Do you correct people who call you by the wrong name?

[Moneypenny]

My name is Susan. There are a couple of people at work who have taken to calling me Sue. So far, I have not corrected them, but I do make extra sure to leave my name as Susan when I leave a voicemail, sign my name as Susan on emails or other correspondence, etc.

Would it be rude if I just came out and said that I prefer Susan to Sue? I'm just imagining a very awkward silence if I do this so I'm a little hesitant.

What would you do?

[pb&j]

Yes, because people get my name wrong ALL THE TIME. I am not Randy, Rachel, or Robin. If they mis-say my name, I just say "It's actually Ry" in a polite tone of voice.

Obviously, I don't think it's rude at all! Personally, I would much rather be corrected than going around calling someone by the wrong name all the time!

[JBaxter]

Yes. My name is Jeana ( traditional spelling is Gina) I get Jenna alot and I correct them. My ds3 is Nathan when people say Nate or Nathaniel he doesnt respond I correct them with Nathan's name

[rgavelis]

I would definitely say that it perfectly ok to correct people on your name. You wouldn't want to do it to someone else so why should you have to put up with it? I had a friend who kept calling me Ruthie and I finally had to say something to her about it and she thanked me profusely for clearing up the confusion. She thought that was name because another friend of mine calls me that because he knows it annoys me and she assumed that this was ok, which it is not. I was also approached once by a coworker who asked me if Ruth was short for anything to which I replied "Rutherford". He looked confused and asked if I was kidding. I wanted to tell him I was serious but I couldn't do it. The confusion stopped after that day.

[MamaMolly]

Yes! Better to do it now than to have it bug you. Also, imagine the embarrassment of the other person if you let it go on, then correct it later. I'd do it today!

A friendly 'I prefer Susan to Sue' and a smile will do fine!

[MontrealMum]

Yes, I get Holly alot - which is coincidentally my cousin's name. In the family I don't mind, but with others, I always correct it. I also get Melanie, Mary, Mandy...you name it, that begins with M. I just repeat "Molly" firmly, or "my name is..." until the person acknowledges it.

[buddyleebaby]

If it is someone I know I will see again, yes. Nurse at the Doctor's office, no.

Not that it matters. I have corrected my MIL for almost ten years now and she still calls me by the wrong name. She calls DD1 by the wrong name too and then wonders why she doesn't respond.

[Laurel]

My "real" name is very hard for some people to pronounce correctly, and I hate all the names it sounds like. But I get so sick of correcting people and sometimes just respond to the wrong name. In a work situation I think I would correct, though.

For some reason, being called by the wrong name just feels like a dis, even if the person is making an innocent mistake, anyone kwim?

[KBecks]

I'd want to know, so yes I think you should mention it. If they forget then I'd let it go.

[Drag0nflygirl]

I grew up on Long Island - and I used to cringe anytime someone would call me Nance. Pair the nickname with a wicked accent and it's like nails on a chalkboard. No one ever seemed to mind if I'd say, "Could ya go with Nancy please?".

[bubbaray]

I do. I don't like Missy or Liss or any other variation.

I also correct people who refer to me as Mrs DH's lastname. I kept my maiden name. There *is no* Mrs. DH's lastname. Its a good way to figure out who the telemarketers are, though, LOL.

[KpbS]

My name is also difficult for many to pronounce/remember correctly. I don't correct people usually unless I have just met them and will likely encounter them again. I have gotten so used to it over the years that it really doesn't even bother me anymore when a casual friend gets it wrong. If they realize they are pretty embarrassed and it's awkward.
In a work environment if the nickname really isn't something you would ever go by, I would definitely correct people but not take it personally as people love nicknames and usually just assume if there is one for your name you go by it.

[octmom]

If it's a mispronunciation of my actual name, I usually let it go because I am so used to it. I live below the Mason-Dixon line (but not deep South) and I hear lots of Jerry-lynn or Jer-ih-LYNN. I pronounce it JER-ih-lyn.

If someone calls me Geraldine or something else, I will usually try to find a gentle way of correcting it. I had a PE teacher in college who called my Jacklynn (not even Jacquelin) for an entire semester. It was an 8:00 am class, he was an old man, and I was usually tired at that time of day, so I gave up on correcting him after a couple of classes. Oh, how I wish my college had not required everyone to take five PE classes! :lol:

[elektra]

If it is someone I know I will see again, yes. Nurse at the Doctor's office, no.


People have mispronounced my name or misspelled it my whole life. (My real name is not Elektra ;))
But for me usually once I correct someone they get it right. And then for the Starbucks type of person, I never correct them, and actually spell it phoenetically if they ask the spelling since that seems to help with the pronunciation and alerts me to my coffee quicker. ;)
Your situation is a bit different though because they do know your name but they are just using a nickname. I would still correct them (even if they have been doing it for awhile).

