To change our surname because no one can pronounce it?

[PotterAndHisWand]

I mean no one, unless they're Irish, but we live in South East England.....

I have an irish surname - very rare even in Ireland. DP and DC have a Polish surname - which no-one can pronounce or spell - I like being different. Though it does get very tiring having to spell it 20 times to people....I usually end up just saying "close enough" when they come at all close

I think I'd prefer to have my own name mispronounced sometimes than to pick an entirely new one with no connection to me.

My ds is called Declan. I know it isn't as common a name in England as it is in Ireland but it's hardly unique. Yet practically everyone pronounces it 'Decland' or even 'Dexter'. It drives him mad!

My youngest dc have a surname that no one knows how to pronounce, iots so bloody annoying and its an anglicised spelling of anIrish origin name (I think)

My real name is Rocky De la Cruz, however I have changed it to ComposHat for Showbiz purposes.

Call yourself whatever you want OP. You don't need an excuse, but if you did then making your life easier would be a perfectly valid one. Some people care about family tradition, heritage, roots etc, and others don't give a fuck. Both attitudes are equally valid. There's certainly no reason why you should feel obliged to keep a surname, simply in order to preserve a heritage you feel no connection to. It comes down to which is more of a ballache really, changing your name or correcting pronunciation all the time.

For the people talking about Irish spelling and pronunciation, I find it sometimes helps to read things phonetically in an Irish accent.

It's very surprising to hear about people having problems with relatively simple, Anglicised names like McKeown and Declan. But then I do live in the north west.

We have a surname that practically no-one can pronounce. Even if I correct people, many still insist on saying it wrong. It's somewhat annoying but doesn't bother me that much. My DH, however, gets very annoyed but he's had a whole lifetime of it. Even business associates who have known him for years still pronounce it incorrect.

My DCs are very proud of their name and are more than happy to correct people including Drs and teachers Think their Dad's intolerance has rubbed off on them!

I'd never think of changing it though as it's who we are - changing it for other people seems crazy to me.

I disagree that changing the spelling or shortening it shows lack of pride in your origins, it doesn't work like that At All. I am American as it happens, and I know people who are immigrants or children of one generation back immigrants. They take HUGE pride in their Italian/Russian/Greek origins, and see those things as invaluable parts of their identity, even if they have modified their names to make it easier in a predominantly English speaking society.

Even if Panioyota became Patricia, she still gave her children Greek names & even after 60 yrs in the USA sees herself as having a European not US world outlook & values. It wouldn't matter if she had changed her name to Jane Smith, she'll still be Greek in her heart and very proud of it.

Erm, it's Jameson's Whiskey. It's Irish whiskey not scotch whisky. I'm english and have lived is west Wales for 20 years and I make a point of pronouncing welsh words correctly out of respect.

I´m abroad atm & my surname would be pronounced differently here.

So I say it & then spell it iyswim.

But when people know what it is-school/Drs for example, they say it as I do-not as it is spelt to them.

For example is someone told you that their name was "Neeve" spelt Niamh(?)-you wouldn´t call them Nee am, would you?

My surname is relatively straightforward but always wrongly pronounced and spelled. I actually quite enjoy all the strange attempts My family have a scrap book where we collect all the envelopes with funny spellings, so I'm usually delighted when I get one.

I live in Ireland and have a dutch surname.

it has the dutch 'oe' in the middle of it and no one can get their head around it.

My first name is Irish and neither my dutch nor english relative can pronounce it.

I gave up long ago