Do People Mispronounce Your Name?

Do you pronounce "sorry" like an American or a Canadian? I always thought "L." and "Lori" were pronounced the same.

L.:

There are people who try to butcher it...but they knowingly do it to see if I will get upset (I know - sounds like elementary school, doesn't it?) But overall - straight forward - Cheryl.

My last name is Russian so it can be mispronounced frequently. I'm okay with that.

I would pronounce L. just like I would Lori, from my hearing - they both sound the same. SORRY!!!

Huh, I never would have guessed that L. wasn't pronounced the same as Lori.

My name is Katie, yet almost all of my Korean customers at my old job called me Kathy, as do most elderly people I encounter. My own in-laws call me Kay-TEE, which sounds so harsh to my ears, but then again, their mother language is a harsh sounding one to me.

Yep.
I get all kinds of variations.
Bonita gets me
Bon-ita
Ben-ita
Bin-ita
Anita
Juanita
One person from the deep south called me Bone-eater.
Bonnie
Bonny
and Bony (bone-ee)
My husband introduces me as Bonnie but he calls me Sweetheart and Honey.
It doesn't bother me.
Just don't call me late for dinner. :-)
I've dealt with international and regional accents for 27 years and pronunciation variations rather fascinate me.
I have a distant cousin by marriage who's name is Karin.
Most people seeing that will figure it's an alternative spelling for Karen.
But if you pronounce it Karen (CARE-en) she has a major fit.
She wants kah-RIN and will accept nothing else.
My Mom's cousin's last name is Basczcynski.
Unless you are familiar with Polish no one ever figures that one out without being told.
Bah-shch-een-ski

No, but you would be surprised at how many people misspell my name. It's 4 freakin' letters and people misspell it.

The weirdest one was the boyfriend who's birthstone was a R. and he still misspelled my name. And he wonders why it didn't last.

I still can't hear the difference between Lori and L. (both rhyme with sorry). I have friends with both spellings and pronounce them exactly the same. I have never been corrected. I knew a girl named Tara (TARR-ruh) who went crazy when people pronounced her name Terra, but I had a friend named Tara who pronounced her name Terra. My name doesn't get mispronounced, but it gets mispelled all the time-Sheri, Sherry, Cherri, Cheri, Shari, Sherrie...

My name is K.. It's pretty straight forward.

i've known a lot of lauries and all of them have pronounced it 'lorry', so it doesn't surprise me that people get yours wrong. i would too.
my last name isn't particularly unusual or hard to spell, but it seems to me as if a lot of people struggle with it. maybe it's just because my maiden name is hill, which may well be the easiest name ever.
when you grow up with 'sue hill' you never have to correct anyone.
i really don't get why people with unusual names, or people who insist on naming their children unusual names or 'unique' spelling, get all shirty when people don't get it right the first time. if it bugs you that much, there are plenty of short, easy, unmistakable names (or nicknames). life is too short to spend it constantly correcting and being ruffled about it.
:) khairete
S.

people mispronounce my last name...i guess it's what generation they grew up in....my first name is K. so that's fine but i do get asked what it's short for!!

my name is J. (like jc) but i get called lacy, jassy and jacky. i have become used to answering to it all. my last name is B. (like bye) but people always say it like bay. most will ask if its correct and i will correct them then if needed.

My last name gets mispronounced all the time. I don't care because it is a foreign name so there is no reason to expect people how to pronounce it. My son has a friend whose name is Brendon. Whenever I say his name my son corrects me and says: "it's not Brandon, its Brendon". Even though I can hear the difference when I really think about it, it always comes out of my mouth the wrong way. I would pronounce Lori and L. the same way.

UUUUGH!!!!! All the time!!!!
My name is A.....as in LOS A., California. Pronounced and spelled exactly like the city. People NEVER make the association, until I say that!
I speak clearly, enunciate extremely well when I introduce myself and I always get "pleased to meet you "ANGEL-A"........."ANGEL-EEEEZ"....."ANGEL-US".....""AN-JEALOUS".......it drives me nuts! Even when they read it on a resume, it does not click....."A......Los A." . Regardless, I love my name.

My cousin's name is L. and has always been pronounced "Lori" (since birth, even by the parents who named her). I know there is supposed to be a difference but sometimes it's really a accent thing (as in the way people from different areas prounounce the same words slightly different).

What drives me crazy is when they don't just mispronounce but rather change the name like they do w/ me and my son.

My name is L. and I have been called Linda, Lynny, Lenny, and/or Line. My last name is Madden (like John Madden) but get called "Maiden" all the time. It's even spelled wrong a lot of the time.

