S/O names thread-People that insist on using wrong name

[Joshin]

Reading through the way names are spelled thread got me irked about my own name. My real name is Jenny, not Jennifer, yet many people insist on calling me Jennifer.

 

I have literally introduced myself to someone as Jenny, and they will answer back, "Nice to meet you, Jennifer." Women do this more than men, I've found. I find it insulting, although I try to overlook it unless it continues. Most people will call me Jenny once they get to know me, but at first many, many people insist on Jennifer. I only think they eventually call me by my real name because I don't answer to Jennifer. :glare:

 

A few people have been downright insulting. I once had a professor that refused to call me Jenny because she said it was "childish." I had to have my driver's license redone when I moved to my state, because the woman still put Jennifer on it, even though I had shown her my past license, my passport and my SSN card (she didn't believe me when I said Jenny, and kept insisting no nicknames. I tried telling her, Jennifer would be a nickname in my case)! Even my mortgage paperwork had to be redrawn up because they printed the wrong name on it! My dad also has a common men's name, but the short nickname of it. He has the exact same issue. He has to keep on top of doctor billing departments, because they put down the wrong name and insurance refuses to pay.

 

I really wonder why it's so hard for some people to accept Jenny as a name? :001_huh: I even spell it the most common way! Anyone else run into this?

[kiana]

My mother has the same thing -- she was christened a common nickname, with an unusual (but traditional within the family) spelling, and all through her childhood teachers would INSIST on her 'full name' until she brought in a note from her mother.

[Wheres Toto]

I had a friend in high school whose name was Pam and she had the same problem, including teachers that would insist on calling her Pamela, no matter how much she told them her full legal name was Pam.

 

Old ladies always call me Dottie. I usually find it not worth arguing with. Dottie Anne is what my mother calls me.

[In the Rain]

I know a "Patti" who has been fighting the same battle for 50 years. People always assume she is a "Patricia".

[Hoot]

I have the same issue. My name is Crissy. That's it. Not short for anything. No middle name. Just Crissy. People still insist on calling me Christine, Christina, Christy etc. It's never really bothered me though. I just answer to whatever. :tongue_smilie:

[kewb]

It doesn't happen to my anymore but when I was kid, all the time. Sometimes, it is a pia to have a nickname as a name. I can still remember the conversation with teachers:

Teacher: Kathy. Is that short for anything. Katherine, Kathleen.

me: No. It is just Kathy.

Teacher: Are you sure?

 

Ok, I can understand the "are you sure" when you are a little kid and you hate your name. But it happened all the way through high school.

 

It doesn't bother me when people want to insist my name is something else. I just politely correct them until they get it.

[Murmer]

My dd has a long name and so many people INSIST on shortening it....if I wanted it short I would have done the short name. I don't mind if in the future she wants to shorten it...its her name but no one else should dictate what my child is named beyond my dd and me.

[Parrothead]

My given name is two syllables. I hate the shortened version. I had one woman just wave her hand at me and tell me it didn't matter when i called her on shortening it.

 

Dd has a three syllable name. None of us like the shortened version of it, yet people often insist on using only the first syllable. (Hopefully no one will give me carp for complaining about it again.)

 

Now, I don't mind when Chucki is shortened to Chuck.

[myfatherslily]

Reading through the way names are spelled thread got me irked about my own name. My real name is Jenny, not Jennifer, yet many people insist on calling me Jennifer.

 

I have literally introduced myself to someone as Jenny, and they will answer back, "Nice to meet you, Jennifer." Women do this more than men, I've found. I find it insulting, although I try to overlook it unless it continues. Most people will call me Jenny once they get to know me, but at first many, many people insist on Jennifer. I only think they eventually call me by my real name because I don't answer to Jennifer. :glare:

 

A few people have been downright insulting. I once had a professor that refused to call me Jenny because she said it was "childish." I had to have my driver's license redone when I moved to my state, because the woman still put Jennifer on it, even though I had shown her my past license, my passport and my SSN card (she didn't believe me when I said Jenny, and kept insisting no nicknames. I tried telling her, Jennifer would be a nickname in my case)! Even my mortgage paperwork had to be redrawn up because they printed the wrong name on it! My dad also has a common men's name, but the short nickname of it. He has the exact same issue. He has to keep on top of doctor billing departments, because they put down the wrong name and insurance refuses to pay.