[pastrygirl]

I sometimes correct them, especially if I can do it in a joking manner. I probably only do it 50% of the time now, but when I was college-aged or younger, I did it 100% of the time. People call me Christine all the time, even over e-mail when I sign my name with the proper spelling. It's so odd.

[kboyle]

i get kris (which i've always used as a nickname), kristy, krissy, kristen...i normally don't correct people as i really don't care. people that *really* know me usually call me kris, other than dh, he always says my whole name, lol...though i don't call him a nickname either...well name-wise, honey, love, etc sure.

personally i have a whole list of other things that get under my skin, that type of stuff is water under the bridge for me. i always get "you have beautiful daughters"...they are clearly 3 boys???? but i never correct people, a compliment is a compliment, no need for me to put the spot light on them for a mistake.

BUT, i don't care if i'm corrected, no biggie :) so, if YOU are uncomfortable, let them know, better then gritting your teeth everytime you see that person knowing that they'll call you the wrong name :)

[Moneypenny]

Thanks, everyone. I appreciate the reassurance that I'm not being petty about it. I'll politely issue a correction the next time it happens!

[saschalicks]

Yes, all of the time. My name is not Candy, Candance, Janice or any variation. It's Candice with an "i", not an "a".

Incidently there's a woman at work that's been here longer then me and she still spells my name wrong. Did I mention every e-mail I send has a signature on it. :32: Some people just do not get it.

[MelissaTC]

People always want to call me Michelle. or Mel. I politely correct them and tell them that my name is Melissa.

[shilo]

If it is someone I know I will see again, yes. Nurse at the Doctor's office, no.

Not that it matters. I have corrected my MIL for almost ten years now and she still calls me by the wrong name. She calls DD1 by the wrong name too and then wonders why she doesn't respond.

yeahthat - only if it's someone i'm going to have repeated interactions with. and then i usually say something really casual like 'oh, it's lori-EN, but just call me lori, it's easier" with a smile. most of the time, that takes care of it...

but... my FIL and all his (FIL's) family has called me 'loren' for 13 years now. we gave up correcting them about a decade ago ;). i honestly think it almost bothers DH more than it does me at this point.

lori

[ThreeofUs]

I do. People call me Holly or Heidi or Abby or anything else that might have hooked in their head to me - almost anything but Ivy!

I've resorted to saying "Ivy, as in poison Ivy" with a laugh and a joke, which usually breaks any ice.

In your situation, you have someone assuming a nickname. I'd probably laugh and say, "oh, I'm not called X - please call me what my friends do, Y".

GL!

[stefani]

When I was called Jennifer I corrected them (politely) :-) I do answer to Stefani pronounced like Stephanie or the Italian / Indonesian way :-)

[AngelaS]

Absolutely. :) Every.single.time. I hate being called Angie.

[TonFirst]

My name is Susan.

/OT/ Am I the only person here with that Whitney Houston song stuck in her head?

[C99]

Except for my BIL who has been calling me Carolyn for the past 12 years (despite DH correcting him all the time), yes, I do correct people who mispronounce my name or call me by the wrong one. I find that if I don't make the correction initially, however, the speaker is either embarrassed to have been using the wrong name for so long and/or unable to make the correction in his/her mind.

Now that Caroline is such a popular name among my children's generation, fellow parents are less likely to mispronounce my name. I have had to train myself not to go looking around when I hear "Caroline!" on the playground.

That said, my name is relatively uncommon for women in my generation. So much so that when I give my name and the listener doesn't catch it, s/he calls me Jennifer about half the time. Jennifer IS such a common name for women of my generation, so it's probably not an unreasonable assumption for many people to make.

[mom2ethan]

I'm a Susan too, and I can't stand it when people assume that I want to be called by a nickname. I get called Sue quite a bit -- and even Susie or Suz -- by people I've just met. I politely correct them and say that I prefer Susan. (I don't dislike Sue, but it sounds ridiculous with my married last name.)

[maestramommy]

I get people calling me Melissa a lot. If I won't be seeing or talking to them again I let it go. If I will I eventually get around to correcting them.

[mdb78]

My name is Marizel. Growing up in my Miami with a large hispanic population, people here would mostly say Marisol. Even when they see on paper that it is Z-E-L. I don't mind it if they say Marisel since its close enough ( I mostly say it that way too). I just can't stand how SOL sounds.

My name was finally said correctly after I moved to CA. It was a nice 5 years of hearing my name correctly (even hearing the Z), but now I'm back in Miami and its back to correcting.