My son's last name is Golt and his name is often written and pronounced as Gott, Golf, Gulf, Gold, and sometimes Bolt or Colt (even those that spell it correctly can't seem to pronounce it...which I really don't get since they can pronounce all the other variations).

We have relatives with the following names Bryanna, Breanna, Briana, and Brianna. I am very clear on the differences (although my hubby struggles) but the youngest is spelled Brianna (which should be "Brian a") but her parents consider that to be "Bree Ana". That one trips me up because I remember it's spelled one way and prounced another and we don't see her often to hear the name. If creative spellings would stop it would be so much easier.

my last name gets pronounced incorrectly all the time, but it is polish, so I understand. It offends my husband, but not me. It isn't even that hard. 9 letters, 3 syllables, and each syllable is pronounced just like it is spelled. When I'm waiting in a waiting room, they will come to the door and say Mrs..... (long pause)....R.?

Now, my daughter, her name is Charis, and no one can say it right. It is a hard "ch" - a "K" sound, so her name rhymes with Paris. Like the Actor Alex Karris. She hated her name in her early teen years, but liked it later.

My son is Gehrig. He is called Garret, Jarrod, Gerrick, Derek, Gary, all of which I can *kind* of see when I speak his name to someone the first time, but am not sure when people see it written why they continue to butcher it. We mostly just call him G. :)

My name is D.. I am forever being called Betty. All the freakin' time.

And don't get me started on how many people spell it Debbie, Debby, Debbi or, still, Betty! The spelling doesn't bother me at all (the story of why it is spelled that way is kind of silly anyway). My full name - Deborah - is actually pronounced with three syllables, the "orah" part sounding like Torah. Of course 99% of people say it like Debra. Geez, another way people spell my name incorrectly.

I was originally going to be a Regina and I wish my parents had just stuck with that!

Yes, I have a last name that is commonly mispronounced. But I have to say that it has always bothered me when people get offended when their name gets misprounounced. The number one example that I can think of is the name Laura--I grew up with one girl who wanted it pronounced "Lawra" and I grew up with another girl who wanted it pronounced "Lora"--both spelled the same way. I don't mind pronouncing your name different ways but don't get mad at me when I don't get it right. And as a mother when you are choosing names for your baby, don't choose a name if you are going to get mad when people say it wrong. These days there are so many creative names and spellings and pronunciations that it is very hard to always know how to say it or spell it. So, my advice is to laugh it off. Yes names get mispronounced but I really don't think that people are doing it on purpose.

It's funny, I pronounce L. and Lori exactly the same way. I like your spelling much better, though.

Anyway, people usually pronounce my name correctly, but they butcher the spelling, or they hear me say my name and they come right back with a completely different name. I'll introduce myself -- "Hi, I'm M.," and people come right back with "Oh hi, Amanda/Melinda/Melissa/Monica/Minerva." This happens constantly.

Or people make annoying remarks about the right to remain silent, Carmen M., Sex & the City, etc.? WHY do people think this is funny, or interesting, or anything???

In Spanish-speaking countries, I've also twice had (flippant) marriage proposals from men whose last name was M., so I could be M. M..

I try really hard to not mispronounce peoples name. I teach at a career college and my classroom is incredibly diverse. I have to call out their names on the first day and 95% of them are names I have never heard. I am getting pretty good at it, but there is usually one per class that I just slaughter. I make a phonetics note on my sheet and then make sure to call their name all the time so that I can remember it LOL I am pretty sure I would have gotten your name right but my moms name is Lori. I would have changed up the pronunciation if I saw your spelling.

It can be confusing, because I've met Loris who pronounce it in a way that rhymes with "story" and Lauries who also pronounce it that way. In fact, I've met maybe 20 Lori/Lauries in my life and not a single one pronounced it any other way than rhyming with "story". It wouldn't even occur to me to pronounce it as rhyming with "starry". Learn something new everyday, I guess...

Never had any problems with people pronouncing my name. I do, however, get asked on a regular basis "Is that spelled with an 'e' or an 'i'?" I don't think the folks at Starbucks have EVER gotten my spelling right on my cup, it's usually something like: Christyn...way to make something simple complicated!

My name R. is changed to Rosemarie and Joanne :)

My maiden name always got mispronounced... :) In fact, I actually looked it up once to find the correct pronunciation. As it turns out, my dad (and probably everybody since my dad's family's immigration) had been pronouncing it wrong. :) My best friend still calls me by my maiden name because that's what she called me all through high school, but it's not the "correct" pronunciation. By the time I got to college, if a professor asked me how to pronounce it I just told them it didn't matter, I'd answer to whatever they said. lol.