 

I really wonder why it's so hard for some people to accept Jenny as a name? :001_huh: I even spell it the most common way! Anyone else run into this?

 

My best friend's name is Jenny. :) Or, rather, "just Jenny"!

[Joshin]

I guess misery does like company, because I'm a little glad I'm not alone!

 

I think the reason it bothers me so much is when I was a kid, there were usually three or four variations of my name in every single class. My maiden name puts me at the end of the alphabet. In 1st grade I had a teacher who went through all the Jennifers in alphabetical order and asked what they would like to be called. The first said "Jen" and the second said "Jenny." She then told me I would be "Jennifer" for the rest of the year so she didn't get us confused. Six-year-old me did not take it very well, and I don't have any fond memories of that teacher or school year at all. I have no idea if it's because of the name thing, but I was never in that teacher's good graces and she was downright mean to me the entire year. Of course, I may have been acting out because I was mad about my name and just don't remember that part!

[happi duck]

People always shorten dh's name even though he never ever goes by that name. Why do people do that? We work hard at stopping it quickly because it spreads like wildfire and soon everyone is using the shortened name. :glare:

 

The teacher thing makes me nuts. I've worked with teachers who've insisted on using only 'given' names...even when the child goes by a middle name.

[JeneralMom]

See, I have the exact opposite problem. My name is Jennifer. I introduce myself as Jennifer, I re-introduce myself as Jennifer. I correct people to Jennifer, but I am constantly called Jen or Jenny. Yes, it is in my email or online but that is because almost every variation of Jennifer is already taken online and I had to find "something". Typical conversations go like this:

 

Friend A (who I have know for a long time and have corrected) introduces me to a new friend as "Jen". I say "Hi, I'm Jennifer, pleased to meet you." New Friend responds with "nice to meet you too, Jen."

 

ARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH.

[HappyLady]

There are two ways to pronounce my name, but several ways of spelling it. Because of the way it's spelled, people have made up a 3rd way of pronouncing it. :glare: Even after I introduce myself and say it correctly they repeat it with this new pronunciation. It has bugged me my entire life. It makes me so badly want to mispronounce THEIR name so when they correct me I can say, "I'll pronounce your name correctly when you pronounce mine correctly." Incidentally, I also want to do that to people who spell my name wrong all. the. time. :lol:

[stripe]

I have had many teachers ask me if I would prefer them to call me something else or had a nickname they should use. :glare: My first name is very easy to pronounce and perfectly understandble for English speakers! One old codger who asked me if I had another name he should call me, only asked me and the Chinese students whose names he apparently could not pronounce or was overwhelmed by. I just don't understand when you get to create a totally new name for someone.

 

Most neighborhood kids can pronounce my daughter's name perfectly. I think part of it is they don't see it written down amnd get some misguided assumption about how to pronounce it. On the other hand, most people utterly mispronounce and way overcomplicate my easy to pronounce and short last name, adding several extra syllables in, because they want to turn it into something familiar.

[Cinder]

I really wonder why it's so hard for some people to accept Jenny as a name? :001_huh: I even spell it the most common way! Anyone else run into this?

 

I have a nickname as my real name, and I've run into this a bit but not to the extent you have. I usually just get asked if it's my legal name.

 

I once knew an older man named Johnny. It was kind of hard for me to call a grown man Johnny but that was his legal name and what he went by.

