Personal Observations, What Is In a Name?

By Derek Neighbors, Published on October 10, 2012

Names are funny. Tone and inflection can make all the difference. Most people don’t even bother correcting people when their name is said incorrectly. Close enough is good enough. However, sometimes people get their name so wrong they don’t even go by their own name.

Examples:

My wife’s name is Laurie. Everyone (including her) states her name as Lo Ree. However, her aunts and mother would say Law Ree. I think she just chalks it up to being their southern drawl, but in reality I think they just accentuate the difference in the spelling.

My own name Derek. Many people pronounce is Dare rick instead of Dare ick. The former is spelled Derrick and the later Derek.

My daughter’s name is Brittany. Most pronounce it britt nay (Brittney) instead of Britt annie (Brittany).

Why am I thinking about this? I got a google translated voice mail today that said, “Hello, My name is Steward press. I’m trying to get a hold of Derek. Again, my name is you were calling for Derrick. Thank you. “

This instantly caught my eye that google translated my name different in the same message. Why? Because it was pronounced differently of course. Oddly the person calling was translated as Steward, but he spells his own name Stuart.

So why the hell can we often not even pronounce our own names correctly? What funny story do you have about your name it’s pronunciation or spelling?