That's Not My Name!

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Do people call you by the wrong name, persistanly, either when writing to you or speaking to you? If so, what do they call you?

― MarkH (MarkH), Saturday, 17 June 2006 08:19 (nineteen years ago)

I get called Martin quite a lot. And ppl often misspell my surname as Hestor.

― MarkH (MarkH), Saturday, 17 June 2006 08:23 (nineteen years ago)

Alisa in writing, all the time. There's only five letters! How can so many people get it wrong!!

― ailsa (ailsa), Saturday, 17 June 2006 08:27 (nineteen years ago)

My name is Adam, and loads of Asian people call me Adams. I think it's a popular quasi-Anglo-surname for when they're dealing with English speakers.

― Hotman Paris Almanac (Autumn Almanac), Saturday, 17 June 2006 08:32 (nineteen years ago)

I am terrible for this. I get a wrong name stuck in my head and I just can't shake it. My cousin's girlfriend, Sharon, I called Susan for years. Every time I approached her I would think "here comes Sharon. No, wait, not Sharon, Susan. That's it, Susan."

I am also one of those people who turns in the wrong direction every time. I think the two things are related.

― accentmonkey (accentmonkey), Saturday, 17 June 2006 08:44 (nineteen years ago)

Braian in Cleverland

― weather1ngda1eson (Brian), Saturday, 17 June 2006 09:00 (nineteen years ago)

People calling me Dominic which, you know, isn't actually my birth name, really really really gets on my nerves, probably more than it should.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Saturday, 17 June 2006 09:30 (nineteen years ago)

ACCEPT ANGLICISATION, WOP.

― edward o (edwardo), Saturday, 17 June 2006 09:53 (nineteen years ago)

You should blame it on "The Parent Trap".

― JTS (JTS), Saturday, 17 June 2006 09:55 (nineteen years ago)

For some reason, I get mistaken for an Andrew a lot. I don't mind, really, I just find it interesting that so many people make this mistake.

― edward o (edwardo), Saturday, 17 June 2006 09:56 (nineteen years ago)

Is that a fact, Eduardo.... :)

― JTS (JTS), Saturday, 17 June 2006 10:00 (nineteen years ago)

I am trying to increase the number of people who call me "Eduardo". Thankyou for jumping aboard the train.

― edward o (edwardo), Saturday, 17 June 2006 10:02 (nineteen years ago)

Too many people know my name. I am very unfortunate to have a ridculous sounding surname (it's one syllable, a noun and an adjective) which causes people to shout out my full name 4 or 5 times in succession whenever they see me, whether I know them or not. Talk about forced extroversion.

― JTS (JTS), Saturday, 17 June 2006 10:08 (nineteen years ago)

People used to call me "Jan" because in school they thought us a stupid way to write capital "i" in joined writing.

― DV (dirtyvicar), Saturday, 17 June 2006 10:27 (nineteen years ago)

as i mentioned on the "surnames starting with the same letter as yr first name" thread, i get called by my surname - which is also a common first name - ALL THE FUCKING TIME.

my primary-school headmistress used to call me "ian". i have no idea why.

― grimly fiendish (grimlord), Saturday, 17 June 2006 10:49 (nineteen years ago)

When I was in Africa, people would ALWAYS mishear 'Joe' as 'John'. I just accepted it after a while, so my East African name is John.

― chap who would dare to be a nerd, not a geek (chap), Saturday, 17 June 2006 11:37 (nineteen years ago)

Most non-english speakers don't seem to be able to hear/ say 'Roz' so I get called Rose. I don't mind it.

― Zora (Zora), Saturday, 17 June 2006 11:43 (nineteen years ago)

When I lived in Newfoundland, a lot people couldn't pronounce "Ian" - instead of saying "Ee-uhn", they'd shorten it to "Een". And of course, once people start mispronouncing something, there's nothing you can do to stop them.

― Tantrum The Cat (Tantrum The Cat), Saturday, 17 June 2006 15:06 (nineteen years ago)

"judy," which i hate, and "julie," which i don't mind.

― intensity in tent cities (Jody Beth Rosen), Saturday, 17 June 2006 15:11 (nineteen years ago)

I get called Annie a lot.

― luna (luna.c), Saturday, 17 June 2006 18:43 (nineteen years ago)

Growing up in the States, I got called Collins more than you'd think possible.

― Colin Meeder (Mert), Saturday, 17 June 2006 19:48 (nineteen years ago)

My name's Verity, I had a girl at school who called me Meredith in a Trigger/Dave kind of a way for a few years before I worked out that she really though it was my name. And some lads who called me Ferrety, who I always thought were being horrible until became friends with one in 6th form and it turned out he genuinely thought it was my name. Ferrety ffs.