[LaxMom]

See, I have the exact opposite problem. My name is Jennifer. I introduce myself as Jennifer, I re-introduce myself as Jennifer. I correct people to Jennifer, but I am constantly called Jen or Jenny. Yes, it is in my email or online but that is because almost every variation of Jennifer is already taken online and I had to find "something". Typical conversations go like this:

 

Friend A (who I have know for a long time and have corrected) introduces me to a new friend as "Jen". I say "Hi, I'm Jennifer, pleased to meet you." New Friend responds with "nice to meet you too, Jen."

 

ARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH.

I have that issue as well. Except it is my mother who introduces me to people as Diminutive Husband's Last Name. I kept my maiden name, and nobody calls me by any diminutive except my parents and husband (which totally confuses people, though most do not adopt the habit).

 

We intentionally have the children names with no diminutives because it irks me so much.

[Kakids]

I really don't understand why it is so hard for people to use a person's given name. I have a name that is associated with multiple nicknames. This does not give people the right to pick whichever nickname they feel like using. I have a name and you do not get to pick what you want, please use the one on paperwork or the one I give you.

 

My poor son has also started having people shorten his name to only the first syllable and it is driving me crazy. I don't understand people's need to rename others.

[Kate in Arabia]

I've gotten the thing a lot where people assume 'Kate' is a nickname (in my case it isn't). My boys have traditional Arabic names and are used to answering to a variety of pronunciations (I honestly didn't think they were that hard to pronounce when I chose them). There have also been people who give the boys "American" nicknames off of their names. I try not to take offense if I don't think it is intended, but I'd rather they give the name a try than to just choose a nickname, lol.

[chepyl]

DH's name is Jonathan, it is frustrating when he introduces himself and they respond, "hi, Jon." Ugh!

[naturally]

I knew a girl in school who's name was Becky, not Rebecca. I think she got that a lot.

 

Our son's name has a few common nicknames but we prefer either his given name or one particular nickname. We have some people who intentionally call him other names despite being asked not to. Makes me mad and sad at the same time.

[KungFuPanda]

I'd say "Hi, I'm Jenny. It's not short for Jennifer. My real name is just Jenny."

 

I'd think that that weird intro alone would be enough for most folks to remember you.

[Galatea]

My name is Beverly. I hate "Bev" with a passion. The only people who can say it that I will answer to are my family, because it's habit and I love them enough to overlook it. I always introduce myself as Beverly and tell people I don't like Bev. Anyway, I say that to say I used to work with a woman who would only call me Bev, no matter what I said. What made it crazy was that we had another co-worker named Susie and this woman only ever called her Susan. She would NOT say Susie or Beverly. It was quite clear she did it on purpose. Some people are just crazy.

[Night Elf]

I really wonder why it's so hard for some people to accept Jenny as a name? :001_huh: I even spell it the most common way! Anyone else run into this?

 

My name is Beth, not Elizabeth. I've actually had arguments with people who insist my name is a nickname. It's on my birth certificate as Beth. I've always wondered why someone would care that much about someone else's name?

[thewaka]

I have people try to convince me that "Diane" is a nickname for "Diana." :/ At one place I worked, I started calling all the men a different name every time I talked to them (and one not remotely related to his own name) to show how I felt about it. It took a couple of weeks for them all to get that they needed to say the "a" at the end.

 

My oldest goes by her middle name which isn't usually a problem b/c we don't introduce her with her first. However, we have to use the first at doctor's offices. It drives me nuts that so many don't have a way to mark down a preferred name, especially since they can't figure out how to pronounce her first name! Middle name is very easy and we have considered having it legally changed to switch them around.

[Firestar Academy]

my daughter's name is Leesa. you know LEE SA. not leeza. it is an S NOT Z. people still call her leeza.

 

i usually say it is a phonetic spelling of Lisa - which really should be pronounced Lie sa.

[cin]

I have two friends and my dad who went through this. Their given names were Joe, Tricia, and Kim.

 

3 of their 4 kids have very simple names: Molly, Jack & Kelly. The 4th is Alexa, which still isn't too complex.

[tsavoie11]

My name is Tami. Mine is a typical nickname and it's spelled differently. I've had just about everyone ask me at some point if it's short for anything. Now I tell people my name is Tami T-a-m-i.

