Name pronounciations... do you correct for minor things?

[Anonymous]

Let’s say your name is “Anastasia” pronounced “an uh stah zia” , do you correct people who say “an uh stay zia”? To me it’s always seemed like the same name but difference in languages or accent. I saw Facebook post about this and I’m wondering what other people think.

[Anonymous]

Absolutely, assuming it’s not a foreign accent causing them to mispronounce it in the first place.

[Anonymous]

I have one of those last names that could legitimately be pronounced 2 or 3 different ways.

Many times, when someone reads it, they pause, say it tentatively and give me a questioning look. In that case I'll either confirm or correct them with a smile.

If they just pick one pronunciation and say it, it depends on the situation. Hotel check-in clerk that I'll never see again? I don't bother to correct. New coworker, or parent of my kid's friend, someone I expect to see a lot? I'll correct it, because I assume they'll hear the correct pronunciation eventually and it only gets more awkward if they've been saying it wrong for 6 months.

[Anonymous]

I never correct. If I do it’s as gently as possible, usually not directly.

“I love Quin-no-uh”


“Oh yes, this Quinoa is so good!”

Direct corrections always come off poorly. I’m ESL and mispronounce/misspell constantly and direct correlations have made me pretty humiliated and less likely to speak or engage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I never correct. If I do it’s as gently as possible, usually not directly.

“I love Quin-no-uh”


“Oh yes, this Quinoa is so good!”

Direct corrections always come off poorly. I’m ESL and mispronounce/misspell constantly and direct correlations have made me pretty humiliated and less likely to speak or engage.

But it’s my name, not a random word. I want it to be pronounced correctly. Besides, if I don’t correct someone, and I let them mispronounce it, eventually they’ll hear someone say it the right way. Then I’ll look crazy for letting it go unchecked for so long.

[Anonymous]

My name is unusual but closely related to other conventional names. They either catch that it's unusual and are flummoxed (even though it's phonetic) or call me by another name. I usually query if they meant my name or say it in passing correctly. I honestly don't care how it's pronounced, but the ones who tried to are anxious about not being able to say it correctly. Meanwhile verifying that the similar name called actually refers to me is vital, because sometimes it refers to somebody else who actually has the other name.

I gave my children traditional names with only one common pronunciation.

[Anonymous]

My neighbor went off on a clerk who mispronounced her unusually spelled name. That was the last time I saw her socially.
The only Anastasia I know is “an uh stah sia" but everyone called her “an uh stay zia”. She doesn't care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have one of those last names that could legitimately be pronounced 2 or 3 different ways.

+1. I don’t correct. I honestly don’t care which pronunciation someone uses for my last name.

I do correct for my first name. I get called Melissa a lot. My name is not Melissa. I guess I just look like a Melissa.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have one of those last names that could legitimately be pronounced 2 or 3 different ways.

Many times, when someone reads it, they pause, say it tentatively and give me a questioning look. In that case I'll either confirm or correct them with a smile.

If they just pick one pronunciation and say it, it depends on the situation. Hotel check-in clerk that I'll never see again? I don't bother to correct. New coworker, or parent of my kid's friend, someone I expect to see a lot? I'll correct it, because I assume they'll hear the correct pronunciation eventually and it only gets more awkward if they've been saying it wrong for 6 months.

Same here. I have a simply German last name but it's rarely pronounced correctly. If someone wants help, I gladly offer it. But it's so routinely butchered I'm not going to spend time scolding people for not being able to make a "ch" sound that doesn't exist in English.

[Anonymous]

I always correct so they can learn the proper way to say it FFR.

[Anonymous]

I have a name that has a nickname but I don't go by it, never have. One of my neighbors has been calling me by that nickname for years and I feel like it's just too late to correct her. But it does annoy me.

[Anonymous]

I'm an Alyssa who is used to being called Melissa, Alisa, Alice...whatever. It's a name that's often misheard in introductions and mispronounced when read aloud. My rule for correcting is if it's a brief interaction with someone I'm unlikely to encounter again - like a nurse calling my name at a doctor's office or a barista writing it down on a coffee cup - why bother? If it's in a professional setting, meeting parents of my children's friends or classmates, neighbors, I absolutely simply restate it. FFW I have relatives who still pronounce it Aleesa so some people just aren't attuned to these sort of things and that's fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have one of those last names that could legitimately be pronounced 2 or 3 different ways.

+1. I don’t correct. I honestly don’t care which pronunciation someone uses for my last name.

I do correct for my first name. I get called Melissa a lot. My name is not Melissa. I guess I just look like a Melissa.

Any chance your name is Michelle? I swear I'm called Melissa in 25% of one-off business interactions.

[Anonymous]

Years ago, I had a friend named Laura. She pronounced it Lara.When people would call her Laura she would always correct them. And she said it annoyed her that most people mispronounced her name. Her name was spelled LAURA

[Anonymous]

Only if it’s someone I’m going to see more than once.