― Cressida Breem (neruokruokruokne?), Saturday, 17 June 2006 19:52 (nineteen years ago)

"douchebag," which i hate, and "backstabbing motherfucking piece of shit," which i don't mind.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Saturday, 17 June 2006 19:54 (nineteen years ago)

most people spell me "micheal", those who don't often call me mark.

― michael wells (michael w.), Saturday, 17 June 2006 20:02 (nineteen years ago)

I have a friend who keeps calling me "Dave", even though that isn't even close to my real name.

― Rodney Trotter (JTS), Saturday, 17 June 2006 20:16 (nineteen years ago)

Hi, I'm Natasha.

― nabisco (nabisco), Saturday, 17 June 2006 23:07 (nineteen years ago)

i unreasonably despise being called by my surname. it happens all the time at work, makes me come over all passive-aggressive.

― electric sound of jim (and why not) (electricsound), Saturday, 17 June 2006 23:11 (nineteen years ago)

I eventually got used to people asking "but whats yout FIRST name?".

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy (Kerr), Saturday, 17 June 2006 23:18 (nineteen years ago)

Hi, I'm Natasha.

How's life in the top 40?

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 17 June 2006 23:31 (nineteen years ago)

ACCEPT ANGLICISATION, WOP.

Anglicisation I could cope with. But Dominic isn't even an English name! Do I look Irish?

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Saturday, 17 June 2006 23:34 (nineteen years ago)

you don't look dominican

― lavendra diamondheart (Jody Beth Rosen), Saturday, 17 June 2006 23:38 (nineteen years ago)

No, not Oscar. And not Swindler, either.

― 100% CHAMPS with a Yes! Attitude. (Austin, Still), Saturday, 17 June 2006 23:49 (nineteen years ago)

Steve. Which I don't mind.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Sunday, 18 June 2006 00:15 (nineteen years ago)

usually people remember, but i've been called Alec, Alan, Adam, Axel, Alfonz, and Ratebroomer

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Sunday, 18 June 2006 00:57 (nineteen years ago)

Anglicisation I could cope with. But Dominic isn't even an English name! Do I look Irish?

I don't know. Would an Irishman wear a scarf with emo glasses?

― edward o (edwardo), Sunday, 18 June 2006 01:00 (nineteen years ago)

I left a message on someone's voice mail earlier today and stated my name as Jim. She called me a half hour later asking for James. If her voice had been in any way sultry, I wouldn't be posting this.

― jim wentworth (wench), Sunday, 18 June 2006 01:38 (nineteen years ago)

People call me "Bitter," but it's quite justifiable, really.

― brittle-lemon (brittle-lemon), Sunday, 18 June 2006 02:58 (nineteen years ago)

For some reason foreigners sometimes call me Tuomos, I think has to do with "Tuomas" being quite difficult to pronounce. Also, I have a male friend called Reima, and I think in many languages that simply doesn't sound like a guy's name, so he often gets tagged as "Reimo".

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Sunday, 18 June 2006 07:21 (nineteen years ago)

And of course, once people start mispronouncing something, there's nothing you can do to stop them.

I resent it when people don't understand that you have difficulty pronouncing their names. I never thought of my own name as being difficult to get right, but the TR sound seems to be tough for some people. But I get that they mean me, so I don't correct them every bloody time. It's hard, when you're in your thirties, to suddenly have to learn to pronounce words in languages you've never spoken.

― accentmonkey (accentmonkey), Sunday, 18 June 2006 08:29 (nineteen years ago)

Anyone who calls me Stacey gets a punch in the face.

― Trayce (trayce), Sunday, 18 June 2006 23:35 (nineteen years ago)

"Nice to meet you, Darren."

"No, no, you hearing-impaired sumbitch..."

Also: no one ever spells my name properly. Mine seems the most logical spelling of 'Deric', if a bit rare.

― Deric W. Haircare (Deric W. Haircare), Sunday, 18 June 2006 23:40 (nineteen years ago)

You've De-Eric'd some poor Eric. Or, perhaps, De-Ric'd Mr. Ocasek.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Sunday, 18 June 2006 23:53 (nineteen years ago)

I get Michelle a lot, and sometimes Noelle.

― GILLY'S BAGG'EAR VANCE OF COUPARI (Ex Leon), Monday, 19 June 2006 00:54 (nineteen years ago)

http://www.bionicfilms.com/photos/img/71.jpg

My Name's Not Rico!

