Don't act so surprised

[Dave1982]

I was reminded of this tonight.

At my previous store, there was a regular who had the same last name as a very famous local hockey legend, who happens to have his number retired with two NHL franchises. I am also a big hockey nut (well, used to be, my interested never quite picked back up after the lockout a few years ago), and happen to own THREE jerseys with this player's name on it.

But, even leaving aside the fact that I am/was a hockey nut, everybody around here knows who this player is. Yet somehow, every. single. time. I had to look up this guy's Rewards account, he felt the need to spell his name for me. Eventually I would pre-empt him and spell it aloud to save him the effort, and each time he was genuinely surprised.

Gee. You don't think that sharing the name of a famous athlete has anything to do with me knowing how to spell it? Or the fact that you are in here at least once a week, and do this EVERY week, and that I just might remember it?

So yes, I can spell B O U R Q U E. Get over it.

[Dips]

I have to laugh at this. My married last name is not difficult. Two syllables, five letters and it's spelled how it's pronounced and pronounced how it's spelled. By rights it SHOULD be easier to spell than my maiden name.

But after I got married it was amazing to me how many people borked (pun intended) it up. So I just spell it after I state it automatically.

I'm sure it amuses the folks who already KNOW how to spell it, but it's habit now after 22 years of having this name.

[ottid]

Yea, I do the same with my first name. It's not gender oriented (the name) but the spelling can be, and everyone likes to spell my name as if I'm a guy, it really annoys me. I always check with people if their name has alternate spelling

But I guess if you have grown up around any said name, especailly if it is a celebrity's name you shouldn't need to spell it.

[Dave1982]

Well, now that you mention it, my last name isn't hard at all to pronounce. It's pronounced exactly like it's spelled, and rhymes with many common words, but you would not believe how many people trip up over it.

Yes, it's a bastardized version of a name that's originally Chinese (changed when my ancestors emigrated), but that doesn't matter; no one recognizes it as Chinese anyway (because although I am 1/4 Chinese, I do NOT look it, all), and again, it's pronounced just like it's spelled. People just assume that it must be have a more sophisticated pronunciation than it actually does.

Oh well. I'm used to it, and it certainly beats some of the......"creative alternatives" that people came up with to make fun of me in grade school.

My mother though........she HATES it when the name it mispronounced. So much that if someone calls the house and mispronounces it (which would only be a telemarketer, since all our family, friends, and other associates know how to say it right), she angrily declares "no one by that name here!" and hangs up.

Though I must admit to being assumed by the small number of telemarketers who recognize the Chinese roots of the name and - despite hearing an American-accented "Hello" - proceed to start speaking in Mandarin or Cantonese to us.

[Imogene]

My legal last name is four letters. The 'e' on the end is silent. Do NOT pronounce it! Once I point it out to you, do NOT swing to the other extreme and start singing that damn song about the boat! It has NEVER been funny to hear that all my life.

[Shpepper]

I tend to be a bit obsessive about spellings of names. I use a shortened form of my name, actually the first three letters. But for my full name, there are at least 8 different ways I can think of to spell it right now. It makes me crazy when people hear my nickname and decide to spell it like a furry animal instead of the correct way that I spell it.