 

My second daughter is named Abby. I had to laugh one day when she was asked if her name was short for Abigail and she answered, "no, why would it be?" :)

[Joshin]

My husband has the opposite problem, where people shorten his name to the common nickname. What's funny, is there is no reason to it because both the nickname and real name are two syllables long.

 

I don't mind Jen when it comes from friends and family. It at least makes sense since it's shorter. I'm also in the habit of saying "just Jenny" a lot! It's those that argue with me that it has to be short for something that really get to me.

 

My grandma gave her five sons the nickname as the given name specifically because she wanted people to call them by the nickname, and back in her day teachers, etc would only call kids by their given names. My mom and dad carried on the tradition with my sister and I. It's kind of funny that it backfired, it seems like such a good plan!

 

On a side note, we found out a couple of years ago that my dad has yet another name. He had to get an original copy of his handwritten birth certificate for some paperwork. Until then, he had only seen his typed up birth card issued by the state. The nun at the catholic hospital had written his name down as "Tammy" instead of Tommy on the form -- not once but twice. We now teasingly call him Tammy!

[annandatje]

Reading through the way names are spelled thread got me irked about my own name. My real name is Jenny, not Jennifer, yet many people insist on calling me Jennifer.

 

I have literally introduced myself to someone as Jenny, and they will answer back, "Nice to meet you, Jennifer." Women do this more than men, I've found. I find it insulting, although I try to overlook it unless it continues. Most people will call me Jenny once they get to know me, but at first many, many people insist on Jennifer. I only think they eventually call me by my real name because I don't answer to Jennifer. :glare:

 

A few people have been downright insulting. I once had a professor that refused to call me Jenny because she said it was "childish." I had to have my driver's license redone when I moved to my state, because the woman still put Jennifer on it, even though I had shown her my past license, my passport and my SSN card (she didn't believe me when I said Jenny, and kept insisting no nicknames. I tried telling her, Jennifer would be a nickname in my case)! Even my mortgage paperwork had to be redrawn up because they printed the wrong name on it! My dad also has a common men's name, but the short nickname of it. He has the exact same issue. He has to keep on top of doctor billing departments, because they put down the wrong name and insurance refuses to pay.

 

I really wonder why it's so hard for some people to accept Jenny as a name? :001_huh: I even spell it the most common way! Anyone else run into this?

 

I have same situation: my given name is a shortened version of a more formal name. My mother named me what she expected to call me.

 

Honestly I probably do not experience the problem with as much frequency as you do because my name is not quite as common.

 

However, I can honestly say that it does not bother me. I correct the mistake immediately and put it to rest.

 

After all, if someone uses the full formal name version upon meeting, they probably think they are being polite by not using the familiar shortened version before they truly get to know you.

[Library Momma]

Reading through the way names are spelled thread got me irked about my own name. My real name is Jenny, not Jennifer, yet many people insist on calling me Jennifer.

 

I have literally introduced myself to someone as Jenny, and they will answer back, "Nice to meet you, Jennifer." Women do this more than men, I've found. I find it insulting, although I try to overlook it unless it continues. Most people will call me Jenny once they get to know me, but at first many, many people insist on Jennifer. I only think they eventually call me by my real name because I don't answer to Jennifer. :glare:

 

A few people have been downright insulting. I once had a professor that refused to call me Jenny because she said it was "childish." I had to have my driver's license redone when I moved to my state, because the woman still put Jennifer on it, even though I had shown her my past license, my passport and my SSN card (she didn't believe me when I said Jenny, and kept insisting no nicknames. I tried telling her, Jennifer would be a nickname in my case)! Even my mortgage paperwork had to be redrawn up because they printed the wrong name on it! My dad also has a common men's name, but the short nickname of it. He has the exact same issue. He has to keep on top of doctor billing departments, because they put down the wrong name and insurance refuses to pay.

 

I really wonder why it's so hard for some people to accept Jenny as a name? :001_huh: I even spell it the most common way! Anyone else run into this?