― PappaWheelie 2 (PappaWheelie 2), Monday, 19 June 2006 02:29 (nineteen years ago)

Tuomas, how do you pronounce your name? need to know so I can read your posts correctly in my mind's ear.

― jinx hijinks (sanskrit), Monday, 19 June 2006 11:43 (nineteen years ago)

i get called chris and also jamie quite a lot. both are half-correct.

― dog latin (dog latin), Monday, 19 June 2006 12:22 (nineteen years ago)

I get called Sarah (my mum's name) and Clare (my sister's name) all the time. I don't really mind what people call me as long as they say SOMETHING, rather than just standing there frowning and umming as though they barely know me when I'm waiting to be introduced, which is my boss's current trick to make me feel small.

― Archel (Archel), Monday, 19 June 2006 12:34 (nineteen years ago)

Adler all the fucking time, plus Allder, Alders and, now that I live in Scotland, Aulder. A.L.D.E.R. It ain't hard.

― Mädchen (Madchen), Monday, 19 June 2006 12:42 (nineteen years ago)

I will probably answer if you call me Anna or Samantha, but if anyone calls me Armando again they're gettin' cut.

― The Milkmaid (82375538-A) (The Milkmaid), Monday, 19 June 2006 12:45 (nineteen years ago)

excerpt from a recent journal/blog thing of a friend describing a previous night's outing...

PS my sister thinks you're all weird. But Len (sic) was her favourite.

to be fair i was probably slurring when i said my name

― ken c (ken c), Monday, 19 June 2006 12:47 (nineteen years ago)

Skipping 5 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

I can't BELIEVE how many people call me "Doug." Like, they're convinced that "Douglas" is what I use when I'm signing things, "Doug" is what I use among friends. News flash: you call me Doug, you're not paying enough attention to be on the close-friends list...

I also used to get mistaken, all the time, for two guys I know who both looked very much like me. (Nobody ever mistook them for each other, and now they look nothing like me.)

― Douglas (Douglas), Monday, 19 June 2006 15:49 (nineteen years ago)

DOOGIE!

― Jesus Dan (Dan Perry), Monday, 19 June 2006 15:52 (nineteen years ago)

aww!

― sunny successor (katharine), Monday, 19 June 2006 15:55 (nineteen years ago)

i don't know how so many people mishear my name but my real name doesn't sound anything even remotely like "hey asshole".

― otto midnight (otto midnight), Monday, 19 June 2006 15:55 (nineteen years ago)

I like on this thread when people are getting indignant about people calling them names that they think are ridiculous, but I don't know what their actual name is so I can't decide whether it's ridiculous or not. I mean, if Otto Midnight's real name is Otto, then people thinking he's called Brian would be brilliant.

― ailsa (ailsa), Monday, 19 June 2006 15:55 (nineteen years ago)

my real name is kevin.

― otto midnight (otto midnight), Monday, 19 June 2006 15:58 (nineteen years ago)

my real name is ken (well, kind of, it's the one that got mistaken)

― ken c (ken c), Monday, 19 June 2006 16:00 (nineteen years ago)

A friend at college consistently called me Evelyn for the first year she knew me, because she decided I looked like an Evelyn. It was kind of fun? I rather like it as a name.

Anyone who calls me 'Cecilia' or, worse, 'Celia', can fuck right off. Mind you, people mispronounce my name so often - for some reason the way it's spelt and the way it's pronounced have different vowels - that I've taken to saying it that way, since it is more intuitive when someone's only seen it written down.

― permanent revolution (cis), Monday, 19 June 2006 18:25 (nineteen years ago)

Apparently I don't say William very clearly, because a lot of people call me Wayne after I introduce myself.

― Offisa Pump (Rock Hardy), Monday, 19 June 2006 18:36 (nineteen years ago)

Whenever people try to be polite towards me, they call me "Jessica," which is, um, not my name. It's Jessie. And my middle name's Erin. And I'm a girl. Yeah, fuck you.

― Jessie the Monster (scarymonsterrr), Monday, 19 June 2006 19:14 (nineteen years ago)

Is your last name Presley?

― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 19 June 2006 19:19 (nineteen years ago)

No, it's actually a slang term for a male. MIDDLE SCHOOL WAS AWESOME.

― Jessie the Monster (scarymonsterrr), Monday, 19 June 2006 19:31 (nineteen years ago)

i'm always called "jay" or "jason" or "jimmy" or "james" or--by other L.A. drivers--"fucking faggot" or "asshole".

― gear (gear), Monday, 19 June 2006 19:34 (nineteen years ago)

File --> Save

― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 19 June 2006 19:35 (nineteen years ago)

robble

― gear (gear), Monday, 19 June 2006 19:45 (nineteen years ago)

Seriously, I haven't the slightest bit of sympathy for any of you whiny bastards.

