Do you tell them or let them figure it out on their own?

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AlsDonkBoxSquat
AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
in Chit-Chat
I have a slightly unusual first name because of the spelling, but the name itself is relatively common. There's a man who works on my floor who is very polite and likes to greet me by my first name. I gave it to him. He called me by something completely different the first few times so I corrected him. Now the error is minor, it's all variations used with the letters from my name, but never my name. It's been a year . . . do I correct it?

Generally I say no, as they usually figure it out eventually. For example, my first initial and last name smushed together is a womans name, as is my first and second initial smushed in with my last name so sometimes I'll have people call me that instead. Usually they have reason to email me or something else going on that they realize.

So, when someone gets your name wrong repeatedly do you correct it or let it be?
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Replies

  • IpuffyheartHeelsinthegym
    IpuffyheartHeelsinthegym Posts: 5,573 Member
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    my name is forever screwed up. I try to correct them as much as possible, but *sigh* it always happens and its always the same few people.... My name is NOT BRIE. I am NOT cheese.....
  • ericdeken
    ericdeken Posts: 70 Member
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    I say let it be. haha. At this point its past the point of no return. Just go with it, nod and smile and call him Jeff or something..haha
  • HeidiMightyRawr
    HeidiMightyRawr Posts: 3,343 Member
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    My last name is ALWAYS pronounced and spelled wrong. Most of the time I cba to say anything, and only correct them if they ask directly. My first name is spelt wrong often too, and occasionally pronounced wrong.
    my name is forever screwed up. I try to correct them as much as possible, but *sigh* it always happens and its always the same few people.... My name is NOT BRIE. I am NOT cheese.....

    I must've got it right then, because I've always thought it was pronounced Br-eye(?)
  • RDalton84
    RDalton84 Posts: 207
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    Well my first name is Regan (like the president lol) but so many people hear Raven when I tell them my name lol I go by anything at this point
  • jdploki70
    jdploki70 Posts: 343
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    I have to deal with this constantly. Jesse is apparently a confusing name, in that everyone spells it like I am a girl...every time. There is no 'i' in my name, anywhere. Really irritates me. Then I get people that call me Jeffy, as well. I correct anyone I have to deal with, because if I don't the constant reminder that they can't make simple corrections makes me not want to deal with them.
  • IpuffyheartHeelsinthegym
    IpuffyheartHeelsinthegym Posts: 5,573 Member
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    My last name is ALWAYS pronounced and spelled wrong. Most of the time I cba to say anything, and only correct them if they ask directly. My first name is spelt wrong often too, and occasionally pronounced wrong.
    my name is forever screwed up. I try to correct them as much as possible, but *sigh* it always happens and its always the same few people.... My name is NOT BRIE. I am NOT cheese.....

    I must've got it right then, because I've always thought it was pronounced Br-eye(?)

    yes ma'am, like Bryan, but Bry, rhymes with fry, dry, cry. Ok, technically that's just the short version, but the long version gets much more tangled than Bry...
  • DarkAngellEyes
    DarkAngellEyes Posts: 335 Member
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    Since its been so long, I might just continue to let it slide.

    I get called Beth a lot (easily confused with Stef I guess - especially over the phone)...

    Best one was when a guy I was working with one day was calling me Jennifer. Not sure how he got Jennifer out of Stefanie .... but I let him call me Jenn all day because I got a kick out of it :tongue:
  • BAMFMeredith
    BAMFMeredith Posts: 2,829 Member
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    For some reason children and not-native English speakers can NOT pronounce Meredith. I never thought it to be a weird name, but apparently it's difficult to pronounce and those who are from regions that do not speak English have never heard of it. If somebody can't pronounce it after a few tries, I just tell them to call me Mer and be done with it.

    The Vietnamese ladies at the nail salon I go to all call me Meredy. I just go with it lol
  • degan2011
    degan2011 Posts: 316 Member
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    people constantly mispronounce both my name and my nickname. but it is unusual and unusually spelt. What I get annoyed with is people I have worked with for years can spell even my nickname right even though it is on EVERY peice of email I send out to them. :)
  • digitalbill
    digitalbill Posts: 1,410 Member
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    My daughters name is Sydney.
    She will introduce herself (she is 5) and people will call her Cindy.
    She will correct them.
    "No.. It's SYD-NEE!!!"

