Do you or your child have an often mispronounced name?

If so, just how annoying is it to correct people all the time? If it’s a name you love, is it worth it, or do you sometimes wish you had a name where the pronunciation was fool proof?

I can’t speak to mispronounced, but I can speak to misspelled.

[name_f]My[/name_f] name is [name_f]Erinn[/name_f]. Out of the kindness of my parents’ hearts, they decided to add an extra ‘n’ to my name.

People are generally dumb. And I mean dumb. You’d think it’s a one time correction, but it isn’t. People either:
a.) Forget that it’s not [name_f]Erin[/name_f], and constantly reply my name as [name_f]Erin[/name_f] (despite it being on my Facebook profile, where you can look right there)
b.) [name_f]Remember[/name_f] there’s something weird about it, and spell it [name_f]Errin[/name_f], [name_f]Eryn[/name_f], [name_f]Erynn[/name_f], etc.
c.) Use [name_f]Erinn[/name_f] always–if they’re very close to me

I would never, ever recommend that parents name their children with any unconventional spelling. I have had checks returned because the bank couldn’t process the strange name and I find my name misspells downright insulting!

I wouldn’t change [name_f]Erinn[/name_f] because that’s me, but I sure as hell wouldn’t inflict it on anyone else.

@sigma I’m [name_f]Karissa[/name_f]. I really like my name but I always get:

Karrisa
Karrissa
[name_f]Karisa[/name_f]
[name_f]Carissa[/name_f]
[name_f]Charisa[/name_f]
[name_f]Chrissa[/name_f]
[name_f]Clarissa[/name_f]

Some of those are just stupid! [name_f]My[/name_f] name is not hard usually I go “It’s [name_f]Karissa[/name_f] with a K” and the responses are always “Is that two R’s and one S?” You’re so right, everyone seems to remember the weird spellings but never your different and pretty reasonable spelling. I don’t blame my mom, she loved [name_f]Carissa[/name_f] and the letter K. I probably won’t do that to my child either though

I get my name mispronounced constantly. It is very very annoying. The worst part is having to listen politely to people’s excuses: “Oh, I have a cousin named ______ and I have a niece named ______ and that’s why I keep mispronouncing your name.” What do you think it’s like hearing THAT 2 or 3 times every week for the rest of your life?

I would say 5% of people get it right the first time, 15% need one correction, 75% of people need 2 to 4 corrections, 5% need 5 corrections or more. Four decades I have lived with this name. So my experience is pretty clear.

I live in a very large & diverse urban area. I work in the education system. I meet new people constantly, constantly. I am a professional who will always be dealing with the public, public speaking, parents, etc.

I absolutely hate it when people on NB tell each other “Oh you will just have to correct people for a little while and then once your child is in school, everyone will just know his/her name. It will get easier” What about AFTER K thru 12???
It got WORSE after I left the cocoon of high school for university and the professional world. I get SO tired of it. I love my name but I resent being given it. I cannot stand the idea that a kid of mine would go through this :frowning:

THANK YOU FOR ASKING. I appreciate the foresighted Berries who are thoughtful and serious about the responsibility of naming a human being.

[name_f]My[/name_f] name is [name_f]Isabella[/name_f] and it gets frequently misspelled as [name_f]Isabell[/name_f]. Also people tend to swallow the ‘a’ at the end of the name when they pronounce it which annoys me because [name_f]Isabell[/name_f] is not almost the same (as many people reply when I correct them) as [name_f]Isabella[/name_f]. It’s a different name and it kind of annoys me that I constantly have to say ‘[name_m]Hi[/name_m], my name is [name_f]Isabell[/name_f]-[name_m]AH[/name_m]!!!’ just so they don’t confuse it.
I know many other names get misspelled and mispronounced much worse, but it still annoys me, especially because it’s not even an unusual name.

[name_f]My[/name_f] name’s one of the names with the most variations in use in the United States - I believe if you combine all the ones in the top 1000, it becomes the 3rd most used name for baby girls. I often get it misspelled, so that’s always being corrected, but occasionally I get a mispronunciation because my parents chose the [name_u]Haley[/name_u] spelling for me, and apparently some people read that as [name_f]Hallie[/name_f] ([name_m]HAL[/name_m]-ee, rather than HAY-lee). It drives me crazy, but oh well. [name_f]My[/name_f] middle name always gets mispronounced as well, except for in the UK - people from [name_f]England[/name_f], [name_f]Scotland[/name_f] and [name_m]Wales[/name_m] always seem to get it right LOL

