Why do you spell my name wrong even though it's in front of you?

[TigerRag]

I get this all the time on Facebook. My name is in front of people and they still get it wrong. But why?

It's like having a name that ends in an A and putting an E on the end instead. (Julia instead of Julie for example)

People often get my surname wrong and add an extra "in" in it.

Think Dickinson instead of Dickson.

Lindsey
Lindsay
Lynsey
Lynsay
Lyndsay
Lyndsey
Linzy
Lynzey

(yep, been called all of those. Probably more if I thought about it. And only one is correct)

DS1, who is dyslexic, would honestly not process the difference between Aimee and Amie, for example. He usually writes down the correct letters but not in the right order eg gohst not ghost.

He knows to check, and usually does - or autocorrect helps him with regular words - but sometimes he misses it, especially if the "alternate" is also a valid word for autocorrect.

I always get the American spelling of my name on work emails/Teams messages despite the fact it’s right there in front of them. When I had my maiden name I’d get that instead as it’s used as a first name in the US, even in response to me signing off with my actual name.

I cannot be too critical though as I had complete name blindness with my former colleague where I always typed Corrina instead of Corinna 😬 I did apologise though!

I used to think, "Well maybe they have dyslexia" but I'm beginning to think it's just carelessness.

My boss does it to me all the time and it drives me nuts. It is so fucking rude. Like your example in the OP it gives me a completely name eg Julie instead of Julia. A genuine occasional typo is understandable but repeated instances just shows a lack of respect.

Tracy and Tracey are both fine and are alternate spellings.

Micheal is just plain wrong.

What made you change your mind? British Dyslexia Association estimates 10% people are dyslexic, do you think it happens more often than that?

I knew a Micheal as a teenager. That was his spelling.

ETA Wiki thinks it is an Anglicised version of the Irish spelling, though I don't know if this boy had Irish ancestry.

Well yes it happens with my name all the time, but the reason I've started to change my mind (to its often carelessness, not always) is that I think we've all become more careless due to smart phones & social media - shorter attention spans, less attention to detail.

I have a two syllable last name.
XXXham but I’m always getting people saying or writing XXXman.

Hard disagree.
The names are not the problem. The problem is some people are extremely stupid, and for them, there is no such thing as a simple, unambiguous name.

I've seen so many different versions of my DCs' simple and unambiguous names that I've started questioning the purpose of schools, and genuinely wondering how some people manage to function. The idea that some of them drive gives me the heebiejeebies.

One of my DDs who has a very simple, easy to spell name started using the name "Jan" when ordering coffee, and even that is often spelled wrong (Jen, Gan, Jin, Jenn, Gen).

Micheal is the Irish spelling. There's a fada on the a. It's pronounced Mee-haul.

Though it could also be a misspelling if there's no known Irish connection.

I worked with a woman called Mellisa. Apparently, her parents spelt Melissa incorrectly when registering her! 😬

She pronounced it MeLisa, and you can imagine how often her name was both misspelt and mispronounced.

my daughter gets the same but with pronunciation. It’s not this but imagine Fifi (fee-fee) but being called fy-fee. Surely when you hear everyone else in the class calling you fee-fee you would figure out how it’s pronounced.

There may have been - I wasn't curious enough at 13 to ask! He didn't have an Irish surname but it may have been maternal, or a nod to someone further back. But it was a choice by his parents and not a mistake.

Especially when it's family members too!!! So annoying!

I know someone named Phillipa

Phillipa, or Philippa?

Philippa, the usual spelling, is from Greek, and means lover of horses. I once saw someone online pointing out that Phillipa means lover of fat.

I'm reminded of that every time I see someone refer to Prince Phillip. And there's Princess Ann and Princess Lillibet.

Micheal is the Irish spelling. There's a fada on the a. It's pronounced Mee-haul.
Though it could also be a misspelling if there's no known Irish connection.

No Irish connection in the case of my family member, nor any reason to think there might be. But even his teacher one year got it wrong on his report - handwritten back then.

I know someone who followed a minor celebrity called Michael. She spelled it wrong every single time she posted something about him.

People seem to have some sort of compulsion to do this, even with the simplest spellings. I know Janes who get sick of being called Jayne, likewise Johns who get called Jon and Jhon. When I got married I was delighted to change my name to one which, I thought, was so common no-one could possibly misspell it. How wrong I was!

I frequently get called a particular random name that starts with the same letter as my actual name and shares a couple of other letters with it but is otherwise COMPLETELY different in sound, length, syllables, overall 'feel' etc. A bit like being named 'Teresa' but repeatedly being called 'Trish'. Or 'Catriona' being called 'Caitlin'.

I wouldn't mind but neither my name nor the name I'm repeatedly called are particularly common so it's not like an autocorrect thing. It baffles me 😳

This is so interesting, I think the first one I ever encountered must have been the Irish spelling and I’ve confused myself ever since!

I had no idea Micheal was an Irish name, I confess I'd undoubtedly be guilty of mixing its spelling up with Michael!

I could not give a monkeys , my name is often misspelled by family and everyone ! By missing e , i. I have one family member with an e and another who gets arsed if you forget , stresses me out case by always have to stop and sweat

I find it difficult to rewrite things in my brain if that makes sense. If I get a date wrong I find it hard to remember the new one, if I mishear a name I find it hard to correct it in my head.

In our extended team at work we have an Amy, Aimee and an Amey. I do try my hardest to get the right spelling but still make mistakes sometimes.

on the other hand I used to have a boss, we were told her name was (something similar to) Robby before she started her job with us. So that was what was in my mind. It turned out she spelt it Robi which I struggled to remember. It also turned out that she was really unpleasant so I might not have tried too hard with this one!

As pp said though, Michael and Micheál have quite different pronunciations. If someone is pronouncing their name the usual way then it shouldn’t be spelt Micheál (Mee-haul).
But people do their own thing I know 😊