I don't, Rachel is pretty hard to mess up, but people do it. The spelling is butched on a regular basis.

My daughter is named Kaelyn. More often than not, people call her KaiTlyn. There is no "t" in her name, but they still do it...it's not that hard or even uncommon of a name anymore.

LOL. This gave me a chuckle because I'm L. and have gotten called L. all my life....or Laura, Lora, even Gloria. I guess it just comes with the name.

My daughter's name is Elainna (elaine + na). Most people call her (uh lain na) which is strange because an 'e' does not make that sound. I always stress the first part of her name, but I found most people don't pay attention. There are others who are nice and try to get it right. One woman at the doctor's office keeps calling her Ellianna (el ee on na) I didn't see that one coming! Oh well, hope my daughter loves her name when she's older.

Yep...... my name is Malia....... yes, like President Obama's oldest daughter...

It is pronounced like Maria, but with an "L" instead of an "R"...

My last name now is easy, but the name I had growing up was German.... combine a Hawaiian / Polynesian first name, with a German last name, and it was QUITE a combination! (No, there is no Hawaiian in my heritage..... I'm an Irish/Scots/ ? /German mix....)

lol our last name gets butchered all the time.
It's German and nearly no on pronounces it correctly.

My name? Sure.

Yours? I have an aunt with the exact same name, but she provinces it differently than you!

Lori and L. were meant to be pronounced the same. Have you met other Lauries that rhyme with Starry? L. and Laura and Lauren all should sound the same, and I've never met a Starry L.. I don't mean this to offend you, but sometimes parents give kids a name and pronounce it wrong.

No one has a problem with my first name, but people do ask what it's short for (nothing!). My last name is Troge, it's my married name and it gets mispronounced all the time. People will ask what it rhymes with, and the answer is nothing in the English language!

so you like it pronounced like " lawree"?

No...not really.
Now when someone on the phone butchers the last name...it's a sure fire sign of a telemarketer! Lol

I have known Lauries and Loris, so I know what you mean--exactly!

Updated

Sometimes I swear people can't hear. I say "C.," and they'll call me Chrissy or Christina or Kristen. I speak very clearly, so I chalk it up to simply not paying attention.

I also get tired of people insisting that my name MUST be short for something. Nope. It's JUST C..

People mispronounce our last name ALL the time. It's Dutch and has two parts...(Van D____). That always seems to throw people off, even though it's pronounced exactly as it's spelled. It's just three syllables, people!

I pronounce both of those the same, sorry! But I do know what you mean. My daughter's name is Hannah, and the we say it rhymes with Lana. But some people say it with a harder A sound, like the name Ann. I am never offended, I just think where are you from that you say it that way, lol!

I know exactly what you speak of. My name is pronounced the way you describe.. Anyone who is named L., but goes by Lori.. Probably gave up correcting people..

I learned a long time ago, to let this go, but I do thank those people that do pronounce it correctly without my help and also thank the ones that spell it correctly when I tell them my name..

My mother wanted to name me Laura, but my father said, "we will call her L. so lets just name her L..."

I like the spelling, but I pity those that cannot figure out it is based on Lawrence and Laura.. They are just clueless..

My name is Bevery but I have been called Betty, Brenda, Barbara, Mary's mom, Nick's mom, Bevo....I rarely correct except in a professional situation where misname could be important, when I hope the person to become a friend or when they are just being #itchy.....I do respond to them all....

I'm amazed how phonically illiterate most people are. I don't see any reason for my last name to be mispronounced, but most people mess it up. A vowel followed by a single consonant and another vowel means pronounce the vowel long. A vowel followed by a double consonant means pronounce it short. Its just astounds me how many people don't know this simple rule.