 

I remember a girl at camp when I was a kid named Jenny. She would get furious when people called her Jennifer. She would call people Fred because if they would not call her the right name she wouldn't use their correct name either. You didn't go to Camp Mikon Recro in the 80's did you!!?

[Pamela H in Texas]

Well, we have several nicknames as names in my hubby's family. I am not a fan and wouldn't name a child like that....But really, people should be called what they want to be called REGARDLESS anyway!

 

Last year, my (now) son chose to go by his new initials (A.J. - "like the racecar driver") rather than his first name. His teacher (had to go to school before he was adopted) insisted that he be called by his first name only. She told people, including family friends of ours, that he didn't like to be called A.J. and that I wanted him called that because I was embarrassed that his first name is a "girl's name." That wasn't true. He hated that she refused to call him A.J. He also knows that his name was a popular girl's name the year he was born but his name MEANS "Adam's son," so is most certainly a boy's name! Well, this was one of the things she called CPS on us about! Our agency got a standards violation about it. Our agency director about fell over when she learned that his name is still Addison. "Why did we get a standards violation then?" Yeah, well....because some people chose to listen to a psycho teacher (who called CPS on us 70 times in the last 6 weeks of school) rather than truth (in CPS's defense, by the second investigation, they caught on to who was the real crazy).

 

Anyway, now we have other name issues. Both my boys don't go by their first names. THe one goes by initials. The other goes by a nickname from his middle name. It seems that if someone knows what his whole name, they won't call him by what he is called no matter how many times they are corrected.

 

OF course, people seem to call people what they want anyway. My name is Pamela. My daughter's name is Kimberly. We both go by the full name. People insist on Pam and Kim. OH, and PLEASE do not let me hear you call my other daughter Vicky!

 

Anyway, but had I named my father-in-law, I would have named him Johnathon. If I had named my brothers-in-law, I would have named them Lawrence and Daniel. But I would never dream of calling any of them those names!

 

Oh, one thing we did to teach kids who knew my kids' birth names to use their adoptive names was to "tease" (GENTLY, of course) them similarly. FOr example, my daughter was called Evelyn before. That is now her middle name (I love that name). The kid down the street kept calling her Evelyn well after everyone else had switched. So I asked her what her middle name was. SHe said Aubrey. So every time she said Evelyn, I made a comment to her using her middle name. It was fun, we all giggled, she changed dd's name to Victoria.

 

So maybe if Lori calls you Jenny, you can playfully call her LoriAnne? Kimberly calls you Jennifer, call her Kimberlyathon?

Edited October 28, 2012 by 2J5M9K

[hsingscrapper]

My sister is named Jenny. I remember being in Sunday school and having my little sister come bursting into my sixth grade room after hearing her scream "You're wrong!" at her teacher. She dragged me through the curtains to her room. The teacher insisted that Jenny was short for Jennifer and spelled her name "Jennie". The teacher told me I didn't know what I was talking about. I left my sister with my teacher and went to get my mom. She was mad and said a few choice words to the teacher for making her daghter cry and causing her to leave her class unattended.

 

That teacher was also a teacher's aide in our school and never argued with my sister or anyone else about their name.

 

People mostly misspell my name or telemarketers pronounce "ei" with an "a" sound.

[stripe]

People mostly misspell my name or telemarketers pronounce "ei" with an "a" sound.

 

oh my.

[Joshin]

Nope, I never went to that camp, but I like the Fred thing!

 

I usually try to give people the benefit of the doubt when they first use the wrong name, I know I get names wrong all the time! It's when they insist I'm wrong and don't know my own name that it irks me, or when they continue to do so when they know otherwise.

