Hard to pronounce surname - do you have one?!

[Jamesonwhite]

I'm getting married later this year and will be taking DPs name. It is extremely hard to pronounce and spell. I'm undecided whether or not I will keep my maiden name as my name at work to make life easier (or will it just be more complicated having 2 names?!)

Anyone have a hard to pronounce surname? How have you found it?

Mines really easy.

TBH, I would not change my name to one that is hard to spell and pronounce.

Mine's hard to pronounce if you don't know how to pronounce it IYKWIM. It's fine; it really doesn't come up that often. I have the same issue with my first name so I'm used to it!

Yup. I grew up with one and changed to a slightly easier, but still hard name.
I pre-empt the mispronunciation and if people ask my name to write it down I just automatically spell it. Even when I do that people mix up the letters in the order they think they should be in. Annoying but second nature now

Yep. Our surname is Georgian and the minute the majority of people see the length, usually don’t bother trying. I think it’s an extension of the British aversion to foreign languages.

Oh, and my surname isn’t funny just because you think it’s too hard to pronounce 🙄

Yes lol. Mine starts with a ‘Z’ and ends with a ‘J’.
Been married for 12 years and I still have to think about it when asked.

Yes, it’s German and although it’s not that tricky the vowels are the “wrong” way round for English people so very few get it right. We get some interesting attempts and hotel bookings can be fun
I gave the dc very easy to spell first names so at least that bit would be easy.
I usually say and spell my surname - so “ it’s Bratwurst, B R A “ etc
( obviously it’s not actually Bratwurst)

Mine is apparently hard to pronounce based on the number of people who can't pronounce it! I always have to spell it. It's French, it's not that difficult. Plenty of English words have French origins and people can say them like for example crochet or roulette or rendezvous or soufflé. So I don't know why they can't pronounce my name 🤷🏻‍♀️

Yep. I'm married to a German, and took his name. It's not "too" tricky but I spell it automatically now when asked my name!

Not that hard to pronounce, or even particularly uncommon but I have to spell it every single time and its really quite annoying. No way would I want one worse than mine (I didn't take DH's but not for that reason).

I have a British surname but it’s uncommon and I always have to spell it out to people. Drives me mad!

I changed from a very common surname to a strange name. Don't even say it just spell it out wish I kept maiden name for work purposes.

My surname is Welsh and doesn’t have any vowels in. It’s a bloody nightmare spelling it out over the phone about 5 times before they get it.

I’d stick with your easy to spell surname tbh.

I took my husbands personally and professionally. He’s from Eastern Europe, so it’s difficult for English speakers to say. My family would struggle to recall my ‘new’ last name. My first name includes letters which aren’t present in his native language, so his family can’t pronounce my name. To add to it, there’s two spellings and two quite different ways of saying my first name... I’ve resigned myself to just answering to any genuine attempt to address me. We don’t have kids (infertile), so sharing a last name is important to us.

Yep, both my maiden and married name.

Not particularly common but pronounced exactly how it's spelt and still people say it wrong.

My maiden name was - I changed to my DHs when I got married.

Honestly, I always had to spell it for people, and you actually see them writing it down incorrectly as you said the letters! A couple of times I corrected it, and was even asked if I was sure I was spelling it correctly! I assured them I could spell my own name!

I wouldn't change to an awkward one.

I have a very common surname, but despite speech therapy can’t pronounce the first letter and always have to spell it. It’s embarrassing

"Odd" surnames can be a positive boon in interviews ...

Mines easy to pronounce if you try, but people just pronounce it the way they want. I've been corrected in the past, like they know my name better than me

Not anymore. Took husband's name as it was easiest to say and spell. Heaven.

I switched from a surname which was hard to spell, to one which is hard to spell and pronounce. I don't mind really - people always pronounce my first name incorrectly too, so I've got a lifetime of correction under my belt already 😁

Changed mine to an extremely unusual one, ( in the UK) pronounced exactly as it looks but because people won’t have heard it before unless they know my DH’s Family I alway say it, then follow it up with the spelling it becomes habit after a while.

My surname is British but unusual and easy to pronounce if you realise it is British. But people always think it must be French or something and try to say it with a bit of an accent. I only bother correcting them if I am going to be dealing with them a lot.

Don’t take his name. Sorted.

He can take yours. Double sorted.