[name_f]My[/name_f] daughter’s name is [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f]. She’s called Mad-uh-[name_f]LINE[/name_f] and Mad-uh-LEEN all the time. She usually smiles and says, “I’m Mad-uh-[name_m]Len[/name_m]”

Forget that it’s not [name_f]Erin[/name_f], and constantly reply my name as [name_f]Erin[/name_f] (despite it being on my Facebook profile, where you can look right there)

This is why creative spellings are a bad idea. Giving your kid a unique spelling doesn’t change the fact that [name_f]Erinn[/name_f] is pronounced [name_f]Erin[/name_f]. Not everyone can remember your precious snowflake’s uncommon spelling. [name_f]My[/name_f] co-worker constantly gets mad that people spell her name [name_u]Lyndsey[/name_u] as [name_u]Lindsay[/name_u]. I get it can get frustrating… but it’s not your fault that your parents gave you a weird spelling and it’s kind of annoying for someone to get mad about adding an extra N to their pretty common first name. I have four friends named [name_f]Erin[/name_f] and a cousin named [name_f]Erin[/name_f]. [name_f]My[/name_f] name is [name_f]Candice[/name_f] and people spell it [name_f]Candace[/name_f] all the time. It doesn’t make me mad. I just understand there is an alternate spelling.

YES YES I [name_f]DO[/name_f]. [name_f]My[/name_f] name is [name_f]Leah[/name_f], pronounced [name_m]LAY[/name_m]-uh. I’d say it’s pronounced correctly about 2% of the time. This has been a lifelong frustration and I have frequently contemplated changing the spelling. Now that my career is advancing, these pronunciation issues are proving a significant disadvantage. As an academic, I publish and present written work at conferences. [name_m]Constant[/name_m] confusion over my name. I also write creatively and the pronunciation problem has proved just as, well, problematic, if not more so. I am seriously considering just publishing under my first initial. Please, please give your child the most common and phonetic spelling of their name! You’re saving them a lifetime of unnecessary trouble.

See, the name [name_f]Leah[/name_f] is pronounced [name_u]Lee[/name_u]-ah. Not [name_m]LAY[/name_m]-ah. So people are pronouncing it correctly… just not the way you want it to be pronounced. [name_m]LAY[/name_m]-ah should be spelled [name_f]Leia[/name_f] (as in [name_f]Princess[/name_f] [name_f]Leia[/name_f]) or [name_f]Leya[/name_f], the Spanish/Hindi name. You can’t get mad at people for pronouncing a name the correct way just because it’s not the way you pronounce it. That’s kinda on your parents.

[name_f]My[/name_f] name is [name_f]Jasmine[/name_f] and it’s fairly common and it gets misspelled and mispronounced quite often. Sometimes Jesmin, [name_f]Jazzmyn[/name_f], [name_m]Jas[/name_m]-MINE (rather than [name_m]JAS[/name_m]-min) and people always leave the e of the end, but I like my name and don’t suit any others. It’s not very annoying, I’ve just learnt to say [name_f]Jasmine[/name_f] with an s and an e, or [name_f]Jasmine[/name_f] like the flower. [name_m]Just[/name_m] don’t name them something which can be spelled hundreds of other ways or isn’t pronounced how everyone else pronounces it! :slight_smile:

I don’t accept that a person cannot get mad about their name being mispronounced. People get mad about their name being mispronounced. [name_f]Deal[/name_f] with it.

I have heard the name [name_f]Leah[/name_f] pronounced [name_m]BOTH[/name_m] ways: [name_m]Lay[/name_m]-uh and [name_u]Lee[/name_u]-uh. Same spelling. I was around a lot of bilingual Spanish-English speakers growing up. I heard a lot of [name_m]Lay[/name_m]-uh and the spelling was [name_f]Leah[/name_f].

“That’s kinda on your parents.” - EXACTLY. That’s why this is an important topic of a forum like this.

For those of us with frequently mispronounced names there is repetitious experience, a lifetime experience, that would irritate & weary anyone.

I love being able to guess, just by the comments, which Berries are professionals and adults who have had to struggle with a mispronounced name, and who is clueless about what it is actually like.

[name_f]My[/name_f] name is fairly frequently mispronounced. Whenever we had a substitute teacher at school and they hesitated while taking the roll, I’d just put my hand up :stuck_out_tongue:
For me, though, it has always been a one-time thing, whether I’m close to the person or not. I’ll just say, “it’s Je-[name_f]MY[/name_f]-mah, like the Puddle Duck” and people get it straight away!