― nabisco (nabisco), Monday, 19 June 2006 20:12 (nineteen years ago)

whatever naomi.

― Allyzay will never stop making pancakes (allyzay), Monday, 19 June 2006 20:14 (nineteen years ago)

Waah, waah, someone said my name wrong, oh the horror, oh the indignity, wah. Thing is, it's actually kind of liberating when people never really follow your name, because at some point you cease to have any expectation that they will; personally I'm content to let people call me pretty much anything that starts with an N, forever, rather than go through the whole process of explaining it; whatever name they come up with, I've been called it enough before to recognize it as being me. I wish other people understood that, actually, because half the time I meet someone and they try to get it straight ("so it's ... Nifshut?") and pretty much no matter what they say, I agree, and then meddling friends of mine leap in and correct them, as if I'm actually burning with shame over the whole thing and am just too meek and wimpy to say anything. I'm not; I seriously 100% do not really care what people call me, so long as they think they're saying it right; I'm not interested in giving classes on the correct way and I'm not qualified to do it anyway, since I can't say it to any very exacting standard, either.

This is why I can have really close friends who only learn like three years later that they weren't supposed to be pronouncing the T that way.

― nabisco (nabisco), Monday, 19 June 2006 20:37 (nineteen years ago)

I'm glad you can feel so delightfully superior. Because, you know, it's not like ANYONE ELSE doesn't correct people's mispronunciations of their names. You are truly and unique and special star in this gloomy night sky.

― Jessie the Monster (scarymonsterrr), Monday, 19 June 2006 20:41 (nineteen years ago)

The T is problematic, yes.

― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 19 June 2006 20:43 (nineteen years ago)

I just get annoyed when people call me Noelle because I used to know this horrible trashy drunken hosebeast of a girl named Noelle. If people call me Michelle or whatever it doesn't bother me.

― GILLY'S BAGG'EAR VANCE OF COUPARI (Ex Leon), Monday, 19 June 2006 20:50 (nineteen years ago)

Jessie I don't think you got the joke!

― nabisco (nabisco), Monday, 19 June 2006 21:43 (nineteen years ago)

meh, I must admit, I definitely had a kneejerk "omg is this person seriously poo-pooing everyone who doesn't like being called the wrong name???" outrage moment, and upon reflection, it was a little, errrr, harsh, overreactive, etc. etc. I totally didn't get the joke and I definitely apologize. Darn these hormones.

― Jessie the Monster (scarymonsterrr), Monday, 19 June 2006 21:55 (nineteen years ago)

And of course, once people start mispronouncing something, there's nothing you can do to stop them.
I resent it when people don't understand that you have difficulty pronouncing their names. I never thought of my own name as being difficult to get right, but the TR sound seems to be tough for some people. But I get that they mean me, so I don't correct them every bloody time. It's hard, when you're in your thirties, to suddenly have to learn to pronounce words in languages you've never spoken.

-- accentmonkey (tris...), Yesterday 5:29 AM. (later)

I should probably mention that I didn't actually correct the people that mispronounced my name - that would have been way too many people to constantly admonish, and I was a kid, and these were adults, etc, etc.

(Cool email, by the way - I went through a phase of trying to incorporate "cromulent" into my everyday conversation!)

― Tantrum The Cat (Tantrum The Cat), Monday, 19 June 2006 22:09 (nineteen years ago)

On the phone sometimes people think my name is Ronald.

― Ronan (Ronan), Monday, 19 June 2006 22:10 (nineteen years ago)

apparently charlie sounds like joe or joey or john when i introduce myself. all the time! it's bewildering.

― CharlieNo4 (Charlie), Monday, 19 June 2006 23:15 (nineteen years ago)

On the phone sometimes people think my name is Ronald.
Perhaps you sound like you are wearing a wig.

Thanks Tantrum!

― accentmonkey (accentmonkey), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 06:01 (nineteen years ago)

I get a lot of work callers assuming i'm a bloke until they hear me. Lots of people seem to think my name is pronounced Lay instead of Lee.

― leigh (leigh), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 08:23 (nineteen years ago)

I am not called Marilyn. I am not called Marianne or Marion. I am not definitely *not* called Maude. Or Mandy. Or Maggie.

― M (Madeleine), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 08:28 (nineteen years ago)

MY NAME IS NOT KATIE OR KATHY OR KAT. IT IS KATE. HOW HARD IS THIS TO UNDERSTAND?!?!?!?