    If she can do it, so can you :)
  • Qarol
    Qarol Posts: 6,171 Member
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    Depends on if I give a flip about this person...most people in my office, I would use it as an excuse to ignore them, if they called me by the wrong name.

    "Oh, sorry, didn't realize you were talking to me because that's not my name."
  • mfanyafujo
    mfanyafujo Posts: 232 Member
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    Most Tanzanians have a hard time with my name. It takes them a couple months to get it right, so if I introduce myself to someone new now, and I know I probably won't see them again, I just give them my cat's name. They can pronounce that.
  • WifeNMama
    WifeNMama Posts: 2,876 Member
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    Mine is usually mispronounced, I gave up a long time ago. It taught me that my identity is something that does not have to rely on my name.
  • TheRoadDog
    TheRoadDog Posts: 11,788 Member
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    Vallandingham. That's "Landing" with a "Val" on one end and "Ham" on the other. Very phonetic, but people screw it up in so many ways. The one that boggle me is when people pronounce it VanLandingham. Wher the heck did they get that extra N.

    On a side note, usually when I am at a counter and spelling my name out, I invariably get "That's a long one." or "That's a mouthhful." Standard reply is "That's what she said."
  • Brittonloves
    Brittonloves Posts: 60
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    I'm surprised how many people are saying they DON'T correct people. I don't think it's rude at all-- just clarifying! I think of it this way-- he obviously doesn't KNOW he's mispronouncing your name or he wouldn't be doing it. So LET him know. I wouldn't want to call someone by the wrong name and never have them say anything!

    My twin and I both have uncommon (but not strange) names. I'm Britton (pronounced like the country) and she's Amie (rhymes with Sammy.) We both have our little jokes and tricks for getting people to say it right that we've developed over the years, and even when I'm playing waitress and someone calls me anything other than MY name-- I correct them. No one has ever been offended, I promise.
  • morganhccstudent724
    morganhccstudent724 Posts: 1,261 Member
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    My name is Morgan....not Megan.


    Yes...I would correct him. That's not your name.
  • Roni_M
    Roni_M Posts: 717 Member
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    I sometimes get mispronounced... Generally they will pronounce it like in rice-a-roni, but it's Roni like the guys name Ronnie. The more disturbing part is that I get called Mr. all the time by people who i communicate with primarily through email, other offices, my kids teachers/principals, etc.

    My full first name is Ronalda (gross I know) and at almost every appointment I go to, when they call out my name it is always Rolanda.... It amazes me how many receptionists are dyslexic!
  • yungnold
    yungnold Posts: 33 Member
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    My first name is Sarahno but people mess it up so bad that it became annoying to keep correcting people, now I go by my middle name.
  • Bahet
    Bahet Posts: 1,254 Member
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    My first name is Janette. Rhymes with Annette. It is NOT Janet. I get called Janet a lot when people first read my name. My maiden name was an 8 letter Polish monstrosity with 2 z's. When I was in 9th grade my math teacher took roll on the first day. He went past Rhonda Ward and Cindy Weimer and got to me. There was a long pause. Finally he said "Ummm... Janet? ...My God this thing only has 1 vowel!" :laugh: He was one of my favorite teachers.
  • cookieta76
    cookieta76 Posts: 91 Member
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    I agree with another poster. If this is someone that you just exchange pleasantries with and don't really know, I wouldn't care, but.....if you do correct him, make a joke of it, but make sure he says it correctly before moving on - then he has no excuse in the future.

    My first name is Tanya. My dad named me and decided on the spelling. It is pronounced with a short "o" sound (as in open up and say, aahhhhh!), not a short "a" sound (as in "and"). Whether he spelled it wrong or pronounced it wrong, it's his fault. I get asked how to pronounce it all the time, and when I do explain it, I get told all the time it's wrong. So I tell people to take it up with my dad. It's annoying. For people who don't see the spelling, I am called Tina, Tracey, etc when they don't remember my name.

    On the other hand, it's your name. Even if you don't want him to feel badly, tell him. If I was pronouncing someone's name incorrectly, I think I'd want to know.

    :smile:

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