Calling family members the wrong names.

[Rachel]

Do you mix up names after having been around your family of origin?

 

My husband is always mixing up my name and his sister’s name after he has been on the phone with her or we have been around each other. He’ll say, “Rachel was telling me...†and I laugh and ask what I was telling him. He is well aware he does it, but most of the time doesn’t realize he is doing it in the moment.

 

My brother just visited and now I keep mixing his name up with my eldest son’s name. My brother has been gone two days and I’m still calling my son by my brother’s name. I’m not having trouble keeping anyone else’s name straight.

 

I have three brothers and I will mix up this brother and my baby brother with my one son’s name. It’s only my oldest son and it’s usually after I have been on the phone with them or after we have been together.

 

I don’t do it with the middle brother though. I also don’t mix up my sisters’ names with my daughter. I do on occasion call my own kids by one of their siblings names. I can look right at them and say the wrong name.

 

I wonder what it is in my brain that flips the names around. I don’t think it’s uncommon to call children by sibling names but I don’t know if it is common to mix up between generations or it that is just a quirk of my own.

 

Anyone else do the same thing?

[amy g.]

Oh, yes! There are certain people I call by the wrong name.

 

The worst were when I called my son by the dog’s name and when my youngest called me Siri instead of Mom!

[LMD]

Yes, I often call my daughter by my sister's name after visiting with my sister.

[Amira]

Yep. I start using my oldest nephew’s name for oldest ds after I visit.

 

I only have sisters and no daughters, so I don’t run into problems there. :)

[Hannah]

Yes, I do that too. 

My grandmother was the youngest of 12 children.  She said it sometimes took a while for her mother to get down the list of sisters to call her!

[Carrie12345]

My husband frequently calls me and our oldest daughter by his sister's name when he's stressed about his crazy sister.  He'll also call me our dd's name and sometimes dd my name. 

 

Our other dd doesn't usually get thrown in that particular mix. She looks and acts less like the three of us, I think.  However, she reminds me a lot of one of my sisters, and I have been known to call her Court once in a while!

 

I  mix my own kids up all the time, and sometimes the pets.  I intentionally named every child with a different first letter, after growing up as one of 3 Cs who were always mixed up.  Well, it didn't work. I still fumble a lot, and people tend to forget which dd is which, and which of the younger two boys is which.  

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

All the time.  

 

The worst for me is my best friend and my dd.  I am CONSTANTLY calling my dd by my best friend's name!  

 

My mom is always calling my ds by my brother's name.  

 

Here's an embarrassing story.  

 

I got married and started a new job within a few weeks of being married.  I changed my name to my husband's, a two syllable name starting with a letter __.  My boss also had a two syllable last name starting with __.  I used to really struggle to remember which was my last name and which was hers!  It was terrible.  

[frogger]

Everyone takes it in stride until someone calls a sibling's spouse by their ex's name. Ooops

[Megbo]

Dh frequently calls our sons and nephews by his brothers' names. I don't think I've ever heard him call one brother by another brother's name, but he does mix up names between the kids (and dogs). 

 

My most frequent mistake is calling Ds15 by Dh's name. I can't help it. They're clones. 

[gardenmom5]

yes.  usually my kids names. (usually calling a child by the next older siblings name.)  mil would call her children by her siblings names.  my kids have even done it with each other.  by far the funniest is when 1ds called dudeling by . . . 1ds's name. (re: his own)

 

eta: clarification.

Edited December 23, 2017 by gardenmom5

[horsellian]

My mum has difficulty with mixing up my sister's name and my daughter's name. That's better than her mother though, who used to mix up her son and the cat's names!

[kewb]

To date, I have only mixed up my children's name with each other and the dog. Usually when I am exasperated and just trying to get a name out.

[school17777]

Glad to hear I’m not alone in doing this!

[Rachel]

Everyone takes it in stride until someone calls a sibling's spouse by their ex's name. Ooops

I bet that goes over well! 😂

[Rachel]

Glad to hear I’m not alone in doing this!

No kidding!

[Joyofsixreboot]

I mix up my kids' names all the time. I live with them and can look right at them and say the wrong one. My mom did this too. I'm surprised I don't think my name is

Erisa and my brother Leric. [emoji14]

 

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[Rachel]

I guess it means we love our family members: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/01/16/509353565/when-the-brain-scrambles-names-its-because-you-love-them

[brehon]

Oh, heavens, yes!

[alisoncooks]

I often will call oldest DD by my cousin's name. They both begin with /sh/.

[GinaPagnato]

I call my oldest DS by my youngest brother's name after we have been visiting with bro and his family. I'm so glad I'm not the only one!

 

 

[Sandwalker]

All the time.

 

The worst for me is my best friend and my dd. I am CONSTANTLY calling my dd by my best friend's name!

 

My mom is always calling my ds by my brother's name.

 

Here's an embarrassing story.

 

I got married and started a new job within a few weeks of being married. I changed my name to my husband's, a two syllable name starting with a letter __. My boss also had a two syllable last name starting with __. I used to really struggle to remember which was my last name and which was hers! It was terrible.