[name_f]My[/name_f] name is pretty common (#33 the year I was born, just feel off the top 100 list)…but it has several accepted pronunciations, so it’s unusual that anyone gets it right on the first try.

[name_f]My[/name_f] middle name is a commonly heard name with a lesser known, but still legit spelling. People trip over it all the time.

And my last name is pronounced exactly as it’s spelled, but no one gets it right.

Nice try. [name_f]My[/name_f] parents are European Jews. Within their communities, [name_f]Leah[/name_f] is pronounced [name_m]LAY[/name_m]-uh. It’s a more unusual pronunciation, but not incorrect. Educate yourself.

I also once had a rabbi tell me that “[name_u]LEE[/name_u]-uh” is a goy butchering of a Hebrew name…not sure I agree with him, but it’s something you might want to consider.

[name_f]My[/name_f] cousins name is [name_f]Erin[/name_f], one ‘n’ and some people pronounce it like [name_m]Aaron[/name_m]. I hear it like that all the time on TV and from people who are not from our area. The proper pronunciation for her name is, ‘e’ sound is like the word ‘bet,’ ‘r’ sound like right, ‘in’ like ‘in the house.’ I know its a dialect thing here in the states but its so weird, I think alot of people’s names I here on TV are [name_m]Aaron[/name_m] when there actually [name_f]Erin[/name_f]. [name_f]Erin[/name_f] Strauss for Criminal Minds, or [name_f]Erin[/name_f] [name_u]Lindsay[/name_u] for Chicago PD.

Exactly this! My name is Eryn instead of Erin and I can totally relate. I get Eyrn a lot… Eyrn… Like really?! I had a Christmas card addressed to me as ‘Eryon’ once.

My cousins name is Erin, one ‘n’ and some people pronounce it like Aaron. I hear it like that all the time on TV and from people who are not from our area. The proper pronunciation for her name is, ‘e’ sound is like the word ‘bet,’ ‘r’ sound like right, ‘in’ like ‘in the house.’ I know its a dialect thing here in the states but its so weird, I think alot of people’s names I here on TV are Aaron when there actually Erin. Erin Strauss for Criminal Minds, or Erin Lindsay for Chicago PD.

Interesting - this made me think. I think I have a different standard for pronunciations that result from a different accent vs straight-up mispronunciations. For instance, it bugs me when I hear people say “i” and “e” the same - like pronouncing [name_f]Jennifer[/name_f] as [name_f]Jinnifer[/name_f] or [name_u]MacKenzie[/name_u] as [name_f]McKinzie[/name_f] - but ultimately it’s just their accent. I try to give people wiggle room when they aren’t mispronouncing a name, but pronouncing it the correct way but in a different accent. I wouldn’t say that a person from [name_f]England[/name_f] was saying [name_f]Carla[/name_f] wrong because it sounds like CAH-la to me - they’d have to fake an American accent to pronounce the R like we do.

Same with [name_f]Erin[/name_f]. [name_f]Erin[/name_f] and [name_m]Aaron[/name_m] are homophones where I live. Although I do make an effort to say my [name_m]Long[/name_m] Island friend [name_f]Erin[/name_f]'s name how she does, it truly feels like I’m faking a [name_m]Long[/name_m] Island or [name_m]New[/name_m] [name_f]England[/name_f] accent in order to do it. [name_f]My[/name_f] name, [name_f]Molly[/name_f], sounds like MAH-lee when I say it, but I don’t think people who are saying MAW-ley are mispronouncing it, they just have broader accents.

But if someone was saying Eee-rin, or Mooley, then I’d consider it a mispronunciation and correct them. But I guess the line between accent and mispronunciation can be sort of tough and it’s really up to each person to decide how much they care to correct people.

[name_f]My[/name_f] name, [name_f]Adrienne[/name_f], is mispronounced all of the time. It doesn’t bother me one bit. I always tell people “[name_m]Don[/name_m]'t worry about it, if it wasn’t my name I probably wouldn’t know how to say it either, and I definitely wouldn’t know how to spell it”.

[name_f]My[/name_f] daughter’s name, [name_f]Corinne[/name_f], is mispronounced so so often (we say Kor-een). That doesn’t bother me all that much. It is a little awkward that it is hard for people (many friends and family members included) to remember how to say her name. It certainly isn’t bothersome enough to make me wish we would have named her anything else though.

Name pronunciation issues are all what you make them. You can chose to be gracious about mispronunciations (and if your child sees you being nice about her name being said incorrectly she will learn to do the same as she grows).