Names

[McDreidel09]

and people who get their panties in a wad about them. More specifically, when you introduce yourself and the other person goes "That's not how it's pronounced!" or "You're just trying to sound foreign or cool!"

I'll use my experiences as an example. My first name is Andrea. My dad very specifically wanted it to be pronounced On-dree-uh. Since this is my formal name, I introduce myself as it, however, I don't normally care if someone pronounces it An-dree-uh or On-dre-uh. I know who they are talking to. I do give them an alternative name (Drea) if they so wish to call me that.

Oh lordy, the crap I get about how I pronounce my name. I have been accused of trying to sound foreign (because I am pretty well known in my town for liking many things that are from other countries, like movies, books, and foods) or trying to make myself sound cool, or some other crap.

Look. I am not the one who picked out the pronunciation of my name. I like how it's spelled. I like how it's pronounced. I am not doing any name changing (well, first name change anyway). You can call me any other of the pronunciations or my nickname, but get that filing cabinet out of your ass when I introduce myself. I will make myself known to you as the way my daddy picked out for me.

[muses_nightmare]

I used to correct people when they said my name wrong (people would say Lorne instead of Lauren), but really, I don't care anymore so long as they say the right name. (it's pronounced the same as in Ralph Lauren, and I don't think I've ever heard anyone say Ralph Lorne)

I do correct people when they say something completely wrong though, and that happens a lot, I can say my name clear as day and people will come out with any variation of Laurie, Laura etc. I've even been called Maureen...which is just WTF? And I usually have to correct them 2 or 3 times before they get it, I really didn't think my name was that uncommon.

People who think you're changing the pronounciation of your name are morons. I like the pronouncation of your name btw.

[Slytovhand]

Just chiming in...

Now that I'm in a country fairly unused to 'foreign' names, I get it pronounced fairly correctly by most people. So, I reckon it's something in your locals heads(and back when I was at home) that says "I know better than you", or "That's just too hard for me to bother thinking about - and you're not important enough for me to listen to".

[kiwi]

People add a T into my name (its the name of a famous no 5 perfume) and then get shitty with me when I correct them. My name is not any more "posh" than the one with the T in it but people act like Im a snob about it.

No wonder I go around with my initials.

I hate people

[Greenday]

As far as Lauren goes, the way I pronounce it and most people I know sounds like Lorne. Maybe it's because we speak faster than other regions, but that's just how it naturally comes out.

[MaggieTheCat]

I am reminded of The Devil Wears Prada movie...sorry...

I knew a girl where I used to work whose name is Leticia. It's pronounced la-TEE-see-ah, not la-TEESH-ah. There is an extra syllable in her name and the "s" sound is not soft. She's very adamant about correcting people who mis-pronounce her name. Although I've never heard of anyone arguing with her when she tells them the correct pronunciation. That just boggles my mind...how can you tell someone else how to pronounce their own name? Some people sure think they know everything about everyone they've never met.

[jackfaire]

I have a friend whose name is Caroline pronounced Carolyn

[Boozy]

As far as Lauren goes, the way I pronounce it and most people I know sounds like Lorne. Maybe it's because we speak faster than other regions, but that's just how it naturally comes out.

Me too. I've never heard "Lauren" pronounced any other way, at least as a girl's first name.

The designer Ralph Lauren is a bit different - that's LaurEN instead of LAURen. Personally, I think that's a prettier pronunciation for a girl's first name, too. But LAURen is so engrained that one would have to be constantly correcting people.

[Slytovhand]

I've always said "Lor-en". "Lawn" just sounds silly...

[Skunkle]

I don't get mispronounciations, so much as people who just can't remember my name: Jonas. It's an odd one, to be sure. There's Jonas in "The Giver", Jonas Salk, Jonas Nordwall (organist), and *shudder* a recently-popular surname. I get one of three responses: "Oh, like the Jonas Brothers! Awesome!". Or... "Oh, Jonah, a Bible name, how sweet." Or... "Nice name, Jonah."

It's NOT Jonah, and I'm not named after the Jonas Brothers, though I'll happily take that as a 'you look young' compliment.

I usuallu give people the name Zephyr, the first name of one of my furry-fandom characters, a striped skunk (hence, Skunkle) and, wow, people can remember it and they don't screw it up or confuse it with any other name!

[IDrinkaRum]

Child Rum's middle name is Iraina. (I chose the spelling myself). It's pronounce Eye-raina-ah.

We named her after Irene Adler - the only woman to ever outwit Sherlock Holmes. When we were watching the episode of "A Scandal in Bohemia" starring Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes, they pronounced Ms. Adler's name as Eye-rain-ah. I like the pronunciation, but not the spelling. That's why I changed it. Also, since it's pronounced like it's spelled, if she decides to go by her middle name and not her first, she (hopefully) won't get people mispronouncing her name.

BTW, I used to work with a girl named Chanel. I love the name. Think it's really pretty.

[DesignFox]

If someone tells me how to pronounce their name, I would think it very rude of me to purposely mis-pronounce it or try and tell the person they are wrong. I mean, it's THEIR NAME.

The only people I get annoyed with are those who I do not know, don't introduce themselves, and then get their panties in a wad if I mispronounce their name (particularly if it is spelled one way and pronounced another..or commonly pronounced one way, but THEY choose to pronounce it another).

I don't mind if someone corrects me when I'm wrong. I just think it's rude to get all in a huff without giving me a chance to correct myself.

Personal example:
LOL One of the members of this board who I now speak to on a fairly regular basis has a name that is unusual in it's pronunciation. I got corrected a couple times, and I make sure not to screw it up, anymore! The first time or two I just couldn't remember which way she told me to pronounce it...I remembered her mentioning the situation and that she disliked being called the wrong name...but I just honestly brain-farted. Anyway, I apologized.

Now, I get it right.

She never got all fussed about it.

Respect. It goes both ways.

[Boozy]

BTW, I used to work with a girl named Chanel. I love the name. Think it's really pretty.

I think it's a really pretty name, too. I really hope kiwi doesn't mind if I add it to my list of potential girl's names should I ever be lucky enough to have one.

Speaking of the name "Andrea" -- I don't care how someone wants to say it. Both ways are as easy to pronounce as the other, and the bonus is that the spelling is likely to be the same no matter what, so no troubles there! But it reminds me of a girl I used to go to school with. She started as "ANN-dree-ah" and half-way through high school, decided that she wanted to be called "ON-dree-ah". Fine, that's her prerogative. But she continually got pissy with teachers and students who didn't get the memo about the change, or simply forgot after years of calling her "ANN-dree-ah". That was a bit annoying.

[kiwi]

I think it's a really pretty name, too. I really hope kiwi doesn't mind if I add it to my list of potential girl's names should I ever be lucky enough to have one.

I don't mind at all just make sure you add the extra LE at the end to make it the feminine version.
Chanel is the masculine form of the word and Coco's last name... her first name isn't coco either haha!

[muses_nightmare]

See, the reason it bothers me when people say Lorne, is because that's the male version. Sorry, not a guy. I generally don't bother to correct people anymore, heck even my dad's wife says my name that way, and her whole family. But I'm not fond of it, every so often I stop correcting people when they call me the wrong name alltogether if only because I've corrected them so many times that it's just annoying, especially when I'm at work and wearing a nametag...

There have been people in the past that looked at my nametag in utter bewilderment and couldn't for the life of them pronounce my name, I get that the spelling of my name may not be super common (any one else that I've met has spelt it Loren) but really?