I was under the impression Lori and L. were pronounced the same just spelled differently. Like Kadie and Katie. Anyway yes I believe everyone gets the weird name changes. Like My name is Jacqueline but I go by Jackie and people have called me Kathy. I had an english teacher who stumbed and fell all over the name Jacqueline (which i wanted to be called in Highschool...growing up but the same kids from elemntary and jr high followed to highschool and another student bashed that dream with her frustration and shouted at the teacher "HER NAME IS JACKIE JUST CALL HER JACKIE" that was that

People have a hard time with our last name too. I usualy just spell it out because they seem to have no idea. Its a common one too like Smith, Brown or Jones. Simple yet ppl are crazy confused. I think its my pronouncing sometimes but then most ppl understand the words I am saying. Oh and at Chick - fil -A when they ask If you wan tanything I ask for extra "mints" but now I say "peppermints" because they never understand the word mint! lol Oh but I would think you were odd nut if you corrected me to say L. was prounounce like sorry or starry. Reminds me of Young Frankenstine when he said its pronounced Igore not EEE gore. But if people prounounced my name like Jacki from the show 227 that would be annoying :D

L.,
This gives me insight into names because I always thought they were pronounced the same just a different spelling because of preference. I will pay closer attention when I encounter the name in the future.

To respond to your post, YES!! My name is Tatum, pronounced like Tay-tum, as in Tatum O'Neal. People say Tah-tum, Tah-Toom and other variations but after 30ish years, I have become accustomed to correcting my people when they say my name and not taking offense to it. When we meet if I don't feel like explaining my name, I introduce myself as T..

I was cautious in naming my son so they would not encounter such mishaps and was extra cautious in spelling his name so that it was phonetically correct.

Honestly, the difference between how you pronounce L., Lori, and Law-ri are so subtle, I think you only notice it because it's your name. And my name gets butchered all the time. The first syllabul is be as in bet but I get people who say Bee as in Beatrice. I hate it. Probably seems like not a big deal to anyone but me.

My husband's name is Silverio.
Try saying THAT!

i have known lauries and loris but the only difference was the spelling, they were pronounced exactly the same.. and rhymed with maury lol im still kind of confused to tell u the truth, so you say it like Lah-rie not Law-rie?
.. my first names pretty easy which makes it hard to butcher, i dont think anyones ever said it incorrectly.. my last name is simple but people are never sure wether to pronounce it with a long E or short E sound (Eee or Eh) .. ive noticed alot lately with my daughter, we named her Brianna, that people see it in print and are unsure wether to say it as Bree- onna ( like bree and then donna without the d) or wether to say it like Bree - anna ( like Anne but with an A at the end instead of an E).. We say Bree - onna but it doesnt bother me too much if it is said the other way ... also ive noticed that when people ask what her name is and i tell them, they sometimes think im saying Rihanna.. like the singer, now that irritates me!.. im assuming its just in the way i talk, maybe im saying it fast and people dont always here the B .. ive even had one lady in the grocery store think i said Bianna and when i said no, before i could repeat myself she said "o0h you said Vianna, thats pretty!", but again im assuming it was just in the way i said it.
also my daughter has the same middle name is do, Leigh, pronounced Lee.. which is simple enough, but again its one of those things that a few people have seen written and it takes them a second to realize what it actually is .. ive had people ask me if its supposed to be pronounced Lay

My name is T.. I would guess my parents pronounced it tee-air-uh because my dad is from the Midwest, because people from both coasts say tee-are-uh. That's most people's first try, so much that I wish that's how my family pronounced it actually. I tried to make my kids names completely easy to spell and pronounce because of it. My dad said he gave me a different name because our last name was Johnson. My married name is pronounced just how it looks but people try to pronounce it fancy, or leave off one s when spelling, which completely doesn't make sense to me! I also get called anything that starts with a t or Ciara.

Every L. I know says it the same as Lori, I've never met a "Larr-ee"?

Yup, my last name is short and simple but there are so many ways to mess it up apparently!

My first name is F.. No problem when you read it, but over the phone when I say my name, I get, "April?" (Huh?) or, "Page?" (Huh again!) Go figure. Or I get, "Saith?" Yes, my mother named me Saith. So I have to spell it: F as in Frank, A - I - T - H. lol

I have never heard the name L. pronounced like Sorry or Starry before. I have only ever heard it pronounced like Lori. So yes, I would mispronounce your name too. Though, of course, I can understand your frustration and how annoying that would be!

People rarely mispronounce my name, so fortunately, I don't have to deal with that. I also gave my kids well known, common (though not trendy) names so no one will mispronounce theirs either.

I'm surprised to see that people think that L. and Lori sound the same. L. has an "ah" sound and rhymes with "sorry". The "o" in Lori sounds like the word "or".

Very interesting that L. is a derivative of Lawrence. I didn't know that! Thanks for the info!

Dawn

People always call me "Amanda" which is not my name. My mom shortened her maiden name in school because it was always messed up. My son(stephen) however people assume his name is pronounced Steph-AN which its not, it's Steven. No ones messed up my daughters name yet

People do this all the time for my last name and me and my husband's name especially.