Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Say My Name...

When you have a different name, you get used to having to spell your name or listen to people mispronounce it over and over again.

I'm called Mel-anna  more than anything (probably because that's what it looks like...), even though I say it with an Awe sound in the middle (to rhyme with Donna and Shauna). Sometimes I correct people (mostly when I first meet them), but after I've known them longer than 2 weeks I feel really awkward telling them that they say my name wrong. I just hope that they pick up on this when I call them and say my name when identifying myself or from other people who say it correctly.

Since I have a different name, I've turned it into a game and have started "collecting" ways that people spell it or say it. It really is quite fun!

Mispronounced:
Mel-anna (very typical and it doesn't actually bother me as much as some of the others since it's understandable)
Melaina (I think they know Mel-anna is wrong, but can't remember what vowel sound to switch)
Melania (said Mel-lawn-yah) Like Donald Trump's wife.
Melanie-ah (I don't know where this comes from...)
Mel-ann-yah (another which vowel is different again??)

And the spellings:
I love putting things on hold and then going to get them and trying to glance at the hold ticket. Or at change rooms where they ask for your name to write on the door. Here's what I've had so far:
 
Milana
Milanah
Milauna
Milawna
Melawna
Malawna

I think most are based on the city Milan since that's what people think when they hear it. The last one is closest to the original Hawaiian: Malana

It all just makes me giggle. What's the craziest way your name has been said, or spelled???

2 comments:

  1. My name is pretty easy to pronounce properly...however, when I head to the southern states, I get the Lee-Anne, with the emphasis on the "An" and thus making it sound like it's two different names tacked together. I don't enjoy that in any way!

    Occasionally I'll get a random spelling of Leigh-Ann, which makes me giggle and wonder who they are talking about...

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  2. Enough to drive you mad! I had a very long maiden name which people often misspelled and mispronounced. I thought that things would change when I finally decided to take my husband's name - only four letters and pretty straight forward. No such luck. The screw ups continue to amuse me.

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