Do people ALWAYS spell your name wrong?

[AlexandNessa]

My name is Jodie. Not Jodi or Jody. I understand if people I meet for the first time (or have only spoken to over the phone) spell my name wrong when they address me in writing for the first or second time. I get that. Honest. Jodie isn't the most popular spelling of my name.

This is what bothers me: if I've written you an email and clearly signed my name, or I've sent you an IM when my name is clearly listed in the header of the IM window, or you've bothered to contact me by looking me up in our employee directory where my name is spelled right, some people still spell my name wrong, even after immediately seeing it spelled correctly. It bothers me most especially when they spell it wrong on rosters other people reference.

I had a manager for 2 years (who knew me for 7 years before that) who would write my performance appraisals with my name bouncing back and forth from Jodi to Jody to my favorite Jodee. I have several colleagues I work with regularly via webmeetings (my name is on the attendee list) and emails and IMs who never spell my name right. Ever. Teachers, neighbors, friends .... it's always been the same.

I have never said a word to anyone, except for that manager who wrote my performance appraisals. But it matters to me, and obviously it bothers me. Especially at work when you communicate with someone and your name is all over the place and they still can't get it right. I actually get excited when people spell my name correctly!

My company preaches "Respect for Individuals" as one of our core values. Would that not include learning how to spell my name?

Are names just not important to some people?

Do you have a name that's spelled differently? Can you relate?

 

[Beth76]

My cousin, who is a college-educated, professional woman, spells my last name incorrectly. Wouldn't be a big deal except that my last name is a common last name and a normal word in the English language that anyone over the age of 8 should be able to spell with no problem.

 

[apirateslifeforme]

Yes...I go by "Cate" at work (my middle name - Catherine). And it's in my email signature. It never fails that someone will answer back, "Hi, Kate!" And then there's one person who insists on making it "Cat" or "Catie"

But then, my email address uses the first initial of my first name, so then I get several people emailing back, "Hi, Elizabeth." I hate that even more.

 

[Pigeon]

My last name is very unusual. It's also almost always misspelled by people who don't know better. It doesn't bother me at all.

 

[freckles and boo]

I have never seen Angie spelled wrong. My last name is very common, too. Someone would have to be getting really creative to mess it up.

 

[AlexandNessa]

My last name is pretty common and some people tend to mess that up too. That doesn't bother me as much ... probably because no one addresses me regularly by my last name.

Now, our last name is also a fairly common first name. People often call my husband by his last name thinking it's his first name, but that's another story.

 

[jenm2878]

Yes, and it's very common so I don't understand it. My name is Jennifer and I go by Jen. With one n. People always seem to spell it Jenn. Since when is that common?

 

[Darcy03231]

Yup, but mine is unusual. I not only get it spelled wrong, but pronounced wrong too, or I get called something else (Dorothy and Daisy are the two most popular ones I get all the time).

 

[lilyv]

Sometimes people just default to the more common spelling. You're right, that it would be nicer if folks would read the spelling of your name.

I think this problem is going to grow in coming years. My friend, a teacher, says she has lots of kids with very unusual (and sometimes complicated) spellings of names that used to have a standard spelling.

 

[4greatboys]

Yeah no one ever gets my name right. Its Deena. The funny thing is they cant say it either. It sounds just like it looks Dee na. Easy enough you think but I get Dana, Deanna, Dinah but never Deena

 

[Savsmommy]

My MIL spells my name Kellie, it's KELLY. Even my husband gets mad at her for spelling it like that. We've been together for 10 years. He asked her one time why she always spells my name like that. She said that's the girls way of spelling it.

 

[paintnolish]

I am on a weird misspelling streak. I have a simple name- Tracy. At work it is entered in the computers as "Tracey" so it always prints out. I got an invitation to "Tracie" recently, too. "ie"? Really?

 

[NMAmy]

DD gets it a lot--her name is Caitlin and she gets all sorts of variations. She's used to it so she just kind of shrugs and corrects people.

I have problems with my last name. It's a fairly common name that usually has an S at the end. So, I have to correct people for that. What really annoys me, though, is people that insist on calling me by my old last name--and these are people that I work with every day. I've had the new name for almost 3 years now.

I had to remind a coworker the other day when she sent an email to all our new employees asking them to contact me with information but listed the wrong last name. It caused all sorts of confusion because the new people have never heard of my old last name.

 

[CheshireVal]

No one seems to know how to spell Valerie. I thought it was fairly common, but most often I get "Valarie" or "Valery," or a mixture of the two.

 

[bsnyder]

All my life.

My name is Bet, short for Elizabeth. It's not Bets, Bett, Bette, or Beth. When I introduce myself, I say I have the Las Vegas spelling of the name.

I have people I've known well for 20 or 30 years who still spell it wrong. It's a minor annoyance, not something I get upset about.

 

[shamrock30]

People spell both my first name and my last name wrong all of the time. It bothers me when DH's relatives do this because we've been married for 25 years! The only other time it bothers me is when I spell it out for someone and they still don't even come close. It isn't a hard or an odd name, it's just spelled a bit differently than what people expect.

 

[rgf207]

Yep. My Name is Robb. That's right 2 "b's" not one

 

[mickeyboat]

My name is Denae. Even my own grandmother could never spell it right. I am used to it.

Denae

 

[JVL1018]

Everyone spells my real name(Victoria) correctly, but they often spell my nickname as Vicky, when I spell it with the i :Vicki..
It's fine, if they ask if it's the correct spelling I'll say no and thell them how I spell it, but otherwise I let it go, it's nothing personal--even my dad used to accidentally write Vicky from time to time.
It's part and parcel of having a name with more than one spelling, that's all.

 

[druidia]

My last name is pretty common and some people tend to mess that up too. That doesn't bother me as much ... probably because no one addresses me regularly by my last name.

Now, our last name is also a fairly common first name. People often call my husband by his last name thinking it's his first name, but that's another story.

Well, I feel you on the first name. I'm also a Jodi, but spelled differently.

And I have the same issue your DH has. My last name is a male first name so that gets switched up in email with those who haven't met me or spoken to me on the phone.

Even better is that my full name is Jolinda and that really throws people for a loop because it apparently looks like a last name to some.

It never ceases to amaze me that people can't just look at my email signature and use the proper spelling when they reply to me. It's rude and it's lazy, but I have no shortage of rude and lazy co-workers.