 

I coach/lead several youth activities. None of the kids have any issue, but I have had parents that have known me for years insist on Jennifer. Combined with other attitudes they've presented, it comes across as snide. Maybe I'm just sensitive! Of course, I also have parents that think I am completely off base when I allow and encourage the kids to use my first name. I've explained that in the activities I coach the kids are my equals and I am just a facilitator (These are kid-run activities and teams. I am not a leader or authority figure, the kids are. It is counterproductive to the team to encourage any behavior that sets me apart or as the 'teacher'). Some parents still think I am not teaching the children proper respect for adults. In those cases, I think they insist on Jennifer because it just sounds more formal to them.

[PeacefulChaos]

Well, it doesn't really bother me because I know Kara isn't necessarily common, but I get a lot of car-uh instead of kare-uh. Which I know is also a legitimate name... DH thinks it's weird, though, because in his mind car-uh would be spelled Cara, not Kara. But that's just his opinion. :D I can see where the mistake is made.

Though, when I introduce myself, I always get, 'Karen?' 'KarA' 'Carol?' Sigh... last week someone said 'Like Tara with a K?' "Yes' ...though how that is easier is beyond me? ;) :lol:

I gave my kids unusual names (like, very unusual - none of them even show up anywhere, there is 'no data' in rankings for their names or it just says 'your name is very rare!') and they get mispronounced, which isn't surprising. What's surprising is the WAY they are mispronounced. They turn Link's name into a girl's name (like, really, it's a girl name and it happens at the doctor's office, where they HAVE paperwork that say he's a BOY :lol: :D ), as well as Astro's (which actually requires leaving off the end of his name - like it isn't even there :001_huh: ). Pink's is the only one that I can SEE why they say it wrong, but I didn't like any other way of spelling it so we just stuck with it and I don't mind. :)

[Storm Bay]

Reading through the way names are spelled thread got me irked about my own name. My real name is Jenny, not Jennifer, yet many people insist on calling me Jennifer.

 

 

I had a maiden name that no one could ever spell or pronounce (it had been through several countries & had spelling changes that rendered it not phonetic in any language that exists so I can empathize.

 

While I always try to call someone the name they prefer, it is much less common to have a given name that is usually a nickname than to have a name made into a nickname. I think that people who are rude about it are showing their ignorance. My name really is Karin (there are a lot of us who homeschool, including 2 in my area, so don't assume you've guessed who I am ;)), and people don't understand that if it's spelled Karen it's not my name. It's also not okay to guess "Core inn" as a prounucnatio (core rhyming with boar or bore), but it's okay to guess the Scandinavian or German pronunciations.

 

See, I have the exact opposite problem. My name is Jennifer. I introduce myself as Jennifer, I re-introduce myself as Jennifer. I correct people to Jennifer, but I am constantly called Jen or Jenny.

 

ARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH.

 

:iagree: One of my db's has a name that people constantly shorten--he doesn't care as much as the rest of us do, but I notice that his screen name is his full name & that's how he always says it. I tend to ask people what they prefer if they say one thing & someone else says another (eg Jennifer/Jen/Jenny). Some people really don't care, but some do, and people's names are very important to them as a rule.

 

My name is Beverly. I hate "Bev" with a passion. .

Same comment as just above, but to say that I grew up with a Beverly who prefers Bev--but it's her preference. I've known her since K, so I can't say I hate Bev, but I do like the name Beverly,

My name is Beth, not Elizabeth. I've actually had arguments with people who insist my name is a nickname. It's on my birth certificate as Beth. I've always wondered why someone would care that much about someone else's name?

 

That is a name I've seen given as a full name many times, so I'm not sure why people insist that that's a nickname. Jimmy as a given name (I've seen it) or Kenny, is less common. I do have to say that it was rather odd to get used to my dc's pediatrician with a name like that, since you don't tend to see that where I grew up. However, I'd never call him Kenneth!!!

[Storm Bay]

People do this with my oldest. The name they call him isn't even a variation of his name. It's a completely different name. I hate that. His name is not complicated at all.

 

Around here people take ds's one syllable Nordic name & make it 2 syllables when they hear it. They can't say it right the first time if they read it, but where I grew up it goes much, much better (different English speaking country, and also the local accent here is marked.)

