Miss Pronounced

Dear Alisa and Gina,

I have a problem that I’m sure other people can relate to. People always mispronounce my name. It’s not a difficult name, but I get called variations of it all the time. My question is, should I correct people when it happens, or just let it slide? ~ Unsure

I think this happens to a lot of people – and as parents these days get more and more creative with their progeny’s names, I’m sure mispronunciations will be even more common. My own mother (who is called Anne) told everyone (for more than 80 years) that her real name was Antoinette. But, when we found her birth certificate a few years ago, it turned out it was actually Antonette – without the extra “i.” It had been mispronounced for so many years even she didn’t know her real name.

My answer is yes, you should mention it. You won’t just be helping yourself, you’ll be doing a favor for the next generation of Schuylers, Joaquins, and Saoirses. ~ Gina

Well, I know this happens to a lot of people, as I’m one of them. For some reason, I find it easier to correct people I don’t know, especially those people I may never see again. Strange, isn’t it? The people I may have to be around a lot, I let slide, because frankly it gets tedious to always be correcting people. Despite the difficulty, I believe it’s best to correct them with humor, often and consistently. Otherwise you may find yourself in a position of working closely with someone who still doesn’t know how to say your name. Let us know how it goes. ~ Uh-lee-suh