Hahaha that sounds like me!

[EMS83]

I mix up names in my own household, the pets too!

[school17777]

I was calling everyone into the familyroom last night and they all say I called myself too.

[fraidycat]

I don’t notice this as much now with family. But in highschool my two BFFs were a guy, one syllable name and a girl, two syllable name. We had two dogs, male, one syllable name that started with the same first letter as my guy friend, and female, two syllable name that started with the same first letter as my girl friend.

 

My poor friends got used to responding to my dogs names! :D

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

Glad to hear I’m not alone in doing this!

 

Me too!!! I don't do it too often, but I have a cousin with whom I was raised like a sister. For some reason, when another, much younger cousin visits, I immediately start calling her by sister-cousin's name! And they're from opposite sides of the family, so no relation at all. I've always thought it was so weird, so I'm glad to know it's fairly common :lol: 

[Julie Smith]

Dh often calls me his sisters name.

 

He will also ‘remember’ telling me something he told his sister.

 

“I told you about it when we at that restaurant.†....

 

“um, Dh, that was your sister.†....

 

“oh yahâ€

[mellifera33]

My kids like to tease me about it. "Don't you know our names yet? You gave them to us!" 

[sassenach]

My whole life I answered to 3 names interchangeably when my grandmother was around. I would also translate who she was talking about based on context.

 

She was only 47 when I was born, so not an old lady. She just could never keep names straight.

[Paige]

I am forever mixing up my brother and DS (16). I have since DS was about 2. They don't look alike but DS reminds me so much of my brother in personality that my brain trips up.

[mermo]

Yep!! Every time I am around my brother, I call my kids me niece and nephew’s name!

[wintermom]

Yes, I do this with my sister and daughter. I also do it with my youngest child and my dog. They have similar personalities!  :laugh:

[fairfarmhand]

Yep. I mix up my brother and my son quite a bit. My son is like raising my little brother. They’re so alike it’s eerie. Even my dds pick up on the mannerisms.

 

 

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[maize]

I do this constantly.

 

When it is just us, I call my kids by each other's names. Get me around my family or even just on the phone with or talking about my family and my kids start getting called by my siblings' names.

[dirty ethel rackham]

Well, I just called dh by our dog's name ... to his face, as in, "Bear, did you want me to call in that catering order?"  And dh referred to his boss by our dog's name in an important meeting with lots of honchos.  Major faux pas.  Good thing his boss took it in stride.  

 

Oh and I have two acquaintances that are part of the same parent group I am involved in... one is called Chuck, but his fb name is Charles.  The other is called Charles, but his fb name is an old college nickname that doesn't resemble Charles. And I mix them up all the time.  And I call my friend by her daughter's name all the time.  It is really embarrassing.

[Hannah]

I am visiting with my sister at the moment and have confused her kids, my kids and our siblings just this afternoon!  Had to think of this thread.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I sometimes call my kids by my cats' names.  Or the other way around. LOL

 

 

[purpleowl]

My youngest sister and my oldest daughter have names that rhyme. (In my accent anyway - in other areas/countries, people pronounce one or both names differently so they don't rhyme. But anyway.) I mix up their names a lot if I am with or talking about that sister.

 

And then I mix up all three of my kids' names. I usually end up landing on "you! child right there!" or "you! oldest child!" or something like that.

[school17777]

My youngest sister and my oldest daughter have names that rhyme. (In my accent anyway - in other areas/countries, people pronounce one or both names differently so they don't rhyme. But anyway.) I mix up their names a lot if I am with or talking about that sister.

 

And then I mix up all three of my kids' names. I usually end up landing on "you! child right there!" or "you! oldest child!" or something like that.

My kids’ names don’t rhyme, but I get them mixed up, especially when I’m tired. When I went to bed last Saturday night, I asked the dd that came into my room to move the frozen cookie dough from the freezer to the fridge. The next morning, i found it was not done and messed up my plans for the day because it took all day for the dough to thaw. The dd’s reason for not doing it? I called by her sister’s name instead of hers. I had no idea and that dd wasn’t within hearing distance and I was looking at the one I told. Was not happy. She thought it was funny.

[Beaniemom]

I call oldest dd by my younger sister’s name whenever we are with my family.

[GailV]

The most spectacular was at Thanksgiving when my sister's ex-husband called his wife by my sister's name. 

 

It was the first time we'd met the woman, and the first time we'd seen him in years, so, yeah, she (new wife) was pretty embarrassed.  Everyone else sort of shrugged it off. 

[scoutingmom]

My youngest sister and my oldest daughter have names that rhyme. (In my accent anyway - in other areas/countries, people pronounce one or both names differently so they don't rhyme. But anyway.) I mix up their names a lot if I am with or talking about that sister.

 

And then I mix up all three of my kids' names. I usually end up landing on "you! child right there!" or "you! oldest child!" or something like that.

You with the lips!