[Mom-ninja.]

I really don't understand why it is so hard for people to use a person's given name. I have a name that is associated with multiple nicknames. This does not give people the right to pick whichever nickname they feel like using. I have a name and you do not get to pick what you want, please use the one on paperwork or the one I give you.

 

My poor son has also started having people shorten his name to only the first syllable and it is driving me crazy. I don't understand people's need to rename others.

 

My mother does this. She just calls her grand kids whatever she wants to. She called my niece "Alex" even though my brother told her not to. She calls my middle ds "Dominique" and that is not how his middle name is pronounced or spelled.

 

My sister's girl name was "Davne" pronounced like "Daphne" but with a "v" sound instead of "f". My mother hated it and announced that she "couldn't pronounce it" so she would say Daphne.

 

Why? Because she has boundry issues.

[Mom-ninja.]

My oldest goes by her middle name which isn't usually a problem b/c we don't introduce her with her first. However, we have to use the first at doctor's offices. It drives me nuts that so many don't have a way to mark down a preferred name, especially since they can't figure out how to pronounce her first name! Middle name is very easy and we have considered having it legally changed to switch them around.

 

Really? Every doctor or dentist I've been to has a line for "preferred name"

[Hypatia.]

The ILs mispronounce DD1's name and it definitely bugs me, probably because I spent most of my life with people mispronouncing my name! The middle syllable sounds like "tall" however they always pronounce it rhyming with the name "Al". Sure, it's probably a minor thing and it is a valid pronunciation of the name, but that's not what we named our daughter.

[Audrey]

I get called Andrea and Adrienne a lot. I had a friend from grade 7 through high school who always called me Adrienne. At some point after graduation, we had gotten together at the mall and another friend saw us. She was calling out "Audrey! Audrey!" and I turned and waved and she ran over and we were laughing and talking. My old friend says "why does she call you Audrey?" Other friend says "well that's her name!" I said that it was, and old friend says "I've called you Adrienne for 6 years, why didn't you correct me?" I told her I had a few times in the beginning, but that it didn't bother me enough to keep correcting her.

 

Honestly, it really doesn't bother me much. I don't even like the name Audrey, so if people spell it wrong or call me something else, I just can't be bothered to be bothered about it. KWIM?

[mommymilkies]

Almost everyone mispronounces my name. Even after knowing me for years. It's really not that hard to say! And same goes for my dd Ariana. R-e-ahn-uh. Not air-e-Anna. Very annoying. I excuse it the first time, bt we have family who have mispronounced her name since birth. THAT is annoying!

[amey311]

LOL, yeah I see that all the time and sometimes I feel like putting something really goofy down because there aren't any variations of Wendy.

 

Gwendolin? :)

 

I had a substitute in 7th grade who was doing roll call and got to me and asked if I'd prefer to be called Amelia. Uh, no. What with it not being my name and all. I also had a friend named Beth who was asked by the same substitute (?????) if she'd prefer Liz. Her name wasn't Elizabeth, but officially BETH. So, no. She wouldn't prefer Liz.

[DarlaS]

Well, it doesn't really bother me because I know Kara isn't necessarily common, but I get a lot of car-uh instead of kare-uh. Which I know is also a legitimate name... DH thinks it's weird, though, because in his mind car-uh would be spelled Cara, not Kara. But that's just his opinion. :D I can see where the mistake is made.

 

One of our librarians is named "Kara" and pronounced "car uh", so people do pronounce it that way with that spelling. I happen to know the spelling of her name as I've known her since she was a baby. That said, if I didn't know how it was pronounced, I would have assumed "care uh".

 

DD 12 is "Alana". Care to guess how it's pronounced? I thought it was obvious, but apparently it's not. :confused:

Edited October 29, 2012 by darlasowders

[FLDebbie]

I think it's just discourteous not to use someone's name the way they want it to be used.