[KHF]

My first name is Kirsten, pronounced Keer-sten. I get Kristen, Christine, Ker-sten and others that don't even come close to resembling my actual name. I correct people about 50% of the time. Sometimes it's just not worth it. There are people that I work with who have never gotten it right, and I know they will not ever get it right. Not because they are unable, but because they just don't bother. I try not to let it get to me.

My DD's name is Laurel...I find that a lot of the older generation have trouble with saying that and tend to call her "Laura." I just let it go unless it's a relative that *needs* to learn to say it right. She's 3 and calls herself "Lolo" so I guess it's not the easiest name to pronounce :)

[Moneypenny]

Okay, so I just corrected one of the people who has been doing this. Here was the conversation:

lady: "Thanks for all your help, Sue!" (She's a new employee and I'm her mentor so had helped her with some stuff this morning)

me: "Any time. By the way, I go by Susan."

lady: "Why? Sue is so much prettier than Susan."

me: (silence) "Well, Sue is certainly a lovely name, but it's not *my* name. I prefer Susan."

lady: "Well, okay then."

Argh!!

[mama2g03]

lady: "Why? Sue is so much prettier than Susan."


How rude. And I disagree with her. My grandmother and cousin were both Susans and went by Susan, not Sue. It is a beautiful name.

[Melaine]

Usually. Sometimes I just don't bother.

[kijip]

Yes. My name is not Kathy. It just is not. The only person I let get away with calling my Kathy was a 80+ year old legendary attorney whose office I worked in during college. And only because he was so nice. Had he been a jerk, I would have corrected him. Most people call me by my given name, not by my actual nickname of Katie. Kathy sounds like a...well someone I am not. I don't think it is a common nickname in my generation.

[clb]

[QUOTE=saschalicks].

[MontrealMum]

lady: "Why? Sue is so much prettier than Susan."


That's just plain rude! I think you handled it very well though. I might have been tempted to *alter* her name a bit in that situation and see how she liked it!

[ha98ed14]

Can you tell me how to pronounce Candice? My college roommate was Candace, but everyone called her Candy. Her name was pronounced "Can-diss" (Can like a can of beans and Diss, like the first part of the word distance.) Do you say Can like can of beans and Dice like the dice you throw in a board game?


Yes, all of the time. My name is not Candy, Candance, Janice or any variation. It's Candice with an "i", not an "a".

Incidently there's a woman at work that's been here longer then me and she still spells my name wrong. Did I mention every e-mail I send has a signature on it. :32: Some people just do not get it.

[bubbaray]

lady: "Why? Sue is so much prettier than Susan."


Niiice.

You must must MUST tell us her name. So we can give you some appropriate *new* names for her. Though, B!tch comes to mind....

[Moneypenny]

Niiice.

You must must MUST tell us her name. So we can give you some appropriate *new* names for her. Though, B!tch comes to mind....

Ha! Her name is Janet and she refers to herself that way on voicemail and in email. Maybe I'll start calling her Jan and see what she says.

[bubbaray]

Ha! Her name is Janet and she refers to herself that way on voicemail and in email. Maybe I'll start calling her Jan and see what she says.

Oh yes, Jan is her new name.... Or how about Jen, just to really make it obvious?!

I'm so evil.

[niccig]

She tried to tell you that Sue was a nicer name than your real name of Susan??!?! Wow, how rude.

My name is Nicci as in Nicky or Nikky or Nikki. It's not short for anything, it's just Nicci. I used to get called Nicole all the time. Now living in LA, I get called Ni-cee or Ni-chi. I know it's an unusual spelling for my name. I just correct and move on.

[MontrealMum]

Oh yes, Jan is her new name.... Or how about Jen, just to really make it obvious?!

I'm so evil.

How 'bout Ginette?

All my friends named Janet (I have 2) go by Jan...:p

[Moneypenny]

You guys are cracking me up!

Maybe I'll just start calling her Julie or something and see how that goes over...

[bubbaray]

Maybe I'll just start calling her Julie or something and see how that goes over...

And, when she challenges you on it, just say "Oh, Julie is a much prettier name than Janet"

:ROTFLMAO:

[octmom]

Ha! Her name is Janet and she refers to herself that way on voicemail and in email. Maybe I'll start calling her Jan and see what she says.

Sounds like Janice needs to get a clue. ;)

[MNmomtobe]

Oh yes, Jan is her new name.... Or how about Jen, just to really make it obvious?!

I'm so evil.

Ha ha! If she corrects you, just say "oh, but I think Jen is soooo much prettier than Janet! I'll just call ya Jen"

You could also choose a different name to call her each day that sound nothing like her real name. Kristian? Priscilla? Cindy?

I guess I'm evil too. ;P

[Melanie]

Depends upon if I think I'm ever going to see them again.