― Insert Clever Screen Name Here (kate), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 08:38 (nineteen years ago)

ihttp://www.alamedainfo.com/Gay's_Lion_Farm_Pluto_and_Mr_Gay_PC.jpg

― dog latin (dog latin), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 08:44 (nineteen years ago)

I hate it when people call me hobrat.

― hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 08:55 (nineteen years ago)

MY NAME IS NOT KATIE OR KATHY OR KAT. IT IS KATE. HOW HARD IS THIS TO UNDERSTAND?!?!?!?

-- Insert Clever Screen Name Here (masonicboo...) (webmail), Today 4:38 AM. (kate) (later)

see i think the beauty of being a katharine is that you have a whole bunch of names for people to choose from. its almost necessary when you have mostly gemini friends (because they like to name things, yo). katharine, kate, katie, kitty, katarina are all good. call me kathy, though, and you will die. eh, maybe not. its mood dependant.

― sunny successor (katharine), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 11:54 (nineteen years ago)

and kat is ok but i find it kind of a jarring name. kate is a little too abrupt to me. kat just compounds it.

― sunny successor (katharine), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 11:56 (nineteen years ago)

also, someone got confused and called me Tarmac Adam the other day. I was FURIOIS.

― hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 12:18 (nineteen years ago)

It's my parents fault for putting Katharine on the birth certificate when they never intended for me to be known as anything except Kate.

― Insert Clever Screen Name Here (kate), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 12:35 (nineteen years ago)

I get called Michael fairly often, which I think is understandable given that Matthew and Michael are both extremely common and begin with M. I don't mind it, I'm pretty fond of the name Michael. It'd be different if people called me Mike, though.

― Matthew Perpetua! (Matthew Perpetua!), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 12:48 (nineteen years ago)

There's no "t" in Nedra!!!!!!!!!!!

― Allyzay will never stop making pancakes (allyzay), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 19:53 (nineteen years ago)

mikey beebs!

― otto midnight (otto midnight), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 20:02 (nineteen years ago)

It's my parents fault for putting Katharine on the birth certificate when they never intended for me to be known as anything except Kate.

-- Insert Clever Screen Name Here (masonicboo...) (webmail), Today 8:35 AM. (kate) (later)

riiiight. thats what mine told me too

― sunny successor (katharine), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 22:14 (nineteen years ago)

Huh. At least the name on your birth cert was close to what you're called. My birth cert says Elizabeth.

― accentmonkey (accentmonkey), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 08:24 (nineteen years ago)

I don't know why my mum did this to me! I mean, she insists on being called Margaret, even though that name has nearly as many abbreviations as Katharine - she just won't answer to Margie, Maggie, Meg, Peg, Rita, etc. (Though she has had to adjust to Margo as that's what her The Good Life loving parishioners call her.)

― Insert Clever Screen Name Here (kate), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 08:39 (nineteen years ago)

When I lived in England everyone seemed compelled to append an 's' to my surname.

At work I sit next to Gl3nn and a woman who works with us gets us mixed up all the time "because your names are so similar" - so I shorten her J04nn3 to J0 because I know she hates it.

― Onimo (GerryNemo), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 08:56 (nineteen years ago)

The "TX" in the middle of Arantxa is definitely a challenge for anyone not minimally familiarized with Basque spelling tricks. Or lack of consonants, if you fancy. However, my full name featuring in passports and the like, Aranzazu, is even more of a mess.

If I ever produce a baby it will definitely be an Ana or a David or something equally international

― olenska (olenska), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 11:17 (nineteen years ago)

i worked with a basque woman once, whose name was a staggering melange of Ts and Xs, with an M at the beginning and an N at the end. can't remember much more about it.

she was fucking mad as a tree, though, i do remember that.

― grimly fiendish (grimlord), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 19:53 (nineteen years ago)

Mxaxetixotuxaexitoxutaxetitoxutaxen ?

― JTS (JTS), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 20:37 (nineteen years ago)

I can imagine people pronouncing "Leigh" as "Lay"; I wonder if anyone's ever tried "Leccch?" "Leff?" "Leaf?" "Leeth?"

― nabisco (nabisco), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 20:57 (nineteen years ago)

When I was a kid, in elementary school, I read a story about a person named Leigh, and assumed it was pronounced "Lay".

― Casuistry (Chris P), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 21:03 (nineteen years ago)

― Ian L (Ian), Monday, 26 June 2006 11:08 (nineteen years ago)

Lots of people get my name wrong all the time. Why is is so hard for people to remember that it ends with an "a"? It drives me mad, especially when the same people repeatedly get it wrong. Grr.

― C J (C J), Monday, 26 June 2006 12:59 (nineteen years ago)

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