 

My name is Debbie and for a while at work for some reason it seemed like everyone started calling me Deb. It was like nails on a chalkboard everytime I heard Deb. I would politely ask them to call me Debbie, but for some reason, many of them ignored it. I found it got better when I arbitrarily shortened their names in conversation. "Well Bi", "You're right Cat", "Good job Joh", etc.

[Maus]

Anyway, but had I named my father-in-law, I would have named him Johnathon.

;) Now, see, that's my pet peeve. Everyone insists on spelling my son's name the way you just did. We named him "Jonathan," straight out of the Old Testament and properly a derivative of "Nathan" (DH's name), and not of "John."

 

Jonathan means "gift of God."

Nathan means "gift" or "God has given."

John means "God is gracious."

[Mandy in TN]

My name is Mandy. It isn't short for Amanda. However, I am not emotionally attached to my name. I don't feel it defines me as a person. It is just an easy label. As long as it isn't profane, I really don't care what people call me. Frankly, if I moved to another country where Mandy wasn't recognized as a name in the native language (and especially if it had meaning as a word), the first thing I would do is change my name.

 

Persians tend to pronounce my name as mon-DEE. m-o-n rhymes with don and with the emphasis on the second syllable instead of the first. In Farsi this is stay or remain as a command- kind of like you would say to a dog. Yeah, if I lived in a Persian community, I would change my name.

 

I knew an Indian family who spelled their last name D*cksh*t. They pronounced it Dix-(h)it, very soft almost nonexistent h, and every time I saw their name all I could think was that whoever did their paperwork should be fired. If they just had to keep the name, it should have been spelled Dixit or Dixhit.

 

However, as far as names in general go and people introducing themselves, I think people should be called by whatever name they choose to introduce themselves. When my little ds was born, we looked for a name that would be recognized as a name in English and Farsi. Although it was of only minor importance, we thought it would be nice if Latino Spanish speakers also recognized his name as a name, because of the large Latino population in the area. Well, we call him by a one syllable nickname that is recognized as a name by all three groups. His full legal name is a 4 syllable Arabic-Farsi name. The only problem I ever have is with caucasian Americans of European descent. (I have no idea what would be the politically correct way to label this group of people that includes myself.) For some reason occassionally some of them want to lengthen his nickname to an American 3 syllable name. His name could be a nickname for that name, but, as it isn't his name and he has a cousin who has that name, he definitely doesn't respond to it. :tongue_smilie:

 

Mandy (or Amanda or Fred or whatever) ;)

[HappyLady]

My mother does this. She just calls her grand kids whatever she wants to. She called my niece "Alex" even though my brother told her not to. She calls my middle ds "Dominique" and that is not how his middle name is pronounced or spelled.

 

My sister's girl name was "Davne" pronounced like "Daphne" but with a "v" sound instead of "f". My mother hated it and announced that she "couldn't pronounce it" so she would say Daphne.

 

Why? Because she has boundry issues.

 

When I was pregnant with my 2nd I was considering "Evianna" for a girl. I told my SIL and she said, "That's too long. I'll just call her Evi." :glare: I knew if I went with that name I'd insist on everyone calling her Evianna and not Evi, even though I had planned on calling her Evi just because of my SIL's comment! :lol:

[QueenCat]

 

DD 12 is "Alana". Care to guess how it's pronounced? I thought it was obvious, but apparently it's not. :confused:

 

A- lane- a

Both "a"s being like the "a" in ball.

[QueenCat]

Well, it doesn't really bother me because I know Kara isn't necessarily common, but I get a lot of car-uh instead of kare-uh. Which I know is also a legitimate name... DH thinks it's weird, though, because in his mind car-uh would be spelled Cara, not Kara. But that's just his opinion. :D I can see where the mistake is made.

Though, when I introduce myself, I always get, 'Karen?' 'KarA' 'Carol?' Sigh... last week someone said 'Like Tara with a K?' "Yes' ...though how that is easier is beyond me? ;) :lol:

 

 

I know a few people named Kara and Cara. They all pronounce their names "care- uh". As in "I care about you", not "let's drive the car".