Of course I was recently told he quit his job and we are now preaching the Gospel on street corners. It came as a surprise to me. :lol: Luckily the nurses at her nursing home are all incredibly horrible and rude, so it doesn't bother me too much. :tongue_smilie:

 

I try to shrug it off, but I don't have people doing these things on purpose...I'm not sure how I'd feel about that.

[Holly]

:lol: I spelt my DS's middle name wrong on his preschool enrolment last week :blush::blush: Even worse, I had no correcting fluid and had to cross it out. Plus, as it's a Gaelic name most people assume it's kre8tiv so I felt even more ridiculous. It is, in fact a valid Gaelic name with two accepted forms (having slightly different meanings) and I couldn't remember which one DH and I had eventually agreed on back in the overtired newborn haze.

 

I have trouble with my DC's middle names. The spelling on some is a bit kre8tiv and I'm pretty sure DH made one of them up. :lol: It's Michaelynn, Michaelyn, Michaellyn or Michallynn but I can never remember what spelling we finally settled on. :blushing: DH has assured me it's a legitimate name either way, but I'm not totally convinced.

 

Those forms are terrible too. We were in a car accident and I had to tell the paramedic all my DC's birthdates. I was a bit stressed out and couldn't remember the birth years! I'm pretty sure I got one of them a couple years off. It was so embarrassing...and I only had 3 DC at the time.

[kitten18]

My own mother cannot (or will not) pronounce DD5 name properly. Her name is Cordelia (Cor-dee-lee-ah), but from birth my mother has said Ker-dell-ee-uh. And, on her first day of school her substitute teacher labeled all of her things (I was waiting for my iron-on labels to arrive) in permanent ink with Claudilia.

 

:svengo::willy_nilly: I would have been REALLY unhappy about that. :glare:

[Laura Corin]

We deliberately chose names for our children that were easy to spell and pronounce in the UK, the US and (where we living at the time) China. There are two spellings for 'Hobbes' name, and we chose the one that is most common in the UK, where we were most likely to end up living.

 

'Hobbes' often has people use the other spelling of his name; I just correct it if it matters (exam entry or concert programme notes) and ignore it otherwise (birthday cards, etc.).

 

Laura (called 'Lauren' half the time because I married a man whose last name begins with an 'n')

[Farrar]

My name is Sarah. People who have known me for years write Sara. I can understand just not remembering, but it does seem ridiculous when they are replying to me on Facebook or responding to a letter that I sent and signed and also put a return address on.

 

Yes, why do people do that on Facebook? That always confuses me when people misspell my name on Facebook. I'm still not offended and "annoyed" is probably even too strong a word, I just find it really weird.

 

I agree that Lukas is a totally normal spelling, but I think people are often to judgmental about the kr8tiv spellings anyway. I wouldn't do it, but so what if someone did? And, as this thread has shown, even people with pretty normal names face some bizarre misspellings. Claudilila indeed.

[Dmmetler]

My DD has a character on a game site named Kasandaria. She continually refers and writes this character's name as "Kasandria". I don't know if she misspelled it when she made the character, or if she misspells it each time she writes it :)-and I'm not entirely sure that she isn't misspelling "Cassandra", since I regularly find the children's version of the Iliad in her bed because she was re-reading it.

 

 

I had a little girl once misspell "Margaret" on a paper for co-op. It's her given name (although she does go by a nickname most of the time).